The largest swell of the Indonesian season so far hit last weekend, and Philipp Vasilev along with drone pilot Rodney Odgaard captured it hitting Padang from all angles.
well there you go, just another reason not to go to Bali. Awesome waves and balinese locals only scoring all the barrels. I remember surfing those breaks in the seventies with just a few sunburnt mates in the water. it was a long trek in and still an adventure. and no hassles. I think I will just hang on to the memories
saltmanThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 10:12am
Agree with Kelvin S
some brutal and ugly drop ins in that video. Everyone burning for that photo op and moment of glory
sad
Rabbits68Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 10:24am
It's the big spoiler on the whole Bukit, has been for a while now I reckon, the constant blatant aggressive drop-ins by Indos. A complex issue that has developed over time no doubt but it still sucks......
saltmanThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 10:42am
I have been averaging one visit a year for 34 years
reckon the aggro/ burning in the water multiplies equal to the number of cameras rolling
evosurferThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 10:58am
Just returned from Bali and surfed 1 day in this swell at Padang. It works like this balos gets every wave in every set every time then if there is more waves in a set than balos the aussies, seppos,brazzos and every other clown on the planet fight for the leftovers if its a solid wave a paddling back out balo with just burn you no risk. Its worse than snapper.
I think its time for all the sponsors to tell balos if you want us supporting you its about time you show some respect to fellow surfers because im sure as hell sick of watching
stickers get every wave and more. Give me Hawaii any day its all respect.
If I ever see a balo in my area or any where else I do my hardest to give them a very bad day. Its about time they realised you don't bite the hand that feeds them.
AntoThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 12:46pm
"Its about time they realised you don't bite the hand that feeds them"
To be honest I don't think that localism like this will have a noticeable impact on the tourism industry in Bali. I'm jet to see an example of a spot like this with 60+ on a tight point break where the locals won't behave like this.... sad, yes but it ain't gonna change
Rabbits68Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 3:04pm
Yep well put Evo. Think they will be shocked if/when they ever surf outside of Indo & not in a comp.......
surfer1Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 11:08am
That claim at the 4.00min mark is so cringeworthy
Acca DaccaThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 4:52pm
Sheesh.....again with the claiming..... Why is this always an issue? Have you ever been spat of something like that? (Yeh right) & if by some unrealistic chance you actually have, were you not moderately excited? Todays lesson..... Who can distinguish between a 'C.L.A.I.M' & ' E.X.C.I.T.E.M.E.N.T'? My God s##t up with the claiming garbage. Id do a backflip being launched out of that wave cuz i'm not self-concious & protective of my 'macho image' like some little insecure d#rks.
The VospThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 11:56am
Been surfing for 45 years plus around the globe. Had a couple of days stopover in Bali so I could access the outer islands. My first visit. Thought I would catch a wave or two there in the meantime. Agro in the water was unreal, balos as well as other surfers. It sucks, never again!! My local beachie any day. I agree with all the previous comments
AntoThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 12:13pm
It is unfortunate but it seems to be the natural behavior locals get on with in crowded spots like Padang, probably not different to snapper, pipe, etc... even more so on a swell like this one where all the sponsored surfers will do anything for a shot....
I guess the normal travelling surfer looking for good waves will just have to avoid these and leave it to the locals and whatever "clown" keen to cope with the agro
I would have loved to see someone like Dingo getting burned here though....
Sure it must be hard to watch for the people that got to see this place back in the day but there is just no other way around it
blow-in-9999Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 3:17pm
Anto wrote:
It is unfortunate but it seems to be the natural behavior locals get on with in crowded spots like Padang, probably not different to snapper, pipe, etc... even more so on a swell like this one where all the sponsored surfers will do anything for a shot....
Dunno seems worse than either.
Snapper is shitty but not *THAT* bad. (banzai) pipe is somewhat crowded* but great. Locals keep the place orderly but it still follows "rules" so you actually get waves as a blowin if you show respect.
*Better than GC Points / Noosa. Alex heads or Lennox is probably a fair crowd comparison YMMV.
AntoThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 3:51pm
Fair enough mate, I have only been to the GC once and never been to Hawai (and wouldn't get even close to going out at Pipe anyway) so my opinion is perhaps built on what you get to see on videos and the media... and what I have seen in Bali over the last 7 years since my first trip up there.
It is a shame that it has gone that way but with the amount of tourists it seems obvious that it was going to end up like that
paullyThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 12:32pm
Those funny little Bali 10 year old kids that used to cheer & clap every wave from the cliff
have now grown up to be 25 year old rippers with a very strong 'locals only' attitude.
You can't blame them after years of Aussie bogans coming over for 2weeks holiday and frothing on every ripple that moves. I praise myself on never dropping in. But my recent trip to Bali I was there for 10 days, I spent 9 days being patient & polite in the lineup waiting my turn, and got hardly any decent waves in the maddening crowds. On my last day I lost all patience and dropped in on every wave to get my share.
On the plane home, I vowed never to return.
Rabbits68Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 2:50pm
Classic!! Yeah it's a bit like that....
rhys1983Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 1:10pm
Can everyone stop calling this the "swell of the decade". I chased this swell to NW WA and it was big (6 to 8ft with 10ft bombs every now and then) but had two swells up there in June last year of a similar size. The only difference was this swell last three rather than two days.
Bukit is an absolute basket case.
Booka78Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 1:43pm
Agree to all, never surfed Padang as never really been firing but last time I surfed Ulu's vowed never again....too many wankers, too much attitude, too crowded. If your going surfing for the enjoyment of surfing don't go to the Bukit!
ReyThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 3:08pm
Heard lots of these stories over the years. I've never been back to Bali since '77. Still remember riding my bike through the rice paddy and climbing down the cliff to surf Uluwatu for the first time with another traveller from NSW. I never saw anyone else out there for 2 weeks. All dirt roads and innocence. How the world has changed. If you choose a women's weekly discovery one week tour then that's what you'll get. If you detach and take the time to explore the road less travelled there are still some great uncrowded surf spots in Indo that will remain positively etched in your memory..........
evosurferThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 4:15pm
Is not about crowded waves its about general decency and respect. Its not
that hard to understand.
Rhys1983 I agree mate it wasn't the swell of the decade Ulus was bigger than 10ft
IMO on Sat,Sun but the hype surrounding this swell was over the top but in saying
that there were plenty of great waves for a few days that's for sure.
mick-freeThursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 4:24pm
I saw padang as drove past was on. Not even going to watch vid. At any time over those 3 days there were at most 15 surfers at Ulu's. So there's no reason to complain and Sunday arvo Monday arvo you could have anywave you wanted. Heard even end section of Impossibles there were only 20 guys there. So it's not a massive problem when its bigger. Fark thats the same everywhere. I forgot my point. Oh forget it Padang its over
Rabbits68Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 7:22pm
Don't think the comments above are referring to the Bukit when its huge, clearly less crowded on those huge days at Ulus. Not everyone is a big wave charger to that degree tho. Evo's account of Padang when it was solid sounded like a problem to me, but you were there too, so maybe it wasn't a problem.............
rhys1983Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 5:25pm
Yeh no doubt it was a good swell. That Kandui left footage is epic. I've only surfed it at 5ft and it was scary - so shallow. Cant imagine it at that size.
fitzroy-21Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 at 6:53pm
Haven't done the Bukit for over 10 years. It certainly looks like Paradise Lost.
Can still get reasonably uncrowded waves in Bali though if , as pointed out above, travel a road less traveled.
