Where to go in Sanur
Le Mayeur Museum
Le Mayeur Museum (Jalan Hangtuah, +62 361 286201, closed on Saturday) was former home of Belgian painter Adrian Jean Le Mayeur, upon his deathbed at the age of 78, Le Mayeur asked his wife, Ni Pollock to entrust their Sanur homes to the state to be established as a museum. There are over 80 masterpieces currently exhibited at the museum. A selection of these works show times of hardship during WWII when it was increasingly difficult to obtain canvas and other art supplies. Several works were painted on different mediums such as thin plywood, paper and even plastic bags. Many of his works were considered masterpieces and highly sought after by art collectors. Sukarno, Indonesia’s first President and Prime Minister Nehru of India were just some of the clients who visited Le Mayeur at his studio in Sanur.
Mangrove Information Centre
Mangrove Information Centre (MIC) at Suwung Kauh is definitely worth a visit, you can do a walk through the mangrove forest. This centre is also doing great work in preservation of the mangrove forest and education local schoolchildren as well as visitors about the importance of mangrove forests.
Blanjong Temple
Blanjong Temple at Jalan Danau Poso, Blanjong is one of Bali’s ancient temples. This temple is well-known for inscription on a stone pillar called the Prasati Blanjong. The inscription tells of a Javanese king who visited Bali in the 10th century and installed what was probably Bali’s first formal government.
Serangan Island
Serangan Island is a small island that lies off the Balinese coastline just 3 km south can be reached turning east off the main Jl Ngurah Rai bypass. Serangan has long played an important role in local religious history. Despite its size, there are actually four temple compounds found on the island and Pura Sakenan is considered one of the holiest sites of worship for Balinese Hindu’s.
Serangan Island is also known as Turtle Island as for many years it was nesting ground for the Green Sea Turtle. Locals used to catch the live turtles as well as their eggs for consumption and unfortunately this exploitation resulted in the near elimination of all turtles in this area. In 2004 with the aid of international funding a Turtle Conservation and Education Centre was established on the island and the government imposed a strict ban on turtle trading. With local help, the aim of this centre is to nurture the growth of newly hatched turtles and release them at an age where survival rates are quite favorable. The fishermen of Serangan now try to safeguard these ocean creatures to prevent extinction. Visit the Turtle Conservation and Education Centre here and learn about current conservation initiatives.