From Pirates to Paradise

Chantal and I woke up yesterday morning and felt the urge to do some exploring, and we have talked about visiting Nusa Dua for a while. It is located on the south eastern tip of Bali and would only take about 30 minutes to motorbike there (of course I get us there in 20). Not knowing too much about the area, we googled some fun things to do in the area and somehow landed on Pirate Bay restaurant as a starting point. 

We started our journey driving through town after town separated by country backroads with cows spread across the lands. (That's just what I heard from Chantal as I was too focused on passing the traffic to get us there.) Arriving in the area, there was a huge entrance with 2 lanes with a guard patrolling (one for cars and one for motorbikes). I slowed down, a little, then sped through with my head down. We got a "HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" and all I heard faintly was Chantal's voice saying, "luuunnncchh," as we scootered in. We got a good laugh out of that because I promised that we wouldn't stop in situations like this anymore; the last time we were interrogated and had to pay 300,000 rupiah for a make-believe international driving permit. Also, I have noticed before that others just speed by because the "officers" are not going to chase after you.  We're becoming more local by the day.

Finally, we made it to Pirate Bay! We parked and scanned the area. We saw the fenced off, pirate ship and it looked like an absolute dump with trash everywhere, and kids screaming in the background. Chantal and I looked at each other and said let's just walk the other way and find a deli or restaurant. We walked around the corner and the path led us to victory. It opened up to beautiful resorts and beaches everywhere. We were in absolute tourist paradise, and quickly realized we were amongst some of the most exclusive, expensive resorts on the island.  Naturally, we decided we belonged.

The MelIa

Luxury lunch set up

We took a detour through The Laguna resort that was beyond luxurious. It had monster pools on top of monster pools that wrapped the resort like a castle. We fell upon a little deli and had the best brunch of our lives that included chicken waffle sandwiches and banana vanilla nutella milkshakes.  Nobody questioned us, and we continued to make ourselves at home. 

The Laguna Nusa Dua

Taking advantage of the amenities 

Lunch time views at the Laguna

Pretending to read the wine menu

After lunch, we went back to the path and walked up the coastline, with more resorts to our left and  sun beds on the beaches to our right with parasailing, kite surfing, and paddle boarding in the distance. There was security everywhere and cameras in every cocunut tree it seemed. We tried to walk into another resort and were immediately questioned by a security man who could have come from the bushes.... "Umm, no sir we don't stay here. We stay at the Laguna Luxury suites." We left and laughed all the way back enjoying all the views. What a great day to pretend we stayed at a $600/night luxury resort and spa.

Pay attention to the sign

Nusa Dua shore

Taking it all in

Making friends at the Laguna