It's getting bloody harder and harder throughout Indo these days though.
tworulesFriday, 10 Jul 2015 at 9:44am
we were there for that swell,invested some hard earnt bucks to get the best view of it all above impossibles,three days of pure surf stoke without a hassle,by the way snagged the wave of alife the week before. Bali
udoFriday, 10 Jul 2015 at 2:32pm
Feel for anyone trying to get to Denpasar , Virgin and Jetstar cancelled all flights due to volcano ash.
steamerFriday, 10 Jul 2015 at 3:37pm
Watching this video is exiting, frustrating, horrifying, sad, happy and even angering in a sour grapes kind of way. Fact 1: If I paddled out there I wouldn't get a wave and if I did I would be dropped in on. If I dropped in on a balo I would be abused and told to leave by a dog-pack mentality. Fact 2: Any one of those balos on this day would score tons of perfect barrels that they will forget next week and if I got one I would never forget it for the rest of my life. Fact 3: If it was me in their position I would do exactly the same thing as they are, take my 35th amazing barrel for the day while I watch the tourists struggle to get just one leftover crumb! That's human nature. Fact 4: You can still score awesome barrels throughout the world with a little more planning and effort, Bali is a great place to fly drones!
Eugene GreenFriday, 10 Jul 2015 at 9:26pm
Nah the Bukit is done. Don't go there.
Seriously though the locals aren't the problem. Pretty bloody tolerant considering.
The real frustration and danger are the high number of novice surfers that can barely paddle let along duck dive or control their board
thinking it's all cool to try and "surf" the reef breaks along the peninsula.
Meanwhile endless kilometres of beach breaks to the north, perfect for beginners, remain empty.
camlFriday, 10 Jul 2015 at 10:53pm
Ramai di bali
batfinkSaturday, 11 Jul 2015 at 8:32am
What a nightmare!
zenzenSunday, 12 Jul 2015 at 11:27am
Long over the Bukit and pretty sick of Bali all round. The Balos are not cool guys at all - they love the tourist dollars but are complete a**holes in the water - this extends to many other breaks as well. Then you have everyone else clogging up the lineups. It's definitely a surfing paradise lost and I will not be back. Too many better options elsewhere.
loose_lips_sink...Friday, 17 Jul 2015 at 12:23pm
"If I ever see a balo in my area or any where else I do my hardest to give them a very bad day. Its about time they realised you don't bite the hand that feeds them."
"The Balos are not cool guys at all - they love the tourist dollars but are complete a**holes in the water "
Not one to comment much,but I gotta say how well some (not all) Australian Surfers have such high level's of low level intelligence,intolerance & straight up racism towards Indonesia & the Balinese people as shown in the above comments...It's not far off from a person who pretends to be your friend and then starts calling you names as soon as you leave the room.
Thank god a few other comments balanced out the view points,but simply put-if your a visitor anywhere you must put in the time & earn the respect of the local pecking order in any fickle or consequential line up over the years to earn a set or 2 from the locals..What that video didn't show would of been the snaking,hassling etc that lead to the drop ins.
Its unfortunate to say,but over the years I have noticed a growing trend "entitlement" that again (not all,but a growing majority in my eyes) that certain Australian's display in Indonesian line-ups & in their day to day interaction with the people of Indonesia particularly in Bali & towards Indonesia's other visitor's too.
Many times I have laughed to myself at the ignorance of a crew of Australian's on their 2 week wave fest in the Mentawai's getting antsy when a crew of Brazilian's arrive to do the exact same thing...
Just remember Australian English & can sound and be just as loud as Portuguese to the ears of any other traveller enjoying Indonesia.Something to ponder next time for all of us next time we are fortunate enough to be in the archipelago be it 1 week,1 month,1 year or a decade.
goofyfootSaturday, 18 Jul 2015 at 8:18pm
loose_lips_sink_trips wrote:
"If I ever see a balo in my area or any where else I do my hardest to give them a very bad day. Its about time they realised you don't bite the hand that feeds them."
"The Balos are not cool guys at all - they love the tourist dollars but are complete a**holes in the water "
Not one to comment much,but I gotta say how well some (not all) Australian Surfers have such high level's of low level intelligence,intolerance & straight up racism towards Indonesia & the Balinese people as shown in the above comments...It's not far off from a person who pretends to be your friend and then starts calling you names as soon as you leave the room.
Thank god a few other comments balanced out the view points,but simply put-if your a visitor anywhere you must put in the time & earn the respect of the local pecking order in any fickle or consequential line up over the years to earn a set or 2 from the locals..What that video didn't show would of been the snaking,hassling etc that lead to the drop ins.
