In Reply to: I prefer Padang Bai.......... posted by Baldie on Monday, 30. May 2011 at 16:31 Bali Time:
I wonder what swimming is like at or near Padang Bai, with so many ferries and other ships around.
I do not think that toilet waste of these rust buckets is kept in septic tanks - rather that it goes straight into the ocean together with the garbage, both decorating the nearby beaches. Bali is third world so one would expect the worst.
It is like locals walking a bit off the beach into the ocean, squat for a while. Then one can watch the rinsing process and up they rise and walk ashore. No wonder the sand is not white but brownish.
Of course the fanatics here can deny this practice as much as you like but I have seen at both Sanur and Tuban, not to mention Geger Beach. And, yes, give me any river. Pollution keeps hospitals busy and population levels down.