Sanur Diaries

BREAKING NEWS
Sadly, the popular Sanur bar Stumpy’s Bar has been engulfed by flames today. Sending our best wishes to Stumpy, his family and the staff affected.

I’ve recently finished editing a video interview with Stumpy that is due to come out next week. A top guy with a fantastic story.

1 week ago | [YT] | 81

Sanur Diaries

Reached Lombok. You’re going to love this place.

1 month ago | [YT] | 128

Sanur Diaries

Had a great night last night watching this band. If you’re looking for good live music in Sanur, Saturday nights at Ulu Thai is fantastic. Just such a great band playing songs across all genres and ages, the food is good and the beer cold. Most people are going to love Saturday nights here.

1 month ago | [YT] | 85

Sanur Diaries

It’s not Bali without the unique culture. This a bade being prepared for a ngaben (cremation) ceremony. This sort of stuff is going on daily in the backstreets and is a normal part of life here.

2 months ago | [YT] | 81

Sanur Diaries

Some of you have been asking for specific instructions on how to visit West Java, more specifically Batukaras, so I thought I would post this for you to refer to as you plan your trip to Java!

If you're doing a general visit to West Java, you would start in the capital of Bandung as I did in my videos. To get to Bandung, you need to get to Jakarta first from where you will catch the high speed rail.

You can either fly directly into Jakarta from anywhere in the world (including some cities in Australia) or alternatively from Bali. If coming from Bali, I recommend flying into Halim Airport as it is very close to the high speed rail station. Getting a taxi to the high speed rail station is the easiest way. I bought my rail ticket on the spot and I believe this is currently the best way to do it as the trains are rarely full and you never know if your flight is going to be delayed into Jakarta.

Once in Bandung, you take in the sights of the city and make you next move from there (including an option to fly Susi Air to Batukaras).

If Batukaras is your ultimate goal and you want to head straight there, there are two main ways I'd recommend. The first way is to head by plane to Halim Airport in Jakarta and then take a connecting flight on Susi Air. Domestic flights in Indonesia are best booked on Traveloka (app), but Susi Air is best booked through their website - www.susiair.com

You may need to stay overnight in Jakarta if the timing of the flights don't line up. Be aware that many flights between Jakarta and Bali are delayed and they are routinely cancelled. My favourite airline right now is Pelita Air, owned by the state owned petroleum company. Flights on cheaper airlines are fine, but less reliable.

The flight with Susi Air goes from Halim to Pangandaran Nusawiru Airport. It's a 5 minute ride from the airport to your accomodation in Batukaras (ask your accommodation for a pickup as it is a tiny airport).

The other option for Batukaras is driving from Yogyakarta. You could employ the services of a car and driver after experiencing incredible Yogyakarta or even drive it yourself if you're game. It's a 6hr drive through Central Java and you could even stop off overnight along the way if you want to have a more expansive adventure.

A fantastic loop would be to fly into Yogyakarta, explore the city for a couple of days, get a car and driver one way to Batukaras, stay there a few nights and then catch Susi Air to Jakarta and then back to Bali at your own leisure. Or if you're heading back to a place with a direct flight from Jakarta (most of the world + Sydney, Melbourne, Perth), return home from there.

A playlist of all my videos from my recent West Java trip is now up on my channel. This is the most convenient way to watch these videos in the order that I made them.

Happy travels!

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4 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 75

Sanur Diaries

Gunung Rinjani looking absolutely sensational this morning from Sanur.

7 months ago | [YT] | 67

Sanur Diaries

There have been massive amounts of rain recently in Bali with widespread flooding and even building collapses. Some of you will remember a video I made a couple of months ago when I walked along the river in Denpasar and I mentioned that some of those buildings were a disaster waiting to happen. It has been reported that at least one of those buildings collapsed into the river in the past 24 hours. A terrible disaster unfolding in Bali at the moment.

9 months ago | [YT] | 63

Sanur Diaries

UPDATE: As of 1 September 2025, Indonesia has transitioned to a new, unified arrival system called “All Indonesia”, accessible at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id/. This platform replaces the previously separate SATUSEHAT (health declaration) and e-CD (customs declaration) forms with a single integrated digital form.

At this stage the old websites are still operational and may still operate for a time, but you’d be best off using the new system going forward.

9 months ago | [YT] | 82

Sanur Diaries

A reminder that the new electric shuttle bus in Sanur is FREE until next month when it reverts to Rp3.000 with payment by e-money (available at BCA on the bypass or BNI in icon mall and sometimes at indomaret) or QRIS (which requires you to have an indonesian e-wallet).

10 months ago | [YT] | 31

Sanur Diaries

Unfortunately another fast boat has sunk off Sanur. This time the Dolphin II en route from Nusa Penida.

At this stage there are reports of 2 casualties, but the search and rescue authorities are still searching for people. They aren’t sure of the exact number of people onboard and want to flip the boat back over to check for people trapped inside.

It’s a terrible situation and a reminder that these sorts of incidents are fairly common in Indonesia.

10 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 44