I love Bali

Blowin's picture
Blowin started the topic in Thursday, 19 Mar 2015 at 6:55pm

I love Bali.

You wouldn't think that such a thought could be controversial . But it is.
Many people don't love Bali, in fact they proclaim to hate it. Bemoan what it has become, it's lack of purity, it's lost innocence.

Sure, I can see their point. I can't imagine anywhere on Earth that has been transformed as radically as Bali over the last thirty years. From rice paddies and coconut groves to six story discotheques . It's totally unrecognisable in the most built up areas.

But that's not what this post is about. It's about why I LOVE Bali.

I love Bali because ...

- it's still the home of an intense cluster of world class waves. Roping lefts : Uluwatu, freight train right barrels : Sanur, backlit mega tubes : Padang Padang. Rip able reefs, fun beachies. Short , slabby pits and long mellow points. River mouths and bombies. It's got the lot.

- it's still possible to get uncrowded quality waves in 2015 when it seems as though the entire planet has discovered surfing. I was trading crystal clear , rolling right walls with only two other surfers just this morning.

- it's still freaking beautiful. Watching the mist reveal Mt Agung in that unique Bali morning light from a black sand beach as the sun comes up is still special.

- the food is amazing. Walking around town building up a hunger and knowing that at any given time you are within shouting distance of fresh, exotic and delicious meals with enough variety to make your head spin is priceless.

- the Balinese are legends. Friendly, happy and always keen for a joke. Unfailingly polite and welcoming. Healthy, spiritual and decent.

- the Balinese surfers rip their waves and they still own them. A visiting Brazilian would not think twice to drop in on an Aussie local at Kirra. But you won't see the same in Bali. The Balinese surfers are treated with the respect they deserve. Because as everyone knows, if they are not treated with respect there is consequences.

- the water is so warm it's like swimming in silken angels tears.

- telling people that you are going to Bali will often elicit a response along the lines of ......"why would you go to that traffic ridden, noisy shithole ?" And then as you're kicking back with a Bintang watching the sunset over Uluwatu you can imagine them sitting at lights in their car on their way home from work in Perth. Which , for those that have never been , is a noisy , traffic ridden shithole. And this makes me laugh. Which is something I enjoy doing.

- The fruit is incredible.

- despite the millions of tourists, the fast food franchises and the Aussie over familiarity with the joint it's still exotic. The smell of clove cigarettes, the ogo ogos of Nyepi, the Buddhist offerings , monkeys , food and language are all enticingly foreign.

- there is no overreaching nanny state. You want to ride your motorbike with all four of your children and the missus on the back...whilst texting. Go for it.

- you can live like a king on a regular Aussie income. Maybe not such a great benefit for the Balinese themselves though.

- it's close to Oz. Twenty hour plane ride and a shot at developing deep vein thrombosis.....ummm no thanks. It's actually faster to fly to Bali from Perth than it is to drive to Albany. You can fly from Port Hedland in less than two hours.

- you get an opportunity to regularly witness some of the most foolhardy behaviour imaginable on a daily basis. You ever seen a man being doubled on a motorbike through traffic whilst holding a large pane of glass ? What about seeing someone hold a nail between his bare fingers while his mate tries to grind the tip off it ? It's all there folks.

- you can see people making do with not much and making it work. An exhaust system held on with a T Shirt ? An outboard motor attached to a boat with no anchoring system, just held on with a man's brute force ? Why not ? It might not work forever but it'll usually get em over the line.

- the winds can blow offshore for months at a time and when they blow onshore, well , that just makes it offshore somewhere else. It's an island !

- you haven't seen glassy oceanic conditions till you've seen Indonesian sheet glass. It's like an oil slick. And if you're ever near Benoa Harbour that could well be what it is.

- old people are accorded the respect they deserve.

- it's exciting. It's a melting pot of the world. Wide eyed villages from remote Asia, jaded techno princesses from Russia, sleek surfy chicks from Canada , your next door neighbour from Ipswich....it's a party and everyone is invited.

Including YOU. I'll see you there. You can't miss me.

