Old Man's Bar

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If you are heading to Bali, but prefer to stay away from the hustle and bustle of Kuta, here's an idea for you. The hustle and bustle is creeping northward with both determination and inevitability, but there's a stretch of beach not far from the action, yet far enough away to offer a slower pace and a quieter tone.

The general area is known as Canggu, although there are other names for the string of beaches that stretch along the coast.

I spent three blissful months, last year, living close to one of those beaches. It's known as Berawa and is popular with surfers. I had plenty of time to walk and eat, two of my most favourite pastimes. One of my most frequent walks ended up at 'Old Man's', a quirky beach beer garden at the end of Jalan Batu Bolong.



You can ride your scooter or get a blue taxi to Old Man's but it's much nicer to walk. So get yourself to Berawa Beach at the end of Jalan Pantai Berawa (use your maps app to ride a scooter there or get a driver to drop you off) and start walking north-west.

When you start seeing surfboards for rent and men selling cold beer and young coconuts, you'll know you are on the right track.



This 'food walk' is an easy 1.5 kms each way and there's lots to see: a nice river, foodsellers and fishermen. There will be surfers, families and lots of dogs. If you're lucky you may see a traditional Balinese Hindu ceremony taking place. There's always something happening on the beach, especially in the cool of the late afternoon.



When you see a sign saying 'Border of the Holy Area', you will know you are about to enjoy an ice cold beer, glass of wine, cocktail or delicious fruit juice at Old Man's. If you go between 5pm and 6pm Monday to Friday you'll be enjoying at least TWO, because it's happy hour.



Old Man's is very family friendly and has great live music some evenings. It's also great for people watching.



They serve good coffee for around Rp32,000 ($3aus), large Bintang beer for Rp35,000 (a bit over $3aus), local and imported wine, spirits, cocktails, fresh fruit juices and 13 flavours of ice cream!


Main meals are around Rp60,000-Rp80,000 and include fish, chicken, steak, curries and salads. The starters are generous sizes, certainly big enough for a main (unless you've had a surf as well as a walk). My favourite was the Salt and Pepper Calamari for Rp52,000 (around $5 aus) with lovely crunchy grated coconut in the coating and a tangy dressing on the salad.



And make sure you visit the toilets and check out the artwork!

#bars
#beaches
#near_bali
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%wnbali