When you’re travelling with children in Southeast Asia you’ll most likely find yourself starting your days earlier than those before-kids trips, but the news isn’t all bad. On a recent trip to Candi Dasa in eastern Bali, I grew so accustomed to getting up early that I found myself rising before the kids.

Candi Dasa at dawn

Candi Dasa is infamous for getting the short end of the idiot stick, when a decade or so ago, some bright sparks decided to mine the offshore reef for cheap construction material to build accommodation for the tourists who flocked there… for the area’s pretty beaches. Of course, once the reef was gone, the beaches went too, and many of the tourists therefore never came back.

Gross idiocy aside, we’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Candi Dasa. It boasts a lot of good eating and plenty of good hotels and guesthouses (Our budget pick of the bunch is Kelapa Mas Homestay — even if there isn’t all that much beach left. And, as I discovered through my early rising, it’s a resoundingly pretty place when there’s nobody about and the light is just right.

The view across the pond at dawn in Candi Dasa, Bali

While we wouldn’t recommended basing your entire trip in Bali around Candi Dasa, if you are planning on getting out and about (driving all the way around the island perhaps?) then factor in a night or two here.

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