The Bukit

At the end of May I felt the urge of leaving the Bali West Coast and experience the world famous waves of the Bukit peninsula. I spent my first night at "Dreamland", which was not working due to high tide. I tried Belongan, quite small but it was my first reef and I felt the intensity of it.
The day after I tried Bingin, a grinding, sucking, sick tubing left-hander breaking in 4 feet of water. I caught one wave on my square tail 6"10", I got sucked up the face, grabbed by the lip, thrown over the falls and felt like in a washer machine. I guess tube riding on a pin tail gun could be more rewarding but I got only one board available and I have to adapt.
Bali is not getting any swell at the moment and I decided to go to Uluwatu. I paddled out from the infamous cave, surrounded by screaming monkeys. The vibe was intense. Ulu was breaking at 3 feet, hard to ride, extremely fast on a shallow reef, a great experience anyway.
I went back to Nyomang & Nyomang cafe', a family business in front of Bingin. They took care of me like an old friend. I will always have fond memories of the Nyomang family.
On the 25th of May I returned to Balian. The following 4 days have been rainy and stormy.
Philippe, Natalie and I are spending time together. They settled in Balian as well. We eat together in the evenings. It is great to paddle out with Philippe and share some waves.

From Ubud To Medewi

Medewi has been the first wave I surfed in Indonesia. It is considered one of the easiest waves in Bali; on a big south swell it is also valued as one of the longest left-handers. When tide, swell angle and winds come together, it comes alive as a perfect point (Baja style) shaped by a rock bottom and black sand. Mai Malu is the place I'm staying at, fairly cheap and clean for Bali standards. The constant background noise is the only complain I have so far... a stream of motorcycles, barking dogs, roosters, cars and buses seems to be endless; even in the most remote areas you'll hear the approaching sound of a moped engine passing by: it is a restless soundtrack, night after night after night.....
I surfed for 3 days, small waves in the 4 foot range. Then I took a local bus to Balian, 30 minutes south. The view from the top was amazing; in the middle of a bay framed by coconut palms I saw a perfect A-frame rolling in. The right was a fast wall peeling to the south and the left was featuring a final horse-shoe section on the verge of tubing.
I have been taking the local bus every morning to go surf Balian, one of the best waves I ever seen in my life. Wave size never dropped under 6 feet. The bus is fun and I shared the available space with all kind of things, from bananas to roosters. My board gets thrown everywhere. The concept of shallow waters reached a new meaning: it's really shallow!
The time spent in Medewi paid off about 7 days after my arrival. A big swell hit Bali in the early morning hours. I paddled out alone at 6:30 AM in perfect 6/7 foot surf with a mid-tide working just right. Medewi was producing classic reelers, 150 yards of pure fun. This was a classic session! I witnessed an Indo spot at its best!
These days I settled into my routine of waking up at 5 AM and practicing yoga for an hour in the dark. I usually walk to the water at 6 AM and I have 30 minutes with nobody around. It's like going back in time, when the first Australians pushed themselves into these foreign waters, in complete solitude, for endless solo sessions.

Swami's Words

"...I do not expect anything from others, so their actions cannot be in opposition to wishes of mine. I would not use you for my own ends . I'm happy only in your own true happiness..."

Sri Yukteswar

Time In Ubud

The Sacred Monkey Forest has been a pleasant experience with the temples and the majestic architecture . Unfortunately the Western World brought plastic, motorcycles and mass tourism. You can see the results in empty bottles everywhere and in groups of over-weight white people cracking jokes, laughing, being loud or yawning in such spiritual places. The scene was pretty sad and for the future I would advise to go really early to enjoy solitude and silence.
In Ubud I experienced acupuncture and Balinese massages, which are based on specific tecniques related to the Indonesian tradition. The location was stunning: the stone-carved building was open and airy, surrounded by impeccable gardens. I walked in to be greeted by artistically mossed-over stone statues, elegant creations of riverbed pebbles, bamboo shower spouts, miniature ponds and waterfalls. Palms, waterlilies and ferns adorned every corner.

Greetings from the Island of the Gods.

From Singapore To Bali

Singapore: the largest airport in the world is truly amazing and it deserves the reputation of being the best! I landed at 2:30 am and booked a room at the 2d level. No need to leave the airport. I woke up early, and after a nice breakfast at The Coffee Bean, I enjoyed the luxuries of the Cinema Lounge, equipped with flat plasma screen and individual speakers for every lounge chair: clever!!! Already impressed with the amazing array of tropical plants and orchids inside the airport, I was blown away by the pool/jacuzzi facilities sorrounded by palms and giant heliconias (ginger family, for the botanists out there). Also, the cactus gardens, the bamboo oasis, and the fern gardens are absolutely outstanding. These outdoor-gardens are the only area where smoking is allowed; I was enjoying the sun in the outdoor jacuzzi, when I noticed a funny scene: nicotine-starving junkies were heading to the gardens in full crisis, probably after a long flight! The relief was evident in their eyes after the first agonized puff ! Truly hilarious!! Meanwhile I was chatting the arvo away with this wild Aussie in his early 40's; we talked about surf destinations and East Oz; he was on a surf trip toward Sumatra. He asked me right away where I was heading for surf. I guess travelling surfers are easy to recognize just because of their looks; especially if I look at myself today with an afro hairdo that could rival Terry Fitzgerald's in his glory days (circa '75)....scary sideburns ala Neil Young, and sunburnt skin in the usual spots! I assume that 3 months of hard-core surfing in the tropics would leave a mark on anybody, regardless the insane amount of sun-screen used on a daily basis!

I landed in Bali at 10 pm and I was really happy to have Randy picking me up. He has being living on the island for almost 13 years. As soon as you step out of the airport and the balmy heat of Indonesia punches you in the face, you have to deal with a mob of drivers trying to take you places! I honestly thought it was going to be worse. I spotted Randy casually walking among the crowd, we crossed the road, loaded my board and gear, took off heading toward the mountains. My choice of spending the first few days away from the ocean can sound non-sensical, but I wanted to get used to Bali, avoiding the insane crowd of Kuta and the usual tourist assault. Ubud is considered a tranquil retreat with cultural events and art. It will do for the first few days before finding my final lodging on the coast. At the moment I'm staying in an outstanding bungalow sorrounded by well kept gardens. I feel like sleeping in a sacred place. The doors are carved displaying amazing woodwork, the roof structure is artfully crafted, and bamboo furniture decorates the room. Burning incense fills the air and offering to the Gods are everywhere....this is truly a special place.

Cheers
D