Discover The Boho Charm Of Canggu, Bali's Hippest Hangout

New Zealand Herald, Viva Magazine, February 2020

Canggu’s under-the-radar boho charm has somehow managed to avoid the perils of over development that has plagued other parts of Bali. Go there now, before it’s too late.

When I started frequenting Bali in the late 90s, the Seminyak area was a relatively sleepy village of rice fields, with shops and restaurants clustered along two main roads: Jalan Raya Seminyak and Jalan Laksmana.

In 2000 Ku de Ta — a restaurant beach club wedged between the Oberoi hotel and La Luciola restaurant — opened with a global bang, creating a seismic shift in Bali tourism and put Seminyak firmly on the map.

Fast-forward 20 years and Seminyak — expanded to include the posh enclaves of Oberoi and Petitenget — is now largely a concrete jungle, the rewards (or punishment) of overdevelopment with five star hotels, villas and restaurants packing every inch of land available.

Canggu, Seminyak’s neighbour to the northwest, has also developed but in a much more bohemian, low-rise kind of way. You still have beautiful rice fields; clusters of charming villages have formed along tributary roads leading to Canggu’s four main beaches: Batu Belig, Berawa, Batu Bolong and Echo Beach.

The rate of development has been steady, but Canggu’s hipster, surfer vibe — complete with healthy eateries, yoga retreats and gorgeous PYTs (pretty young things) — has survived. And restaurant prices are still a fraction of Seminyak’s.

At least for now...

Canggu started with a slow burn, in many ways a rejection of what Seminyak was becoming; bohemian rather than glam; low-fi instead of high-flying design. Initially tourists were mainly surfers, who came for the excellent surf break that runs from Batu Belig up to Pererenan beyond Echo Beach. If Seminyak is urban Sydney, Canggu is chilled-out Byron Bay.

Bottega Italiana Berawa

To date Canggu has largely managed to keep the corn-row plaited, Bintang singlet-wearing bogans who have plagued Kuta and now Seminyak at bay. Streets are filled with stylish but low-key eateries, many of them health and wellness-oriented as are the countless yoga and Pilates studios. Canggu is great for chilling out, eating well — and it won’t break the bank…

Batu Bolong’s now-explosive growth might have been triggered with the opening of The Slow in 2016. The brainchild of George Gorrow, visionary founder of Ksubi Jeans, and his wife, model and ceramicist Cisco Tschurtschenthaler — The Slow is an achingly hip but supremely chic hotel that set a new standard for sophistication in Canggu. Before The Slow, Canggu was largely over-run with dragon fruit smoothies served from roadside shacks, “activated” chia bowls gobbled up by backpacking vegans, and oily nasi goreng served in beachside “warungs”.

Wining and dining at Bottega Italiana Batu Bolong in the heart of Canggu

With the opening of The Slow and its award-winning restaurant Eat & Drink, Canggu suddenly grew up with a new level of sophistication.

“Everything is moving here now. Canggu is such a destination,” says Tschurtschenthaler, who made Bali her permanent home in 2016 after moving with Gorrow from New York and before that Sydney. “We go away for three months, and we come back and so much stuff has happened. It’s crazy how developed it’s become.”

Despite the constant change, Tschurtschenthaler feels blessed. “Bali is a pretty amazing place to live. It ticks all the boxes. Every day I wake up and even though it’s crazy we have to go with the change. Our mantra is change is good.”

“Canggu has changed a lot during the last few years but has still maintained the same vibe that no other area in Bali has. While there are high-end hotels moving into the neighbourhood, it is still possible to maintain this unique spirit,” says restaurateur Mauro Piludu, who operates Bottega Italiana, a burgeoning empire of homemade Italian pasta restaurants with two outlets in Canggu and two in Seminyak.

“Canggu is indeed a magical place. Part hipster, part surfer, part tech entrepreneur/vegan /yogi /eco-activist…you name it, Canggu has it.

“And this great mix of all these different types of people co-existing in a relatively intimate beachside enclave creates the perfect blend of good vibes and fun. You can feel the energy and attitude in Canggu is different.”

Bottega Italiana Batu Bolong

Despite Canggu’s meteoric rise in the past decade, development has largely been in keeping with its bohemian vibe. Inevitably, traffic has increased; more hotels and villas are being built. At the same time there’s a foundation of environmental consciousness being adopted by businesses, including banning straws and plastic bags…

Homemade fresh pasta with basil pesto sauce

Bottega Italiana. With locations on Batu Bolong and Berawa, homemade pasta is the name of the game here. Their pesto is delicious, as are the salads, all for super reasonable prices.