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Swim, Surf, Lunch, Tan, Plane Spot, Repeat. That's the Bali Formula.

May 23, 2012 at 10:08 AM | by | Comments (0)

We have a little secret, and it involved airplanes, seafood, blue waters and, if you've got 'em, binoculars. It's the secret to what is probably the best place to plane spot on the exotic Indonesia island of Bali: the south seafood warungs of Jimbaran Bay.

Finding it was a total fluke. We weren't even trying to plane spot, we swear! We were hungry. We heard the Jimbaran seafood warungs (super casual, mostly outdoor cafes) were good. We heard the ones on the southern end of the big beach were great. Now what makes them excellent: a perfect viewing angle for watching all variety of airplanes take off from Bali-Denpasar Airport's runway that juts out in the ocean.

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You won't be sniffing the Jet A-1 nor will you be deafened by the roar of engines; the distance is pretty far between you on Jimbaran Bar and the jets at DPS. Still, the rumble of each plane barreling down the runway does reach this far, and, with a pair of travel binoculars or, even better, a telephoto camera lens, you'll still be able to jot down tail numbers.

The airlines we most frequently spotted: Garuda Indonesia, Thai Airways, Air Asia, Lion Air, Tiger Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific (a 747!) and a sprinkling of other Southeast Asia LCCs flying to this leisure mecca.

So, why do we love it so much? Well, most people come to eat these seafood warungs in the evening, so a sunny lunchtime gives you almost the whole plane to yourself. On top of being able to eat right on the beach, you can also walk right from your table into the surf, for some wading or pre-entree bodyboarding. Just do bring the SPF and sunglasses.

For more on exactly where to eat in this area, see our previous post right here.

[Photos: Cynthia Drescher for Jaunted]



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