Sunset at Old Mans beach
Must eats:
>>> Crate - Brekkie - Smoothie Bowls - Ace Coffee
>>> Milk & Madu - Posh Brekkie - Mega Pancakes
>>> Bumi’s - Cheap eats - Balinese Tapas
>>> Deus - Good Dinner place
Things to do:
>>> Serenity Yoga
>>> Old mans Beach - surf and sunsets
>>> Download Uber and Grab Taxi apps on your phone to get taxis around.
Canngu (pronounced 'cheng-oo') is a great spot when travelling bali - its much less touristy than Seminyak, and has a real chilled / hippy vibe about it. Its a place where foodies are in heaven as its the organic food farming area, and all people are bothered about is if the surf is good and their beer is cold for on the beach at sunset. There is no judgement among anyone here, its a very eclectic mix and you meet people from all sorts of walks of life. I ended up hanging out with a high flying New York chick, a beautiful jewish girl and her friend who had spent 6 months in rural jungle studying monkey behaviour, a 6ft 5” Sweedish surfer and a girl from Berlin who simply just wanted a break after study.
I met these people on New Years eve, and the ‘monkey girls’ were on another level of excitement for being back in civilisation and interacting with humans not monkeys. Her and her fellow monkey studying friend really were fascinating to chat to!
After a beer, and several monkey jokes later, we met the beautiful Yank, the Surfer (who looked like he walked off a magazine shoot with his long tousled white blonde hair), and the super open minded girl from Berlin. A very diverse group was formed. It is pretty easy to meet people in this area of Bali if you are solo travelling, as everyone is fairly chilled out due to it not being the 'party - party part of the country.
Crate. Well its name gives it away really. It literally looks like a big white 'crate' with a few chairs and tables thrown out the front! However, the places is BUSY. You know why? Because its freaking delicious! The Acai bowls are to die for, their coffee is organic and ridiculously good, and basically you can't go wrong. Its 100% worth the wait, and worth que.
Milk & Madu - want a nice civilised brekkie with a 'Aussie brunch vibe' and some 'ambiance' ? - Look no further - the eggs beni is spot on and it has lots of cute little touches - think smoothies in jam jars kinda thing.
Bumi's - don't let the rough and ready metal / plastic chairs put you off - this place is a back packers dream. It is so so cheap and there is something for everyone. Even the vegans were jumping for joy! From deep fried calamaris to traditional balinese grilled fish - there is choice a plenty and all the veg dishes you could ask for! I especially liked the fresh watermelon juice!
Deus - Real cool motorbike clothes store that doubles into a restaurant and events venue in the evening. We saw some ace live music here one night when they had some kind of open mic night and the place was buzzing. Grilled meats, salads and fish dishes a plenty. Posh nosh.
If you're into your yoga Serenity yoga is where its at. They have heaps of different classes and instructors to suit everyone. It is about £5 per session but its worth it. I tried my first 'fly high' yoga class here and loved it. Certain classes can be busy, but i've also been and it was just me and my friend which was awesome! They also have a cute cafe out the front which has a really nice atmosphere, or is a good place to just go a grab a smoothie with a friend and catch up. They have accommodation at Serenity but it does get booked up in advance as its pretty popular and a lot of people want to stay there for atmosphere alone!
'Old mans' is the better of the beaches here, backpackers gather to watch the sunset here and surfers are on the waves here as soon as the sun rises. Its a great beach to learn to surf as the waves are pretty consistent and not to dumpy. The water is beautifully warm also and you feel like your just "hopping into the tub!"
I could really recommend Ko'a D Surf Hotel as a place to stay if you're on holiday. Its super clean, super friendly and it is the more 'up market' type of accommodations in that you will pay £30 for a double room per night, but you will get all your home comforts of slippers and robes blah blah for that! The staff are incredibly helpful and the location is great right by the beach.
Massages are all over and you will pay on average £3 for a hour long full body. Don't be put off when the masseuses chat to each other whilst they're massaging you and a friend / partner....this is just 'what they do' out here.
The added bonus of Canngu? Get a Grab Taxi or Uber or Bus to the ferry port, and you can get a ferry over to the Gili Islands for a bit of r and r, diving and snorkelling! I think thats all I can think of for Canngu...a great little find. I really fell in love with this place and got in a total cycle of yoga - brekkie - beach - yoga - brekkie - beach. I hope you fall for it too.