Its unfortunate to say,but over the years I have noticed a growing trend "entitlement" that again (not all,but a growing majority in my eyes) that certain Australian's display in Indonesian line-ups & in their day to day interaction with the people of Indonesia particularly in Bali & towards Indonesia's other visitor's too.
Many times I have laughed to myself at the ignorance of a crew of Australian's on their 2 week wave fest in the Mentawai's getting antsy when a crew of Brazilian's arrive to do the exact same thing...
Just remember Australian English & can sound and be just as loud as Portuguese to the ears of any other traveller enjoying Indonesia.Something to ponder next time for all of us next time we are fortunate enough to be in the archipelago be it 1 week,1 month,1 year or a decade.
That top quote from evosurfer doesn't surprise me one bit, hes actually already admitted to being a "bit" of a racist on these forums before. What a fucken flog of a thing to say. Ignorant ozzy tool
evosurferSunday, 19 Jul 2015 at 9:12am
goofy foot you ignorant prick just keep your stupid head stuck firmly up some
indos bum because you surely have a blind view. Only call it how it is.
goofyfootSunday, 19 Jul 2015 at 9:25am
So you hassle every indo guy you see out in the surf outside of indo because you get hassled when you surf in Bali?!
Yeah nice logic dickhead. Please don't breed, the world doesn't need more flogs like you in it
calmbutnotTuesday, 21 Jul 2015 at 11:03am
what ever happened to EXPLORING !
just came back from bali, surfed an excellent point with no one but 5 mates !
Sure the bukit is fun, but gees' there are so many sheep these days.
zenagainTuesday, 21 Jul 2015 at 11:29am
My younger bro solo's Bali all the time. Knows the island real well. He reckons he scores so many uncrowded waves by doing just that- exploring.
Comments
well there you go, just another reason not to go to Bali. Awesome waves and balinese locals only scoring all the barrels. I remember surfing those breaks in the seventies with just a few sunburnt mates in the water. it was a long trek in and still an adventure. and no hassles. I think I will just hang on to the memories
Agree with Kelvin S
some brutal and ugly drop ins in that video. Everyone burning for that photo op and moment of glory
sad
It's the big spoiler on the whole Bukit, has been for a while now I reckon, the constant blatant aggressive drop-ins by Indos. A complex issue that has developed over time no doubt but it still sucks......
I have been averaging one visit a year for 34 years
reckon the aggro/ burning in the water multiplies equal to the number of cameras rolling
Just returned from Bali and surfed 1 day in this swell at Padang. It works like this balos gets every wave in every set every time then if there is more waves in a set than balos the aussies, seppos,brazzos and every other clown on the planet fight for the leftovers if its a solid wave a paddling back out balo with just burn you no risk. Its worse than snapper.
I think its time for all the sponsors to tell balos if you want us supporting you its about time you show some respect to fellow surfers because im sure as hell sick of watching
stickers get every wave and more. Give me Hawaii any day its all respect.
If I ever see a balo in my area or any where else I do my hardest to give them a very bad day. Its about time they realised you don't bite the hand that feeds them.
"Its about time they realised you don't bite the hand that feeds them"
To be honest I don't think that localism like this will have a noticeable impact on the tourism industry in Bali. I'm jet to see an example of a spot like this with 60+ on a tight point break where the locals won't behave like this.... sad, yes but it ain't gonna change
Yep well put Evo. Think they will be shocked if/when they ever surf outside of Indo & not in a comp.......
That claim at the 4.00min mark is so cringeworthy
Sheesh.....again with the claiming..... Why is this always an issue? Have you ever been spat of something like that? (Yeh right) & if by some unrealistic chance you actually have, were you not moderately excited? Todays lesson..... Who can distinguish between a 'C.L.A.I.M' & ' E.X.C.I.T.E.M.E.N.T'? My God s##t up with the claiming garbage. Id do a backflip being launched out of that wave cuz i'm not self-concious & protective of my 'macho image' like some little insecure d#rks.
