Pandawa Beach

Markit

Why do you want the tour buses to find Candi Dasa? Have we upset you in some way? I am considering the chances of a Fatwa for the name Sugarbear but it will probably hit Honeybooboo's dad instead and that [U]would be[/U] a tragedy.

mrsgabry

Today I went to Pandawa Beach after some time. It is so sad to see what is going on there. When we went there first 1 year ago this was paradise. Seaweed farmers, one warung, a few sunlounges, all was peacefull and quiet. Now - one warung next to the other, sunlounges all over the beach, construction going on everywhere. Tourists are taken in busloads there. Access is a total rip-off: 1.000 for the bike plus 5.000 per person (for foreigners). This means, if 2 people go there with the bike it will be 11.000 Rupies. This is more than the suggested price for one trip on the new toll road in a car!!! I had a lemon squash in a warung: 25.000 for something that consisted of chemicals and water and has never seen al lemon. Another piece of Bali destroyed like once beautiful Geger Beach. So sad! Gabriele

sugarbear

mrsgabry wroteToday I went to Pandawa Beach after some time. It is so sad to see what is going on there. When we went there first 1 year ago this was paradise. Seaweed farmers, one warung, a few sunlounges, all was peacefull and quiet. Now - one warung next to the other, sunlounges all over the beach, construction going on everywhere. Tourists are taken in busloads there. Access is a total rip-off: 1.000 for the bike plus 5.000 per person (for foreigners). This means, if 2 people go there with the bike it will be 11.000 Rupies. This is more than the suggested price for one trip on the new toll road in a car!!! I had a lemon squash in a warung: 25.000 for something that consisted of chemicals and water and has never seen al lemon. Another piece of Bali destroyed like once beautiful Geger Beach. So sad! Gabriele

Yes, I too recently visited Pandawa, reminded me of Kuta. Hoards of tourists, over priced refreshments and NO quiet or peace to be had. Geger is much more peaceful now, than is was months ago, the long stretch of beach in front of the Mulia lies vacant. I feel so bad that 99% of the rooms at the Mulia are vacant. A few groups of Asian tourists bicker over the price of a lounge chair rental, 25,000, and then order 250,000 of Bintang. The local merchants are getting poorer and poorer. Hopefully the tour buses will find Candidasa, soon!

mrsgabry

And it gets even worse, Today friends were visiting and wanted to see Pandawa Beach. So we went by car. The price was 5.000 for the car and 5.000 per person. So we endet up paying 20.000 just for having a beer on the beach! This is getting crazy.

mrsgabry

I do not feel bad about the fact that 99 % of the rooms of the Mulia are vacant. Serves them right. This awful thing should never have been built. This is one of the ugliest buildings I have seen for a long time.

joji gulapetis

mrsgabry wroteAnd it gets even worse, Today friends were visiting and wanted to see Pandawa Beach. So we went by car. The price was 5.000 for the car and 5.000 per person. So we endet up paying 20.000 just for having a beer on the beach! This is getting crazy.

Wow, US$0.50 for the car, and US$0.50 for each person. A WHOLE US$2.00. And your probably paid Rp.30,000 plus each for a half a dozen beers. Better the local banjar does not make any money at all, as long as the well off expats can have things cheap. No wonder they call us [B]cheap charlie[/B].

mrsgabry

I dont quite understand your comment. So you think ist's ok to rip off foreigners to access a public beach? I for sure am no "cheap charlie" but also I do not want to be treated as a walking money machine. By the way - the local banjar does everything to destroy this nice beach with massive constructions. The seaweed farmers have already been chased away.

JohnnyCool

[QUOTE][I]Today I went to Pandawa Beach after some time. It is so sad to see what is going on there. When we went there first 1 year ago this was paradise.[/I][/QUOTE] Some people call that "progress". Whatever you [I]think[/I] you are, a lot of the time you [B]are[/B] a walking money machine. Deal with it...

mrsgabry

Hi, JohnnyCool, of course you are right but sometimes it`s a little bit unpleasant .......

davita

I went there a few weeks ago and the place was saturated with tourists....mainly Indonesians on holiday. If it was properly developed it could look good but if it just consists of the current stall-type warungs it will be another Legian beach.

