The beach club scene in Bali is rife with trendy places, filled with families, fashionistas and the self-proclaimed fabulous. If you’re keen to kick
The beach club scene in Bali is rife with trendy places, filled with families, fashionistas and the self-proclaimed fabulous. If you’re keen to kick back and soak in the rays then you will be spoilt for choice as this is one place where you can go from shabby to chic in a few strides along the strips of Seminyak, Canggu or Bingin Beach.
I am amazed by the types of characters who hang out at beach clubs. You’ve got the perinnial posers with perma-tans, glistening to their nines with botoxed bodies, designer gears and reflector sunglasses. Good for them, they’re unabashed in their disposition and think they are setting the trend. Now, here’s the thing with trends, they generally come on your radar just as they’re dissipating, because the trendiest places are still secrets and refuse to become mainstream.
You’ve then got the local players, tribal beach buddies who congregate to hobnob amongst their crew and have the most joyous of time. I have silently observed them in action and can’t fathom what possibly makes them so incredibly happy, gyrating to mediocre tunes with too much bass, leaving me wondering whether I am too boring and should get my cheshire grin going simply to blend in. No chance of that, quite honestly. The next lot are middle-aged magnates, toting cigars and loud coloured shirts, best cabanas, bottles of champagne and a clan of questionable followers. With girths that match their wallets, the club operators love these guys.
Then we have the family unit. Frazzled parents chasing kids with sunblock lotions, settling down to spend some quality time together but find themselves exhausted by the time the sun’s set. Those with the teens have their own dilemma, kids on their iPods feeling shortchanged to be in the company of their parents and would rather be somewhere else. These kids don’t know which side their bread is buttered. Amongst this pantomime of perma-tans and paranoid parents are the mellow ones, people who simply get on with it and set the bar for what a beach club is truly meant to provide – zen in the sun.
Finns Beachclub in Canggu is one of those places; every stereotype is within inches of each other, living their moment (some in agony, some in ecstasy). The bamboo clubhouse, restaurant and bar are exceptionally beautiful and the pool is full of people holding selfie sticks. There’s a minimum spend of IDR 1M, which is not a king’s ransom if you’re a slightly large group but trying to book a cabana or sunbed is not an easy task. Call ahead and if you’re lucky someone will pick up the phone.
One of personal favourites is Karma Kandhara, it’s a remote little beach that you have to access via a funicular trolley from a clifftop. Then there’s El Kabron in Uluwattu, a clifftop bar overlooking Bingin Beach, another great venue with Spanish inspired cuisine but then one could say this is more for the mavens and mavericks looking to top up the glamour, not their tans. Ku De Ta and Potato Head in Seminyak are a carnival of confusion, calm and camaraderie – get their early to make sure you have the right spot or else you’ll feel like you’re paying too much for too little.
With Bali’s awe-inspiring beaches you could simply skip the beach clubs and do what I think is best, pick a beach, roll out a towel and watch the real world at play.
