I love Bali
udo wrote:https://thebalisun.com/bali-police-target-drivers-wearing-flip-flops-ove...
Meanwhile no mention of texting while riding or driving , something that causes plenty of near misses and accidents. Tourists will be an easy target with the flip flops being the common choice when riding a bike . I was in Denpasar the other day doing a visa extension and noticed plenty of locals smoking and wearing flip flops while riding. Another thing I’ve noticed is not so many police at intersections on the Kuta to sanur stretch. Tourism is getting bigger everyday on lembongan, families starting to rock up and more places opening, all with discount price wars . Heaps of trendy euros living on lembongan, man buns rule but are a bit scarce when it’s over 4ft.
How's the crowds at Lembongan Supa? It's pretty busy on the Bukit. Lots of hipsters and man buns here too I'm afraid. Too many for my liking but it is what it is. Coworking spaces/cafes/gyms being built around bingin too. Weird mix of urban decay in some areas and boom times in other areas. The burning rubbish sucks pretty bad as well, I haven't smelt it since being in fucking Afghanistan, go figure.
Also it's weird to be in a bonafide global surf town with no weed. It has a pub with no beer vibe. I couldn't see myself living here but with the tourism increasing, I don't think they'd miss a tight arse Aussie.
juegasiempre wrote:How's the crowds at Lembongan Supa? It's pretty busy on the Bukit. Lots of hipsters and man buns here too I'm afraid. Too many for my liking but it is what it is. Coworking spaces/cafes/gyms being built around bingin too. Weird mix of urban decay in some areas and boom times in other areas. The burning rubbish sucks pretty bad as well, I haven't smelt it since being in fucking Afghanistan, go figure.
Also it's weird to be in a bonafide global surf town with no weed. It has a pub with no beer vibe. I couldn't see myself living here but with the tourism increasing, I don't think they'd miss a tight arse Aussie.
First Indo trip?
goofyfoot wrote:juegasiempre wrote:How's the crowds at Lembongan Supa? It's pretty busy on the Bukit. Lots of hipsters and man buns here too I'm afraid. Too many for my liking but it is what it is. Coworking spaces/cafes/gyms being built around bingin too. Weird mix of urban decay in some areas and boom times in other areas. The burning rubbish sucks pretty bad as well, I haven't smelt it since being in fucking Afghanistan, go figure.
Also it's weird to be in a bonafide global surf town with no weed. It has a pub with no beer vibe. I couldn't see myself living here but with the tourism increasing, I don't think they'd miss a tight arse Aussie.
First Indo trip?
Yep. Was using this 2 month trip to see if I wanted to return on a 6 month visa for the wet season in East Bali or Lombok but at this stage it's not for me. Not hating, it's just not for me so far. That said, I'm pumped to be travelling again and when I get home I'm selling up, getting a long-term visa and moving to central America. That's more my scene.
juegasiempre wrote:How's the crowds at Lembongan Supa? It's pretty busy on the Bukit. Lots of hipsters and man buns here too I'm afraid. Too many for my liking but it is what it is. Coworking spaces/cafes/gyms being built around bingin too. Weird mix of urban decay in some areas and boom times in other areas. The burning rubbish sucks pretty bad as well, I haven't smelt it since being in fucking Afghanistan, go figure.
Also it's weird to be in a bonafide global surf town with no weed. It has a pub with no beer vibe. I couldn't see myself living here but with the tourism increasing, I don't think they'd miss a tight arse Aussie.
It’s crowded here when (1-3ft )head high and under , 20-30 out at shipwrecks, once it starts pulsing and overhead with tide running out most surfs have been 6 -8 guys and had a few sessions with 1 other or just me . Had lassos ok with 3 others a bit overhead but not classic conditions. Looks like a bump in the swell tomorrow and the 3rd July might be good. It’s not as consistent here as ulu’s where you have waves all day. The tides play a big roll here and it can be flat in the morning then 3 hours later its 4-6 ft . It’s only a B grade wave at shipwrecks, lassos is an A grade when it’s on but is extremely fickle. Most of the euros are fairly laid back and haven’t had any hassles , they don’t really want the sets and once a few overhead sets roll through they go in . There’s probably more beginners in the surf schools than anyone else and they just hang out in the white water at razors or lassos.
