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The Sand in Karangasem is Black
I’m an island girl myself, from the southern part of Indonesia.
The beauty of our beaches is well known; people often say it’s unmatched. We have the clearest, crystal water. The bluest blue hues. Sand that’s white, sometimes even pink, soft like sifted flour.
So the fact that I like Bali, particularly East Bali, Karangasem Regency, is sometimes hard for some of my friends to understand, for a simplified reason: because the sand there… is black. Not shiny white like back home.
“What’s so interesting about black sand?” they ask.
I am not saying I like black sand better than white sand.
But I am saying, black sand is not the opposite of beautiful.
And liking a place doesn’t mean you love your own home any less.
My soul has always been pulled toward everything natural and cultural.
And I’ve come to realize: I’m most content when I’m surrounded by nothing fancy.
Just bare nature.
It doesn’t replace anything — it’s simply where I feel most grounded.
Look at this black sand.
It makes me take a soulful breath.
Not because it’s black… or white.
But because it’s natural.
Untamed. Unmade. Honest.