I'll be the sun burnt drunk in a head to toe Bintang ensemble with hair braids and a fresh tattoo of a unicorn across my back . Don't be shy. Come and say hello.

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Supafreak Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 10:03pm
blackers wrote:

Wowsa, sank the pontoons? Big swell.

Yeah sunk 2 , that smaller one in the video is on the bottom now , bit of damage to buildings on the shore last night .

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Jelly Flater Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 11:17pm

…not quite an ‘I love Bali’ kind of rinse

https://m.

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Supafreak Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 10:27am

I can imagine it would have been pretty big up that way , tragic news for the family . https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-18/australian-craig-laidley-missing-...

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andy-mac Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 11:13am
Supafreak wrote:

I can imagine it would have been pretty big up that way , tragic news for the family . https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-18/australian-craig-laidley-missing-...

Horrible news.

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basesix Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 11:36am

having trouble with gofundme accepting a donation, anyone else?
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-11-year-old-boy-franklin-laowos-path-...
(it just thinks about it, three dots dotting, left it to it while I had a shower, still nothing..)

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udo Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 1:03pm

?si=3k877fa-6cCMPv_C

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Bnkref Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 1:43pm

Thanks Supa for your note yesterday. Appreciate your intel.

I know of that spot from reading about it here. Haven't been to NL since about 2015. Never saw it in a big swell so it's pretty crazy seeing those shots.

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seeds Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 3:30pm
andy-mac wrote:
Supafreak wrote:

I can imagine it would have been pretty big up that way , tragic news for the family . https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-18/australian-craig-laidley-missing-...

Horrible news.

They found him this morning. Tragic

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andy-mac Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 6:43pm
seeds wrote:
andy-mac wrote:
Supafreak wrote:

I can imagine it would have been pretty big up that way , tragic news for the family . https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-18/australian-craig-laidley-missing-...

Horrible news.

They found him this morning. Tragic

Yeah, ultimate sacrifice for saving a life...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/18/australian-craig-laidley-b...

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basesix Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 1:26pm

day 2 liga - nasteeee, nice to meet yoooo


shampoo-shampoo ulu-waaaatuuu

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Supafreak Sunday, 20 Oct 2024 at 2:18pm
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Supafreak Friday, 25 Oct 2024 at 11:13am

Nusa penida on the last swell , fark those 2 people walking up top were lucky not to get washed in .

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velocityjohnno Friday, 25 Oct 2024 at 5:54pm

Darwin works in mysterious ways, Supa!

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Supafreak Friday, 25 Oct 2024 at 7:45pm
velocityjohnno wrote:

Darwin works in mysterious ways, Supa!

Reading through the comments , someone may have been washed off a cliff further around. The pontoon on Lembongan that sunk had a french girl on it , she was watching her boyfriend out at muntigs . When the pontoon got rolled she was underneath it for a while , she surfs and managed to swim out and save herself . It was about a 10 wave set .

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Supafreak Thursday, 31 Oct 2024 at 10:23am

The rains arrived , a few scuds on NL but looking over to Bali it appears to be pissing down . Much needed on NL as pretty dry . Someone filmed an excavator splilling some limestone into the ocean here a month ago . The bule builder wasn’t on site but he’s now in a world of pain with fines and such , watching the excavators at ulu’s freely dumping limestone into the ocean below is criminal, different rules depending on who and how much $ is backing you .

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Supafreak Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 12:15pm

I’m in Kuta for a few days getting the teeth remodelled. Kuta hasn’t fully recovered since covid and even the KFC & McDonalds at the beach end of poppies 1 closed shop . Only maybe 50% of shops in P1 have reopened but construction is now ramping up in the area . Kuta will, many locals believe , bounce back . The expansion of Canggu and further up the coast will only go so far and it appears investment is cranking up in the kuta , tuban area . These photos are in poppies 1 in front of Kuta townhouse’s where many Perth people got burnt from investing with a shonky Australian . It’s so different watching construction in indo these days with the ‘ safety ‘ on site notices . This joint is huge . One thing about the decline in tourism around kuta is prices for accommodation have dropped . Staying at Masa inn for walk up price of 350,000rp a night including a really good breakfast . Plenty of older Aussie bogans still supporting the area . IMG-9352
IMG-9351
IMG-9350

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Island Bay Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 1:46pm

Selamat pagi Dokterrrrr Gigi!