Supafreak wrote:juegasiempre wrote:How's the crowds at Lembongan Supa? It's pretty busy on the Bukit. Lots of hipsters and man buns here too I'm afraid. Too many for my liking but it is what it is. Coworking spaces/cafes/gyms being built around bingin too. Weird mix of urban decay in some areas and boom times in other areas. The burning rubbish sucks pretty bad as well, I haven't smelt it since being in fucking Afghanistan, go figure.
Also it's weird to be in a bonafide global surf town with no weed. It has a pub with no beer vibe. I couldn't see myself living here but with the tourism increasing, I don't think they'd miss a tight arse Aussie.
It’s crowded here when (1-3ft )head high and under , 20-30 out at shipwrecks, once it starts pulsing and overhead with tide running out most surfs have been 6 -8 guys and had a few sessions with 1 other or just me . Had lassos ok with 3 others a bit overhead but not classic conditions. Looks like a bump in the swell tomorrow and the 3rd July might be good. It’s not as consistent here as ulu’s where you have waves all day. The tides play a big roll here and it can be flat in the morning then 3 hours later its 4-6 ft . It’s only a B grade wave at shipwrecks, lassos is an A grade when it’s on but is extremely fickle. Most of the euros are fairly laid back and haven’t had any hassles , they don’t really want the sets and once a few overhead sets roll through they go in . There’s probably more beginners in the surf schools than anyone else and they just hang out in the white water at razors or lassos.
yeah that barrel at lassos!....
I met a dutch bloke at a warung in lembongan and he mentioned that he and his wife and 2 year old got covid in ubud . He was double vaccinated with Pfizer , 35 yo and looked in good health but was a smoker. He said it hit him and his wife pretty hard and was very sick for 2 days then came good after about a week. Besides this case I haven’t come across anyone else that has even mentioned covid. Dengue, Singapore flu , hand foot and mouth disease ( children ) are running rampant however . My daughter copped the flu but thankfully has dogged dengue so far . I put a natural mosquito repellent on her dusk and dawn .
Supafreak wrote:I met a dutch bloke at a warung in lembongan and he mentioned that he and his wife and 2 year old got covid in ubud . He was double vaccinated with Pfizer , 35 yo and looked in good health but was a smoker. He said it hit him and his wife pretty hard and was very sick for 2 days then came good after about a week. Besides this case I haven’t come across anyone else that has even mentioned covid. Dengue, Singapore flu , hand foot and mouth disease ( children ) are running rampant however . My daughter copped the flu but thankfully has dogged dengue so far . I put a natural mosquito repellent on her dusk and dawn .
Normally when you’re on holiday you don’t watch the news, and when you don’t watch the news majority of the world “issues” disappear
The weather is still all over the shop , blowing WNW and raining in late june and flat is just plain weird, more like late January. 
Big swell on its way Supa
Supafreak wrote:. My daughter copped the flu but thankfully has dogged dengue so far . I put a natural mosquito repellent on her dusk and dawn .
The last place i stayed at for five months (besides my mates new mansion for a month) was a studio Kos only costing 500 000 rupiah a month with a sit down toilet and gather your own water from the well type place. No AC just a fan that i paid for and two mattresses as furniture, a tv and dvd and thats about all.
every day i had to hold my breath and spray all rooms and bathroom with fly/insect spray to kill all the mossies.
Mossies hate fans and wind so i would keep fans on at night but i still caught dengue fever as i didnt have a mossie net and my hangout near supersuck was next to a dirty swamp. Id hang there with locals and bule every day pretty much so i m not surprised i caught dengue, just thank jeebus i never caught Malaria. With dengue my bones would all hurt just laying in bed and no chance of a motorbike ride to get food or check the surf.