Been surfing for 45 years plus around the globe. Had a couple of days stopover in Bali so I could access the outer islands. My first visit. Thought I would catch a wave or two there in the meantime. Agro in the water was unreal, balos as well as other surfers. It sucks, never again!! My local beachie any day. I agree with all the previous comments
It is unfortunate but it seems to be the natural behavior locals get on with in crowded spots like Padang, probably not different to snapper, pipe, etc... even more so on a swell like this one where all the sponsored surfers will do anything for a shot....
I guess the normal travelling surfer looking for good waves will just have to avoid these and leave it to the locals and whatever "clown" keen to cope with the agro
I would have loved to see someone like Dingo getting burned here though....
Sure it must be hard to watch for the people that got to see this place back in the day but there is just no other way around it
Dunno seems worse than either.
Snapper is shitty but not *THAT* bad. (banzai) pipe is somewhat crowded* but great. Locals keep the place orderly but it still follows "rules" so you actually get waves as a blowin if you show respect.
*Better than GC Points / Noosa. Alex heads or Lennox is probably a fair crowd comparison YMMV.
Fair enough mate, I have only been to the GC once and never been to Hawai (and wouldn't get even close to going out at Pipe anyway) so my opinion is perhaps built on what you get to see on videos and the media... and what I have seen in Bali over the last 7 years since my first trip up there.
It is a shame that it has gone that way but with the amount of tourists it seems obvious that it was going to end up like that
Those funny little Bali 10 year old kids that used to cheer & clap every wave from the cliff
have now grown up to be 25 year old rippers with a very strong 'locals only' attitude.
You can't blame them after years of Aussie bogans coming over for 2weeks holiday and frothing on every ripple that moves. I praise myself on never dropping in. But my recent trip to Bali I was there for 10 days, I spent 9 days being patient & polite in the lineup waiting my turn, and got hardly any decent waves in the maddening crowds. On my last day I lost all patience and dropped in on every wave to get my share.
On the plane home, I vowed never to return.
Classic!! Yeah it's a bit like that....
Can everyone stop calling this the "swell of the decade". I chased this swell to NW WA and it was big (6 to 8ft with 10ft bombs every now and then) but had two swells up there in June last year of a similar size. The only difference was this swell last three rather than two days.
Bukit is an absolute basket case.
Agree to all, never surfed Padang as never really been firing but last time I surfed Ulu's vowed never again....too many wankers, too much attitude, too crowded. If your going surfing for the enjoyment of surfing don't go to the Bukit!
Heard lots of these stories over the years. I've never been back to Bali since '77. Still remember riding my bike through the rice paddy and climbing down the cliff to surf Uluwatu for the first time with another traveller from NSW. I never saw anyone else out there for 2 weeks. All dirt roads and innocence. How the world has changed. If you choose a women's weekly discovery one week tour then that's what you'll get. If you detach and take the time to explore the road less travelled there are still some great uncrowded surf spots in Indo that will remain positively etched in your memory..........
Is not about crowded waves its about general decency and respect. Its not
that hard to understand.
Rhys1983 I agree mate it wasn't the swell of the decade Ulus was bigger than 10ft
IMO on Sat,Sun but the hype surrounding this swell was over the top but in saying
that there were plenty of great waves for a few days that's for sure.
I saw padang as drove past was on. Not even going to watch vid. At any time over those 3 days there were at most 15 surfers at Ulu's. So there's no reason to complain and Sunday arvo Monday arvo you could have anywave you wanted. Heard even end section of Impossibles there were only 20 guys there. So it's not a massive problem when its bigger. Fark thats the same everywhere. I forgot my point. Oh forget it Padang its over
Don't think the comments above are referring to the Bukit when its huge, clearly less crowded on those huge days at Ulus. Not everyone is a big wave charger to that degree tho. Evo's account of Padang when it was solid sounded like a problem to me, but you were there too, so maybe it wasn't a problem.............
Yeh no doubt it was a good swell. That Kandui left footage is epic. I've only surfed it at 5ft and it was scary - so shallow. Cant imagine it at that size.
Haven't done the Bukit for over 10 years. It certainly looks like Paradise Lost.