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Supafreak Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 1:51pm

Gotta give this Lady a 5 star review , best dentist I’ve had . https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=0ba5b4315e0bd468&hl=...

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goofyfoot Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 2:23pm

Show us the new chompers supa!

Like Leigh Matthew’s when he first had his done.

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Supafreak Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 2:35pm
goofyfoot wrote:

Show us the new chompers supa!

Like Leigh Matthew’s when he first had his done.

Now in my defence the camera adds 10 pounds ( apparently ) and yes I know the last time ya saw a head like that it had a hook in its mouth. Currently sitting in Made’s warung about to tuck into a nasi campur special. IMG-9358. IMG-9359

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Jelly Flater Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 2:40pm

- fark !
… slick rick ;)

(sleek freak)

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Jelly Flater Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 2:43pm

… and since supa romper chomper has skin in the game ;)
- time for a make teeth healthy again tribute haha

https://m.

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Jelly Flater Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 2:48pm

https://m.

&pp=ygUTQXVzIG56IHN1cmYgYXJjaGl2ZQ%3D%3D

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Island Bay Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 4:11pm

Good chompers, Supie!

And that Campur looks delicious.

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Roadkill Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 4:24pm

I bet the dental work was 80% cheaper than in Aus.

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seeds Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 4:31pm

Holy shit it’s the blue wiggle
Noice one supa! Money well spent!

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basesix Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 5:08pm

wooah, @Supa, must be a pain being that good looking..
(only seen distant pics of you getting pitted before).
enjoy your pearly choppers! got the nettle pepper-fox plumage, to boot!

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goofyfoot Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 5:14pm
Supafreak wrote:
goofyfoot wrote:

Show us the new chompers supa!

Like Leigh Matthew’s when he first had his done.

Now in my defence the camera adds 10 pounds ( apparently ) and yes I know the last time ya saw a head like that it had a hook in its mouth. Currently sitting in Made’s warung about to tuck into a nasi campur special. IMG-9358. IMG-9359

Bloody bagus!

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blackers Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 5:44pm
seeds wrote:

Holy shit it’s the blue wiggle
Noice one supa! Money well spent!

Genius. And yes, it looks like a great job has been done. Enjoy.

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Supafreak Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 6:40pm

You blokes are too kind , I was expecting to cop a lot of crap for the sunny’s .

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AlfredWallace Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 6:58pm
Supafreak wrote:

You blokes are too kind , I was expecting to cop a lot of crap for the sunny’s .

For a moment there I thought I was looking at Gary ‘Kong’ Elkerton, soon realised it’s actually ‘ Romper Chomper’ from an early 1992 film in suburban Melbourne about a neo-nazi gang. AW

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indo-dreaming Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 6:58pm

Yeah Kong, with a very good set of teeth and a nice Indo feed.

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AlfredWallace Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 7:07pm
indo-dreaming wrote:

Yeah Kong, with a very good set of teeth and a nice Indo feed.

Indo. Hi.

Did you buy the Bottle Tree/s ? . AW

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goofyfoot Tuesday, 5 Nov 2024 at 7:25pm
Supafreak wrote:

You blokes are too kind , I was expecting to cop a lot of crap for the sunny’s .

What sunnies?

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southernraw Friday, 8 Nov 2024 at 7:30pm

Yeah Supa!!
Legend mate.

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Roystein Saturday, 9 Nov 2024 at 2:40pm

Asking for a mate.
Transport options from Lakeys to YoYos? Anyone done it?

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Dumai Saturday, 9 Nov 2024 at 5:00pm

Hey Roy,Haven’t been down there for maybe 20 years.What’s it like these days ? Used to catch buses across Sumbawa ,there was a bus malam left Dompu about 9 pm from memory.
Cheers mate

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Supafreak Saturday, 9 Nov 2024 at 5:31pm
Roystein wrote:

Asking for a mate.
Transport options from Lakeys to YoYos? Anyone done it?

