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Monsoon Season in Sanur, Bali – Hati Hati!

You really have to keep your eyes on the sky during monsoon season in Bali!

One minute I can be sitting on Sanur Beach, enjoying the beautiful sunshine and lovely blue sky, or maybe I’m out on my stand-up paddleboard, and then suddenly these enormous, dark and rather ominous clouds come rolling in over the ocean.

There have been quite a few scary moments when I’m out at the reef, cruising along on my paddleboard and watching the huge waves breaking on the other side. Then, without much warning, the monsoon rain starts and suddenly I have no idea which way is back to shore or whether I’m actually going to end up paddling out into the open sea!

Luckily, there’s usually a jukung boat somewhere nearby to give me a point of reference, as they don’t go over the reef. Those open-sea waves are huge and beautiful to look at… from a distance! They are definitely not something I want to be trying to surf on a paddleboard.

That’s when it goes from Hati Hati! to more of a Yikes!

The weather can change incredibly quickly during the rainy season in Bali. You can literally watch the storm clouds gathering out over the sea, getting darker and darker as they slowly move towards Sanur. One minute everything is bright and sunny and the next the whole sky has completely changed.

The rain in Bali is nothing like rain in the UK! When it rains in Scotland, I think cold, grey and wet, putting on layers of clothes and reaching for a jumper, followed by a few cups of coffee. The rain here is a completely different experience. It’s warm, humid and tropical, and when the heavens open you can actually stand outside in it and it feels just like having a warm shower!

In fact, a tropical downpour can be a very welcome relief from the heat. The air is still warm and heavy with humidity, and there’s something rather lovely about watching the rain coming down while sheltering on the beach. When it arrives on Sanur Beach, the whole landscape suddenly changes and, as a painter, I’m always fascinated by how quickly the light, colours and sea can change.

The sea becomes darker and much more dramatic, the waves start to pick up and the sky seems to stretch endlessly across the horizon. Out on the water, the little jukung fishing boats bob up and down in the waves, looking wonderfully colourful against those huge storm clouds.

It’s such a different side of Bali from the bright turquoise sea and postcard-perfect blue skies, but I love it.

As an artist, I find these dramatic changes in light incredibly inspiring. The colours of Sanur Beach in the rain are completely different — deep blues and greys in the ocean, dark storm clouds, flashes of tropical green and then, every now and again, a glimpse of sunshine. It all makes for the most wonderful seascapes.

What always amazes me is how quickly the storms arrive and then disappear again. One minute the sky is dark, the rain is pouring down and everything looks very dramatic, and then suddenly the clouds clear, the sunshine comes back out and you’d hardly believe there had been a storm at all!

So, during the Bali monsoon season, my advice is simple: enjoy the sunshine, keep an eye on those clouds and don’t go too far from shore on your paddleboard!