It exists in Canggu, a place where you can drink expensive cocktails in tin shiny cups, observe skaters riding in an empty pool, dance in front of a projection of old surf movies, and then get a tattoo. 

Twice a week, Pretty Poison open its doors for a weird, wild night.

After the concert at Old Man’s, I had too much fun with the girls and didn’t want to be a wise yogi and come back at the Canggu Echo Guesthouse to sleep and be fresh for my morning yoga session. So I jumped behind Sashi on her super awesome bike heading to Pretty Poison, in the middle of the rice fields. 

I was discovering a new world. What the cool kids where doing at night after surfing or working…

I don’t know what I was expecting when I heard the name and the concept of the place, but it felt more like a warehouse party in a teenage American movie than a small city in Bali.

Canggu accepts a large community of expats and travelers. I’ve heard that a lot of backpackers arrived few decades ago and decided to establish themselves in this little paradise. They might have changed the face of Canggu, coming here with cravings for healthy food, surf desire, and party party vibes. 

As a backpacker, I was amazed to have found a place in between the conservatives Indonesian rules and the numerous vegan coffee shops, yoga centers, and this kind of westernized clubs.

However, let’s think about this. Maybe all these places have been built to respond to the demand of the “hippy” travelers coming to Canggu. Or maybe these places were actually the new face of Bali. The best skaters that night were Indonesian… Most of the owners of Canggu’s shops are Indonesian… And all the ecological values, vegetarian Warungs, the dolce vita’s atmosphere were definitely Indonesian. At least Balinese.

Bali was showing me another face… Like if I needed another excuse to fall in love again with the island…