BKT

I went there a few weeks back as well, the place is a dive. I drove in, did a loop and straight back out. Biggest waste of IDR 5000.

mrsgabry

davita wroteI went there a few weeks ago and the place was saturated with tourists....mainly Indonesians on holiday. If it was properly developed it could look good but if it just consists of the current stall-type warungs it will be another Legian beach.

It did look good 2 years ago. In fact it was just beautiful and unspoilt. Unfortunately in Bali "properly developed" means as much concrete and beton as possible. I suppose this will also be the future of Pandawa Beach.

mrsgabry

BKT wroteI went there a few weeks back as well, the place is a dive. I drove in, did a loop and straight back out. Biggest waste of IDR 5000.

Sad but true. I still go there sometimes but only early in the morning and never on a weekend. If you walk to the right side as far as possible it can still be quite nice and quiet because the local tourists mainly stay in the center for making silly fotos. But I am sure this will also change soon.

mrsgabry

This article was in today's Bali Post. Seems we will get another "New Kuta Beach"! Horrible! "Pandawa Beach developed as new destination by Desy Nurhayati on 2014-05-20 Pandawa Beach is currently being developed as a new destination, adding to the line of beautiful beaches along Bali’s southern coast. The development project is part of the National Tourism Strategic Locations (KSPN) program under the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry and falls in the Sanur-Kuta-Nusa Dua zone. Putu Dana Pariawan Salain from Udayana University’s tourism research team for the project, said the plan to develop the site had been announced to stakeholders, including travel agents and tourism business associations during a recent promotional event. “The idea [to develop Pandawa Beach] came from the local community. Working with the ministry, our team will accommodate their needs and ideas. We will improve the facilities to fulfill the standards of a safe and convenient tourist destination,” he told Bali Daily on Monday. Some facilities would be built and improved, including toilets, showers, a parking lot, sidewalks and an entrance. The beach has astonishing natural beauty, with hard-sand cliffs and crystal water. “We also plan to build some decks on the upper area to provide a spot for visitors to take pictures overlooking the Indian Ocean,” Salain added. Once known as the “secret beach” due to its inaccessibility, Pandawa Beach has been welcoming an increasing number of visitors since the road heading there was repaired. In the holiday season, the number of vehicles bringing visitors could reach around 500 each day. Located in Kutuh village, around 20 minutes’ drive from Garuda Wisnu Kencana cultural park in Jimbaran, the beach is beautifully framed by two cliffs. Hundreds of palm trees have been planted on both sides of the main road to beautify the route. The beach was named after the five Pandawa brothers (Yudhistira, Bima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sadewa) from the famous Indian epic, Mahabharata. On one side of the cliff are several statues portraying these five brothers. Kutuh village is known as a seaweed producing area. Before Pandawa Beach was open to visitors, it was commonly used by farmers to dry their seaweed under the sun. “The seaweed farming still takes place during certain times, but when locals are not farming, they usually rent facilities for visitors, while some sell food from stalls,” Salain said. He named Pandawa as one of the areas having the most tourism potential on the island. Far from the crowded streets of Kuta, it could serve as an alternative for beach lovers searching for peace and quiet. A number of new tourist facilities are being constructed on the way to the beach and several plots of land are already being prepared for various tourist-related projects. According to Salain, the facilities currently being constructed were initiated independently by the local community. The project funded by the government had yet to commence. “The government’s project will likely start next year. For this year, the detailed engineering design is still underway.” Badung regency administration seems to be serious in promoting Pandawa as a new destination, in addition to Bangkung bridge, which is located in Petang in the northern part of the regency, and will soon issue the relevant decrees for both sites."