I love Bali
Yep, looks like east cost is it.
Can you still get a boat to Serangan?
Yep
From ND or south end Sanur Udo?
Sanur or Serangan village - Supafreak ?
First few Seconds
udo wrote:Sanur or Serangan village - Supafreak ?
First few Seconds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8dTXNDxUiY
Cant help you as I haven’t surfed there since they blocked the land access. No doubt you can get a boat from either sanur or serangen village . I used to get a boat out to hyat reef, the guys that work that area are good blokes. Pretty fucked the whole history of serangen with tommy doing what he did . An Australian friend married to a local had land there until one day tommy told them he was buying there land and this is how much he was paying them , not much they could do about it .
Is Transurban cold soliciting a toll way to the government,, getting approval rubber stamped and compulsory acquisition of the homes in the way any different?
DudeSweetDudeSweet wrote:Rose coloured glasses are truly an amazing thing. I sometimes watch these Bali taxi tour updates on YouTube as he cruises the familiar streets that almost feel like home. Such incredible memories. The strange thing is the power nostalgia grants you to overlook reality. Watching this particular video of an area of Bali that I truly love, and in which have spent much time, it’s shocking to see how ghetto it’s become. The graffiti is shocking. I get that lack of income has lead to a degree of dereliction but it looks shite. I’m still aching to return. Some might say that Kuta was always an ugly bogan joint but I love the lack of pretentiousness and the local faces. Much prefer it to the wank fest of Canggu and Seminyak.
Just hearing the Balo taxi driver ramble on with the music tinkering away in the background is like Bali porn.
I pretty much walked that route the other month from JL Melasti down JL Benasari to Poppies 2, looks like more places open now, was looking even more ghetto than normal though especially down near warung 96 which was sad to see as it use to rock down there late 90s early 00's
Enjoyed a few days each end of my trip with family in Bali nice to just eat out and relax and just have a bintang or two and watch life go on by.
Personally i dont bother surfing in Bali though havent been to Bukit or Canggu for 17 years too much of a shit show tourist, expats. locals, if i was going to surf there id be looking for waves rarely talked about but i kind of feel like I'm wasting my Indo time as things are changing so fast elsewhere too so got to make the most of it.
Bordlab visit. So many unreal Dylan Longbottom and M Bourton guns. Very reasonable too. Fun!
Prices ...?
About $1000-1100 for a 10’ Chumbo. Beast! Shorter guns less. And they said “we give discount!”
Disclaimer: NOT buying a 10’ gun :-)
And there was a beautiful opaque cream Rusty fish with finboxes way back (my preference). $600
Winds have been surprisingly good on the west coast of the Bukit.
Had a very pleasant early at 2ft Bingin today. 10 waves before 6am, including a clean barrel. Redeemed myself after yesterday’s kook outing.
Max crowd 4 people, taking turns nicely and chatting between waves. Surfing as it should be.
Grateful.
udo wrote:https://thebalisun.com/renters-in-bali-experiencing-shock-as-house-price...
https://thebalisun.com/bali-launches-10-year-second-home-visa-for-entrep...
bali is fast becoming a version of australia... where local people are getting totally priced out of their own housing (homing) market by wealtthy blowins
good for the fat cats maybe... but...
the locals are appearing more and more bitter about it too
quite uncharacteristicly
Anyone know what the prices are like around Kuta? Wonder if they have also increased or its just Canggu and surrounds.
The amount of people who will openly criticise foreigners who are working here has surprised me and really warmed my heart. I'd say the tipping point has been reached with that kind of tourist, particularly among poorer Balinese in tourist hotspots and younger, online millennials who are being priced out of their town, the latter group routinely coordinating online to have people deported for gleefully breaking the law. Seeing the way foreigners mediate all their economic relationships with locals through technology like Grab etc. is gross, and entirely shifts more power to the people who least need it. Take me back to the days when everyone had to actually talk to people and we all routinely got ripped off.
totally dandandan...
its funny the push for all this stuff coming from the top, grass roots dudes seem totally done with it all (unless they're making coin out of it) ...canggu banjar seem to be on a constant mission to smoothe shit over - which you could argue is just normal, and very indonesian - but Id say its more about the cash... oh the cash! ...hows the fucking cash flowing through that joint!
beachclub wars, nightclub wars, sound restrictions wars, too much building noise wars, chicken noises wars... ...local culture getting squeezed wars...
