Sanur shine......

A vibrant village in the 1970s, Sanur in southern Bali retreated to the background as the island's upscale Nusa Dua, cozy Legian, artistic Ubud and elegant Seminyak took center stage. It is now, however, set to reclaim its rightful place among its peers on the back of its intrinsic time-honored allure.

A place in the sun at Sanur Beach.Sanur is not exactly Bali's best-kept secret. After all, it was precisely the village's exotic appeal that attracted tourists the world over and sparked Bali's tourism growth in the early 1970s, making the island a perennial winner of major travel magazines' much-coveted 'the world's most favorite resort' title.

Rock stars Mick Jagger and David Bowie always make it their point to spend time in Sanur to re-charge their batteries after doing exhausting concerts in Australia. Celebrities such as Sarah Ferguson and Sophia Loren have put Sanur in their list of must-visit places (maybe now no longer, but certainly during their happier days).

And when years ago Dewi Soekarno, to the delight of incorrigible voyeurs, decided to bare her natural assets -- albeit somewhat depreciated -- in a coffee-table book, it was said that she would settle for no less than Sanur as the site for the steamy photo session.

"Sanur stands out among other areas in Bali for its wide appeal that caters to a wide spectrum of visitors," said Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya, the chairman of the Denpasar-based Bali Tourism Board (BTB) and owner of the Segara Village cottages, told this magazine recently.

He added: "Here you'll find sandy beaches, spectacular sunrises, a golf course, a shopping center, art galleries, a five-star hotel and beachfront villas. The culinary scene is also picking up pace, with new eateries opening at a steady rhythm."

"No village in Bali can boast such a wide range of facilities, including international schools due to its sizable foreign community. At present, we're in the opening of spas mode."

A new feature in Sanur's landscape is the face-lifted, nine-hole Bali Beach Golf Course in Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel area. Its newly re-designed greens and completely new driving range come with tall trees and lakes that add to the already beautiful course. A Pro Shop provides a wide range of golf equipment and accessories and an open air restaurant of Western-Asia menu amidst gorgeous view and relaxing ambience.

Said Carolina Wijaya (no kin to Ngurah Wijaya), the marketing manager of Bali Beach Golf Course: "Many come here because they can play early in the morning and finish off soon before they go to the office. Likewise, there are also many who come here in the afternoon after office hours and go home before dinner time."

In many ways, with its irresistible drawing power of sun, sand, spa and (a little bit of discrete) sex, Sanur defines Bali. But there is more to Sanur than that. The aura of old money and new money is in the air, an interesting combination that takes shape in Jalan Danau Tamblingan, a tree-lined street dotted with villa hotels, chic boutiques, fine-dining restaurants and art galleries, many of which owned by foreigners with locals as their fronts.

On Saturday evenings, the place to be for good, reasonably-priced food and good, reasonably-performed music is Cafe Batujimbar on that very same street.

The newly-built driving range at the Bali Beach Golf Course

A wide patio graces the front of the establishment, inundated with wooden chairs and tables protected by umbrellas to shield visitors from the sun. The menu is a mirror of the chef's culinary prowess – from classic Caesar salad and grilled smoked Turkey breast and cheese toast to Pad Thai rice noodles and nasi campur (steamed rice with beef, chicken, fish, vegetables and chili). While you devour your food, a local band does a respectable re-interpretation of the work of foreign artists.

"On Sundays we hold a kind of an open market where fresh vegetables and local food are sold," says a woman who identified herself simply as Tari, the manager of the joint.

Mark Wilson was first introduced to Indonesia in the 1970s when he was a catering consultant for Garuda Indonesia. He has only fond memories of the time he spent during the Indonesian flag carrier's formative years. He has even fonder memories of the day when he later moved on and opened The Cat & Fiddle pub and restaurant and other related businesses in Sanur, all of which thrived in good time.

"I was in the midst of Indonesia's best years. The oil boom and investments were in high gear, while foreign tourists flocked to Bali in droves," he recalls.

"Even in dire times you're still be able to make a decent living here."

Recently, Wilson, who is also Great Britain's honorary consul, opened not far from his earlier venture a similar eatery, The Wicked Parrot, which featured in the evening, of all things, Irish music performed by members of his family accompanied by local musicians.

The place has the distinction of serving the British brand beer, Storm, which is brewed in the island in a joint venture with local businessmen. It has a sweet, mild taste that promises to make a teetotaler into an alcoholic.

Like many foreigners, Wilson too finds Sanur an ideal place to spend the remaining years of your life. While that may not be possible for all, some do so at least three to four months a year.

"It's common for retired folks from England to come here on a prolonged visit to escape the harsh winter. Sanur is quite and at the same time lively, and most importantly safe," says Wilson, who is married to a local woman and has his children to help him out running his diverse businesses.

Cafe BatujimbarSays BTB's Wijaya: "Our promotional drive also focuses on the so-called 'silver market', baby-boomers who have retired and have discretionary income and free time to spend outside their countries. So far we have been able to attract large numbers of retirees from Holland, who come here to stay for up to six months as they enjoy special rates."

But no matter where they come from and spend their time in Sanur, they all share a common desire to visit the Le Mayeur Museum, the former house-studio of the famous Belgian impressionist painter of aristocratic stock who came to Bali in 1932 and stayed there for almost three decades. The museum displays parts of his large body of work in several rooms, whose upkeep leaves much to be desired. But what the museum lacks in good maintenance it makes up in historical original paintings that never fail to amaze even the uninitiated.

(Next month's issue of this magazine will feature an expanded story of the museum.)While you're in the environs of the museum, don't miss one of Sanur's icons, Warung Mak Beng, which is said to have been around for over six decades and lies a few footsteps away. The somewhat dilapidated small eatery serves unequivocally the best fried fish and drool-inducing fish soup in perhaps the whole universe.

Most villages in Bali hold promotional festivals every year though none seem to match Sanur in terms of its breadth and reach. The Sanur Village Festival (SVF) is held in August featuring cultural performances and sports and culinary events.

"In addition to SVF this year we also plan to hold the "Spiritual Festival", an event that highlights mind and body wellness," says Wijaya.

So, how upbeat is Wijaya on Sanur's future?

"In 2007 and 2008 we experienced double-digit growth in the number of foreign visitors visiting Bali. I'm not sure whether we'll have any growth at all this year. It's too early to tell because of the ongoing global economic crisis," Wijaya, whose parents were among the prime movers who transformed Bali into what it is today.

"We would still be happy if we could retain the number of foreign tourists that came here last year, which was about 1,9 million."

Sanur, by the way, is said to mean something like "the strong urge to visit a place." First-time and serial visitors as well as long-time residents insist that it should mean "the place strongly urged to visit."