Supafreak wrote:The weather is still all over the shop , blowing WNW and raining in late june and flat is just plain weird, more like late January.
Shit can't believe its still like that, that far east, Java was wet and stormy and Sumatra where im now has been non stop storms and west winds.
Still think its actually cooler in temp everywhere I've been in Indo this year though not hotter, its even cold out here at times rain and winds keeping temp down, water temp feels just same as most years.
Yes indo d , it doesn’t feel any hotter, cooler if anything. Up in mentawi though the water was really warm , almost uncomfortable warm . The water temp on lembongan is warmer than usual and the cold patches are a welcome relief. It’s the first flat spell I’ve copped so far , can’t complain and it’s giving my aching muscles a break . Swell coming and early July looks good. No doubt the swell magnets in Bali would have a wave today, there’s always somewhere to surf .
Hotel K before development went mad . 
Real small in Plengkung today, so decided to keep my ear dry and instead went into the park to look at temples and water buffalos and monkeys. Very good waves a few days back with an uptick tomoz and a more serious one after that. Just extended my stay.
Ear infection Stu?
How are the crowds?
East Java forecast..
Let us know how accurate the models are
It's pretty bang on GF.
Yeah I've found it to be decent for past trips. Have the trades kicked in Stu?
Craig wrote:It's pretty bang on GF.
Lovely Craigos
Broken eardrum. Sealing it up with Blu Tac and wearing a 30-year old first-gen Gath helmet, but it does weird things when I wipeout or hit my head. Can feel things down the back of my throat and up in my sinus. Got a course of antibiotics at the ready, just in case.
Trades every day. In fact, first few days trades were blowing from first light so it was offshore all day.
Not many people around. Camps seem around half full, though that can change pretty quickly.
Bit of excitement about what's on the way.
A broken eardrum Stu can be deadly i hate to say it since you've just arrived a few days ago but dont surf with a broken eardrum. My brother who you met, almost drowned in two foot deep water not being able to find his way up.this happened in small surf from memory too, not the 14 meter swells he is known for.
Perhaps Dr Phil Chapman is there at the moment, he might know more about it. Im pretty sure he's there now and it was his birthday yesterday, so you know....
Can I ask about new board sales on the island now days. Just read in tracks about Pyzel boards on sale in BGS shops on Bukit. Pre covid there was arguments for and against due to quality of materials used (not craftsmanship etc.). Always loved going to Naruki surf for a board and had no problem.
Thanks ....
Tracks…..lololol
Is that still a thing?
You got tides suitable for speedies Stu with this swell coming?
goofyfoot wrote:You got tides suitable for speedies Stu with this swell coming?
Aye. 9am today, 2.3, so Sunday around midday and a bit higher.
Not South enough though...be pumping Moneys but...12th onwards looks good
Def a swimming Cap to protect that Eardrum Stu.
2nd that Udo, blue tac, swimming cap, helmet, dry after every surf with small hairdryer if possible and something like precautionary ciprofloxacin drops (you shouldn't but it works). Extra couple of litres of water since your head will get hotter than normal :)
Walked to the keyhole with Mark from Nobby at Newy, he did his eardrum first day. Had plugs in. Missed few days, lots of discharge etc but got on a course of Doxy and is surfing again. Even charged through the last big swell.
Mines more a pain in the arse than anything: can't hear shit, helmet sucks, but I've got a course of Doxy if water gets in and infects.
Lotta injuries. Jim Ledbetter lasted 30 mins in first surf - 14 stitches in sole of foot, home today - another guy blew open the sole of his foot landing hard on it first day. Also gone home. Doc been busy with sutures.
Just looked at waves. 5' and very consistent. Looked good, will get better with tide. Offshore already on it at 7am. 3 out.
Some crew concerned about angle of next swell, some excited by it, some couldn't give a fuck about direction.