I know its a grumpy old man gripe... but the online thing has changed everything... millenial bules and yoga gurus moving in with all the inside info. on the local prices and ways, that took older school travellers years to work out...
then the righteous little online warriors have the audacity to bag the fuck out of local scooter renters for advertising moderately expensive prices online. indo has always been a buyer beware culture - even between locals - and has a long standing indian style culture of bartering...
yeh, this shit can be a pain in the arse... and there are outrageous rip offs, occasionally, for the naive / stupid / uninitiated... but screwing some poor scooter renter over online because you screwed some other local over ain't cool... not cool at all...
the grab thing realy is a bit gross
the beach mafia are desperately hanging onto their turf... and yeh once again, these guys are a pain the arse, but you cannot blame em, all power to em i say...
and how's all the fresh face euro / russian / eastern bloc cats just blowing out all the surf spots online... yeh cool, you'e lived here 2 x for 6 months at a time and found some quiet little waves... quiet little waves other crew have enjoyed for decades... so best you go out and tell everyone online about these spots to raise yourself some sort of self delusion of kudos... fucken clueless...
sadly, the locals are making a killing of the clueless with their surf guide routine, where it seems nearly every fresh of tte boat books in with a local for 2 weeks, ...gets directed, chaperoned, jockeyed, babied, and pushed into waves for 2 weeks before being cut loose... only to go and blab about it all on the net and herd the next batch of fresh meat in... and the cycle goes on...
yeh maybe Im being selfish... but I think its very short sighted greedy thinking by a small number of locals (who are absoluely cleaning up) that are slowly fucking it up for everyone... other locals included...
anyway, Im not nearly as grumpy as I sound, Ive done alright, and there's still gold to be found... but the whole online thingy seems to have opened up a grubby bunch of developments totally lacking in decorum....
yes, maybe decorum is for old people... but its about respect, for those that came before you, we showed respect as younguns... some things you just don't say, ask, or do!
or didn't...
How good was it when you got in a Bali taxi and the driver asked “ You like music?” And then cranks Taylor Swift up to eleven before you’ve had a chance to reply.
Anyone remember when the Balos would give themselves Western names so they’d stand out and you’d remember them? I had a driver called Mel Gibson for one trip, He even drove like Mel Gibson playing Riggs in Lethal Weapon ie nothing left to live for.
Trrrrrrransport!!
Tai Buddha Bule Graham has his fingers in a few Pies eh ..
His empire and the Drifter universe probably accounts for a fair amount of the hype on the Bukit over the last 5 years I'd imagine.
udo wrote:Tai Buddha Bule Graham has his fingers in a few Pies eh ..
Isnt he half Indo?
He’s got Anderson Paak playing at the Lawn in November. I would love to see him live
Have surfed with Tai quite a few times, incredible surfer and good bloke. Has done very well indeed and gives back. Was in with Made Kasim initially with Single Fin I believe. Still prefer Lana's bar The Edge. :)
udo wrote:https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/meet-tai-buddha-graham-the-kiwi....
Well there you go! Kiwi.
Didn't realise he was behind Single Fin. Mate was in G-Land with him and said he was a good guy.
My go to on the Ulus cliff is Surya warung / cafe. Very loyal supporter. Prefer to spend my money at the little locally owned places rather than support the big boys / western owned spots.
Bnkref wrote:Didn't realise he was behind Single Fin. Mate was in G-Land with him and said he was a good guy.
My go to on the Ulus cliff is Surya warung / cafe. Very loyal supporter. Prefer to spend my money at the little locally owned places rather than support the big boys / western owned spots.
Mine too, great spot to hang out, good food, great staff plus good views all the way up to Temples. But fuck me those tiles are slippery when you have wet, sandy feet….
DudeSweetDudeSweet wrote:How good was it when you got in a Bali taxi and the driver asked “ You like music?” And then cranks Taylor Swift up to eleven before you’ve had a chance to reply.
Anyone remember when the Balos would give themselves Western names so they’d stand out and you’d remember them? I had a driver called Mel Gibson for one trip, He even drove like Mel Gibson playing Riggs in Lethal Weapon ie nothing left to live for.
Trrrrrrransport!!
I saw Steve McQueen once.
flow wrote:DudeSweetDudeSweet wrote:How good was it when you got in a Bali taxi and the driver asked “ You like music?” And then cranks Taylor Swift up to eleven before you’ve had a chance to reply.
