We heard a lot about Anyer, a resort town in West Java, and its approximity to Krakatau. On the Easter weekend, we headed to Anyer with the whole family, and a lot of food supplies. Sol Marbella, mentioned in Lonely Planet, is supposed to be the ONLY five-star hotel. And the review of the hotel and its beach in Lonely Planet seemed very appealing. However, everything in Anyer disappointed us, except a Chinese restaurant we went to across the street of Sol Marbella. The beach was very crowded with thousands of people, and the sanitation condition is worrysome. Many tourists threw trash directly on the beach. Nevertheless, our kids had a good time in Anyer. They swam a lot in the pools and played on the blackish beach. I called it black sand, and Ted said it's dirty. If we ever visit West Java beach again, we'd prefer stay at somewhere else. Here are some pictures from that trip.
Scene of fields on our way to Anyer.
Scene from the beach.
The beach is very crowded during weekend with hundreds of tourists, and maybe another few hundreds of vendors. This is a tatoo stand on the beach.
These young girls with picnic mats were exchanging information and looking for potential clients for massage.
A massage lady at work.
Coconut on the beach of Anyer. Coconut vendors trash coconut husks directly on the beach, and seafood warungs use coconut husts to cook/grill seafood. I guess that's why the sand is blackish.
Vendors and warungs on the beach. When tides are high, the entire beach would submerge under tide water. We bought fresh prawn from a vendor and tasted yummy grilled prawn. Elizabeth requested that we buy again the following day 'cause it's so tasty.
Vendors on the beach are busy setting up their stalls and looking for customers. Each time I appeared on the beach with the kids, there were dozens of people approaching us, trying to convince me to rent their buggy boards. Ted actually did rent once.
Hindu temple in Bali. This is one of many Hindu temples we spotted in Bali. We got a chance to go inside and toured around by ourselves because there was no ceremony going on at the time of our visit. The architecture and stone carving are out of this world.
Inside the temple
On our way to Ubud, there're stores like this all along the street. I wish I could buy a few for our house.
Nusa Dua beach - view from our hotel. Luxurious hotels dotted along Nusa Dua beach, which is free from hawkers and warungs. 
Carved door at Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and Spa.
Balinese dancers after performance
Balinese Dance