Can still get reasonably uncrowded waves in Bali though if , as pointed out above, travel a road less traveled.
It's getting bloody harder and harder throughout Indo these days though.
we were there for that swell,invested some hard earnt bucks to get the best view of it all above impossibles,three days of pure surf stoke without a hassle,by the way snagged the wave of alife the week before. Bali
Feel for anyone trying to get to Denpasar , Virgin and Jetstar cancelled all flights due to volcano ash.
Watching this video is exiting, frustrating, horrifying, sad, happy and even angering in a sour grapes kind of way. Fact 1: If I paddled out there I wouldn't get a wave and if I did I would be dropped in on. If I dropped in on a balo I would be abused and told to leave by a dog-pack mentality. Fact 2: Any one of those balos on this day would score tons of perfect barrels that they will forget next week and if I got one I would never forget it for the rest of my life. Fact 3: If it was me in their position I would do exactly the same thing as they are, take my 35th amazing barrel for the day while I watch the tourists struggle to get just one leftover crumb! That's human nature. Fact 4: You can still score awesome barrels throughout the world with a little more planning and effort, Bali is a great place to fly drones!
Nah the Bukit is done. Don't go there.
Seriously though the locals aren't the problem. Pretty bloody tolerant considering.
The real frustration and danger are the high number of novice surfers that can barely paddle let along duck dive or control their board
thinking it's all cool to try and "surf" the reef breaks along the peninsula.
Meanwhile endless kilometres of beach breaks to the north, perfect for beginners, remain empty.
Ramai di bali
What a nightmare!
Long over the Bukit and pretty sick of Bali all round. The Balos are not cool guys at all - they love the tourist dollars but are complete a**holes in the water - this extends to many other breaks as well. Then you have everyone else clogging up the lineups. It's definitely a surfing paradise lost and I will not be back. Too many better options elsewhere.
"If I ever see a balo in my area or any where else I do my hardest to give them a very bad day. Its about time they realised you don't bite the hand that feeds them."
"The Balos are not cool guys at all - they love the tourist dollars but are complete a**holes in the water "
Not one to comment much,but I gotta say how well some (not all) Australian Surfers have such high level's of low level intelligence,intolerance & straight up racism towards Indonesia & the Balinese people as shown in the above comments...It's not far off from a person who pretends to be your friend and then starts calling you names as soon as you leave the room.
Thank god a few other comments balanced out the view points,but simply put-if your a visitor anywhere you must put in the time & earn the respect of the local pecking order in any fickle or consequential line up over the years to earn a set or 2 from the locals..What that video didn't show would of been the snaking,hassling etc that lead to the drop ins.
Its unfortunate to say,but over the years I have noticed a growing trend "entitlement" that again (not all,but a growing majority in my eyes) that certain Australian's display in Indonesian line-ups & in their day to day interaction with the people of Indonesia particularly in Bali & towards Indonesia's other visitor's too.
Many times I have laughed to myself at the ignorance of a crew of Australian's on their 2 week wave fest in the Mentawai's getting antsy when a crew of Brazilian's arrive to do the exact same thing...
Just remember Australian English & can sound and be just as loud as Portuguese to the ears of any other traveller enjoying Indonesia.Something to ponder next time for all of us next time we are fortunate enough to be in the archipelago be it 1 week,1 month,1 year or a decade.
That top quote from evosurfer doesn't surprise me one bit, hes actually already admitted to being a "bit" of a racist on these forums before. What a fucken flog of a thing to say. Ignorant ozzy tool
goofy foot you ignorant prick just keep your stupid head stuck firmly up some
indos bum because you surely have a blind view. Only call it how it is.
So you hassle every indo guy you see out in the surf outside of indo because you get hassled when you surf in Bali?!
Yeah nice logic dickhead. Please don't breed, the world doesn't need more flogs like you in it
what ever happened to EXPLORING !
just came back from bali, surfed an excellent point with no one but 5 mates !
Sure the bukit is fun, but gees' there are so many sheep these days.
My younger bro solo's Bali all the time. Knows the island real well. He reckons he scores so many uncrowded waves by doing just that- exploring.