Anyone remember when the Balos would give themselves Western names so they’d stand out and you’d remember them? I had a driver called Mel Gibson for one trip, He even drove like Mel Gibson playing Riggs in Lethal Weapon ie nothing left to live for.
Trrrrrrransport!!
I saw Steve McQueen once.
I accidentally ended up having a 2 night bender with Steve’s grandson, also called Steve, at a mental house in San Diego once upon a time.
What’s this got to do with Bali?
Nothing.
Ha
Swell came right up this arvo, and I just came in from a 3 hour session, absolutely knackered.
Gin and tonic and a kretek, and life is as good as it gets.
Nice work.
Island Bay wrote:Swell came right up this arvo, and I just came in from a 3 hour session, absolutely knackered.
Gin and tonic and a kretek, and life is as good as it gets.
Unreal!! Loving life....
Thanks for letting me share. Makes it all the sweeter.
Island Bay wrote:Thanks for letting me share. Makes it all the sweeter.
Bali with all the changes, traffic, loss of beaches without bars, crowds, plastic, hustlers, Russian surf schools, posers, etc etc is still a magic place.
Enjoy!!
Cinta Bali.
The number of posers has really boomed. Wankers.
the majority of crew are certainly a different crowd hanging round those parts these days...
like the increasing accom. prices, its a real chicken and egg scenario... the indos have been pushing for a 'higher quality' of tourist... with conscious efforts to squeeze out the back packer crowd - it does seem prices are significantly higher, whilst not really having the numbers of the pre corona boom crowds...
but the influencer (wanker) push is strong too, with all sorts of vids popping up spruiking the area's 'best kept secrets' - even amongst the domestic crowd
good for the single fin / drifters dudes I guess... but...
which makes ya wonder... how 'esklusif' it will all go...
I remember an article on swellnet about a push to make ulus exclusive, from a 'sustainable tourism' angle...
(but it all just reeked of bule's with businesses and self interest)
It’s an interesting mix in many places. Went to Mana at Ulus for dinner last night. It’s upmarket, but the food is unbelievably good. And you can still get a Gado Gado for 4 bucks.
Anyhoo, most people looked happy and keen to be out for a treat, but there were influencer type girls in fucken bikini bottoms at dinner, and idiots cramming in around your table to take photos of the sunset.
And the scene around the pool was just ridiculous.
Plenty of Swell I.B. a wee bit windy - A big DS would eat them bumps.
Good to hear you’re having a good time and getting a few Island Bay and Andy Mac. Sounds pretty freaking cool.
A mate just flew back in from Bali on the Virgin red eye this morning and reckons there was multiple pissed young Aussie chicks on the piss hardcore and a few spewed on the plane. Including one who bolted up the aisle power chundering through splayed fingers which ended up over the hostie’s area up behind the shittas at the end of the plane. That was at 2AM.
So excellent.
All class, aye!
Udo, the swell is solid, and the wind not bad. Managed two hours this morning, then been flat on my back with a tummy bug.
DudeSweetDudeSweet wrote:Good to hear you’re having a good time and getting a few Island Bay and Andy Mac. Sounds pretty freaking cool.
.A mate just flew back in from Bali on the Virgin red eye this morning and reckons there was multiple pissed young Aussie chicks on the piss hardcore and a few spewed on the plane. Including one who bolted up the aisle power chundering through splayed fingers which ended up over the hostie’s area up behind the shittas at the end of the plane. That was at 2AM.
So excellent.
Lovely!!!
I just flew back Virgin and it was a mission to get a water! They must have got into their duty free.
Stoked ya getting waves IB.
Cheers Andy and Ds.
Glorious morning on the Bukit. Two guys sharing 3ft Bingin, Empty Impossibles, light offshores. Still knackered from my tummy bug, but hopefully this arvo.
Btw, high point of yesterday was definitely a very nosy and friendly dugong. Surfaced right next to me several times, and seemed unafraid and keen to check me out. They’re fucken huge!
And they taste like chicken
Is it just me or does everyone get followed around Kuta by blokes saying, " hey boss want some Viagra." I usually say, " have you got anything that does the opposite"
Best thing about surfing Ulus is when you come in from a crowded session thinking you had a shocker, hang around the cave checking out the talent for an hour then when you go up you get whisked into a bunker and somehow they have all your rides on a disc ready for purchase and it looks like you were ripping.
DudeSweetDudeSweet wrote:And they taste like chicken
That’s a lot of chicken!
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.