I haven’t done it but did meet 7 guys on separate occasions that were doing all the main islands from Bali to Sumba . 3 individuals travelling solo on bikes they had purchased and 1 that had driven his own car from Bali . Another 3 guys had hired 2 bikes in eastern sumba airport and toured around and dropped them in west sumba airport . I would imagine that these days you could do the same in sumbawa ( east to west airport) just a matter of enquiring online for rentals . Booking ferries in advance was a must if you want to island hop, just rocking up didn’t always work, the guy in the car found that out the hard way . Flights are cheap but boards are expensive. Ferries run to a schedule so you really need to plan in advance . We hired car and driver in sumba and for the distance and time it was pretty cheap going from A to B . Island hopping by car on ferries can become quite expensive and time consuming but if you have the time and money why not . You could do lakeys to yoyos by road but not sure how much the roads have improved. Indonesia government has spent up improving roads in sumba and rote but haven’t been to sumbawa for years. Petrol for the good stuff is $1.30 litre the lite is $1.00 . If you’re strapped for time flying would be the go but again boards are expensive , you still have a few hours drive from both airports . Good luck.

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Roystein Sunday, 10 Nov 2024 at 2:56pm

Thanks for the info Supa and Dumai. That info reflects my thoughts and info Supa, I’m guessing Car and driver possible but I reckon it will cost akeh jinah. If it were me I’d be aiming for a motorbike and flexible itinerary. Mate will be flying into Bima.

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Supafreak Sunday, 10 Nov 2024 at 4:07pm
Roystein wrote:

Thanks for the info Supa and Dumai. That info reflects my thoughts and info Supa, I’m guessing Car and driver possible but I reckon it will cost akeh jinah. If it were me I’d be aiming for a motorbike and flexible itinerary. Mate will be flying into Bima.

Got a car with driver, really nice toyota dual cab with big wheels, our trip was 4 hours over 150 klms , last 50 klms took longer than the first 100 , it was 1.5 million rp between 3 of us , on your own would have been 1 million . I’m sure you know the guys at Bima can be pretty nasty .

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Dumai Tuesday, 12 Nov 2024 at 5:36pm

No worries Roy.Yeh I don’t think many crew get on the buses anymore.Sfreaks option probably better.Long time ago ,times changed.
Cheers

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indo-dreaming Tuesday, 12 Nov 2024 at 5:43pm

@Dumai

Is your name taken from the place in Sumatra?

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Joshy2000 Wednesday, 13 Nov 2024 at 11:21am

I’m trying to get tourist visa for Bali now, headed there next week, but link from smart traveller to e visa application is only giving me option for 60 day visa costing 1 500 000 IDR. Does this sound right? I thought it was 30 days, I’m only going for a week. Thanks in advance for anyone responding.

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burleigh Wednesday, 13 Nov 2024 at 11:24am
Joshy2000 wrote:

I’m trying to get tourist visa for Bali now, headed there next week, but link from smart traveller to e visa application is only giving me option for 60 day visa costing 1 500 000 IDR. Does this sound right? I thought it was 30 days, I’m only going for a week. Thanks in advance for anyone responding.

Just get one when you arrive. You'll have to wait for your boards if you choose the faster E-visa option anyway.

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Joshy2000 Wednesday, 13 Nov 2024 at 11:35am

Cheers Burleigh, I was going to ask if it’s easy enough on arrival, I’ll just do that.

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seaslug Wednesday, 13 Nov 2024 at 12:02pm

Keep your eye on flights Joshy, volcano

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Joshy2000 Wednesday, 13 Nov 2024 at 12:12pm

Yeah Seaslug meant to be flying out next Wednesday so hopefully all clear by then. Bit nervous though when I heard that.

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Dumai Wednesday, 13 Nov 2024 at 3:38pm
indo-dreaming wrote:

@Dumai

Is your name taken from the place in Sumatra?

Yeh Indo you got me.Beautiful ,tropical Dumai.I know the area well.lol