Yeah, went and had a squiz. Different crew. Two days back, out Moneys, small, inconsistent, and three hotties floating about, at one stage they joined hands and did the worm thing with their joined arms, and then a seated version of the Fortnite dance, and I thought to myself, 'fuck, surfing's changed'.
Opened in 2019, it comprises half a dozen chic safari-style tents, all outfitted with mosquito-netted poster beds, outdoor swing chairs, and en-suite bathrooms. According to Matt Rumley, the Australian owner, it’s still very much a work in progress thanks to coronavirus-related delays. But more tents will be added in the months ahead, along with a swimming pool, lobby, and a gazebo beach bar. By the time the World Surf League’s championship circuit returns to G-Land in June 2022, he expects to have completed a 300-square-meter tented restaurant and a small spa.
And Critta Byrne a part owner ?
stunet wrote:Yeah, went and had a squiz. Different crew. Two days back, out Moneys, small, inconsistent, and three hotties floating about, at one stage they joined hands and did the worm thing with their joined arms, and then a seated version of the Fortnite dance, and I thought to myself, 'fuck, surfing's changed'.
This is incredible
Love it Eco Glam Tent developments in National Parks.....
Few fun ones yesterday west winds finally swung SE for a few days and rain and storms stopped for now
Just tried to get a flight to Bali for incoming swell cant get on a flight until 16.7.2022
and thats a maybe. Owell I would probably drown.
Staff just told us 20 Ruskis came in, filling JJ camp and all of them headed straight to Tiger Tracks. Good news. Morning session Moneys into Speedies was sick.
just dont mention the war ......
stunet wrote:Staff just told us 20 Ruskis came in, filling JJ camp and all of them headed straight to Tiger Tracks. Good news. Morning session Moneys into Speedies was sick.
You lucky, lucky bastard
Moneys, not Russkis.
Is tiger tracks actually worth walking to for a goofyfoot? or just the only right besides 20/20's rights?
In all the trips to g-land I’ve never been down to tiger tracks chickens or 20/20’s..
are they good waves? Not really what you go there for is it
When the swells 15 foot at moneytrees and west swell chickens is an unreal wave, lowtide or hightide super long, way longer than money trees but fickle. i only surfed in for three days on a maxing swell in 97...would suit a fish or mini simmons as you need to drive down the line a lot, long sections of closeouts to go around and back onto the wave.
20/20's lefts is also a really good small wave pointbreak. doesnt get much bigger than two to three foot but you can get the odd head dip or tube and long walls and carves..i wish we had a wave like that here to warm up on before hitting the harder than it looks Jakes point.
20/20 rights is a small short tube ride...saw some guy getting shacked there pigdog with style in barrels i thought i wouldnt fit into on my lid. only seen it good once.
thanks groundy, you know your stuff. how old are you if you don't mind me asking?
TT is fun but you wouldn’t travel all that way just to surf there.
no probs gf im 44. missed a lot of seasons in indo between 99 and 2006 paying off a car i got snaked into buying from a creepy smooth car salesman...i went in wanting to buy a $3000 suburu station wagon 4wd and got suckered into buying a $16000 4wd...however had many surf trips in that car which made it worth it.(once went through a 4wd park near a secret spot after floods and the usual track was 1.5m deep, once i started going in there was no turning back and waves were washing over my windscreen. i didnt even have a snorkel. car never went the same after that but i didnt get bogged.
7 years is a long time to be out of action groundy for a car, were you high when you signed the contract?
haha i dont remember whether i had a bender beforehand but when i was signing the contract i had a bad feeling and was thinking about not signing until the hotty behind the desk started rubbing her feet up and down my legs with her feet.
I scored so many south coast secrets though before they started to get on films and getting crowded so it was well worth it. Also a lot of empty to five peoples a crowd days at perfect four foot aussie pipe...days where nobody drops in and everyone waits there turn.
These days, well last time i surfed it the drop ins and lack of respect to good surfers or ex-pros getting dropped in on by kooky bodyboarders made me sick.
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.