Wow! It's been a long time since I last did a update, I am still alive! Actually Al-Queda(not too sure how you spell that) has not got me. Actually that is a total joke, because besides the Cambodians, the Muslims I have met in Indonesia are extremely friendly. For all the Americans that get some sort of negative precept as to what Muslims are like based off of our news media, well they are completely wrong as far as I have seen so far. During Ramadan I was taken in like one of there own sons. By the way, Ramadan just finished, it started a month ago and officially ended this past weekend. What does that mean, well, if you are a good Muslim then you fast for about 3 weeks during sunlight hours. That's 4am until 6:30 pm everyday. After the fasting is over there is a huge celebration that goes on for a week. Everyone invites you to their house and wants to give you food and drinks.
So what has gone on for the last 5 weeks, well it goes something like this. I arrived in Kuta, Bali. No clue what to expect or where to go since this is my first time here. Found a place to live for a while. The goal was to buy a surfboard and start to get fit for surfing, then catch at least one wicked Indonesian barrel before I turn 40! Kuta for those of you that don't know is basically Australia's 'Hawaii'. Australia is so close that they all come here for a holiday. That's ok with me as I tend to get along well with the Aussies. So after 3 days of shopping around I made my purchase of my newest addition to my traveling kit, a 6'4" squash tail surfboard. I paid $500.00 for the board, leash, traction pad, board bag. The board is ok, not great, but the good boards are $700.00 and I was not willing to pay that much. And for those of you who wonder why I did not ship a board over from CA, because they wanted $1400.00 to do that. Kuta is a crazy place, it is really just a vortex of crazy energy. Several of my friends warned me not to get stuck there, as it is really easy to do. Everyone is travelling, old to young, all having a great time. The night clubs are off the chart, beer is cheap and mushroom shakes are everywhere if you want to go that route. People are beautiful and the music is loud! You can surf in the morning and party at night. Sounds good, but really not my cup of tea. The energy just gets sucked right out of you, and of course it always seems to be fun while you are engaging. Just by chance, I met a friend from San Francisco, along with some other really cool Aussies who live here, next thing you know it has been 2 weeks in Kuta. It just happened. Don't know how, it just did. It was not all just partying though, one of the Aussies who I met is a big Hash House Harrier runner. For those of you that don't know what that is, it is a running club that you can hook up with worldwide. A really great way to get in some good runs, all on trails and also to meet some really great people. They also like to drink beer, so it was a match made in heaven! I actually had already done one of these runs in Saigon, had a great time and really wanted to keep doing them in Bali as I have always heard about the Bali Hashs'. So far I have done about 5 of them. After my friend from SF took off I headed up the coast to a place called Medewi. I had heard about this surfcamp that had recently opened up and I wanted to check it out. It is a beach bungalow type of place that is run by a German and a local. Well, once I got here I have sort of been stuck. The vibe is really chill, the surf could be a little better, but it has been good for me to get fit again and to reteach myself how to surf. The area has about 5 breaks, some are beach breaks and the some are point breaks. Not a really heavy spot like a lot of Indonesian breaks can be. The camp is full of Germans which is sort of funny, they all want to learn to surf. Not everyone up here is a beginner though, the locals can definitely surf. So since they can surf they occasionally want to do road trips to some of the better waves in the area. I have done two of these so far, that was after upping my health insurance policy. One of these trips for those of you who know Indonesia was Padang-Padang. It is really an awesome wave. The takeoff is relatively easy but steep. Once you are on the wave you better have confidence, because about 75 yards down the line it gets pretty shallow and the water really sucks off the reef and the wave just about doubles in size into a really hollow barell. Heavy! Eventually it spits you out into open water. Although this was a great wave I was not quite ready to drop into a wave that breaks on very shallow water over coral. I really enjoyed being out in the water but cannot say that I had a really good day, but I am going back for sure. The second trip I have taken is a spot in Java called G-Land. It really is mother natures gift to surfers. It is surrounded by a jungle and is a huge circular reef that the waves just wrap around. It is a surfers playground. When I say playground, that does not make it any easier than Padang. It also barells really easily and also over reef. But 2 more weeks of surfing and fitness did a lot for me. This wave was a ton of fun, the swell that we had was not too big, but big enough to barell. G-Land is definately a place I want to go back to. It really is a feat of mother nature.
Oh yeah, we are in the most active area in the planet for earthquakes, so far I have been in two. One happened the other morning, it was just like riding a wave except I was in bed! (by myself).
Here is how the images go, I could add more but the internet is very slow here.
Fish N Bintang = a typical dinner in Bali
Bali Sunset
Chillin at the beach with a couple of local lady's
Some of the cool rock carvings in Bali, pretty amazing what these people carve out of rock
Celebrating Ramadan, CA style!
The monument to the people who died in Kuta when the Sari Night Club was blown up in 2002. mostly Australians.
