Watch: Indonesian Motorcycle Diaries // Episode One

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
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A question often asked on the Swellnet forums is what's the best quiver for an Indo trip. However, that particular query was never entertained by Tom de Souza: Riding a bike across Indonesia means there's only room for one board.

That said, Tom did seek advice from Swellnet users for his six-month moto trip, which, among many colourful digressions, he duly received. And with a simple show of appreciation - "Righto, cheers for the info crew" - Tom was gone.

He's now reappeared in Bali, bike purchased, board too, plus a short reconnaissance mission under his belt. Tom plans to document his trip, which if you're aware of his storytelling skills, means we can expect anything other than dead ahead surf fodder. 

"And don't worry," he tells me, correctly predicting what I and most Swellnet readers would be thinking, "I'll keep the details as vague as can be."

See Episode One for a taste of things to come. Bit of surfing, bit of surf talk, a lot of local perspectives.

Comments

Sprout's picture
Sprout's picture
Sprout Thursday, 31 Aug 2023 at 10:26am

Fantastic stuff Tom! Excited for the next installment.

SingleFin95's picture
SingleFin95's picture
SingleFin95 Sunday, 3 Sep 2023 at 11:46am

Thanks Sprout

wallpaper's picture
wallpaper's picture
wallpaper Thursday, 31 Aug 2023 at 11:14am

hati hati sebelum mati

dandandan's picture
dandandan's picture
dandandan Thursday, 31 Aug 2023 at 11:19am

Great stuff. I've followed Tom's work for a while and he has an eye for interesting stories, and takes gorgeous photos. He'll have a blast. And yes he was bang on - looking at his map, the paranoid and selfish part of me would be quite relieved if his camera malfunctioned on one or two legs of his trip haha.

Andrew P's picture
Andrew P's picture
Andrew P Thursday, 31 Aug 2023 at 11:34am

Tom adalah ramah dan baik hati. Tidak ada ombak di nusa tengarra, Bali saja!

rich74's picture
rich74's picture
rich74 Friday, 1 Sep 2023 at 1:38pm

just a tip for using "adalah" it needs to be in reference to a noun to make sense not an adjective like 'ramah' or 'baik hati' eg: tom adalah orang ramah...good to see someone having a crack at bahasa though

Andrew P's picture
Andrew P's picture
Andrew P Friday, 1 Sep 2023 at 2:03pm

Maaf, Rich. Saya adalah orang yang gila sekali dengan Bahasa!

overthefalls's picture
overthefalls's picture
overthefalls Friday, 1 Sep 2023 at 4:23pm

Right on, Richie! I didn’t know you were familiar with the intricacies of Indonesian grammar. You must have done a few strike missions over there since I last saw you.

Oceanbeach's picture
Oceanbeach's picture
Oceanbeach Thursday, 31 Aug 2023 at 12:05pm

Guess I'm not the only one who tries to play the Wind Cries Mary every time I noodle on a guitar

Ash's picture
Ash's picture
Ash Thursday, 31 Aug 2023 at 12:15pm

"Tidak ada ombak di nusa tengarra" nice try, but you know you could be right.

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Thursday, 31 Aug 2023 at 7:59pm

That was well done, almost felt like we were there, love the little interviews with local Pak's first guy reminded me a lot of my wife's father, second Pak was classic Indonesian they all love their ghost stories, they always claim they have seen and heard them too.

spinafex's picture
spinafex's picture
spinafex Friday, 1 Sep 2023 at 2:47pm

The ghosts of the '65 PKI purges probably

SingleFin95's picture
SingleFin95's picture
SingleFin95 Sunday, 3 Sep 2023 at 11:47am

Or the 200 suspected black magic practitioners massacred in Banyuwangi in ‘98

Solitude's picture
Solitude's picture
Solitude Thursday, 31 Aug 2023 at 10:09pm

Fantastic, all the best Tom!
I remember surfing a dark board like that in the tropics once, they get mega hot!

frog's picture
frog's picture
frog Thursday, 31 Aug 2023 at 11:02pm

WHS Indo style - Welding with sunglasses and eyelids (and a big smile) for protection!

Solitude's picture
Solitude's picture
Solitude Friday, 1 Sep 2023 at 1:43pm

How is it? These thongs should be right!

I must say I really like the ‘we need to take own responsibility’ attitude. Need a bit of a dose of that in the modern west

Dumai's picture
Dumai's picture
Dumai Friday, 1 Sep 2023 at 6:35pm

The spirit world is real .Very real.Experience tells me this as does my wife.

tip-top1's picture
tip-top1's picture
tip-top1 Saturday, 2 Sep 2023 at 7:22am

great vid, gives a little of the real culture as well as some nice waves, cant wait to see him on the banksy,

Bnkref's picture
Bnkref's picture
Bnkref Saturday, 2 Sep 2023 at 8:24pm

Off to a great start. Looking forward to the rest. Nice bonus having the chats with the Indos.

what_up's picture
what_up's picture
what_up Tuesday, 5 Sep 2023 at 7:52am

looking forward to seeing these come through, it's got a pretty genuine feel to it. Sorry Torren but I think I'm going to enjoy these motorcycle adventures more!

Mad Dog's picture
Mad Dog's picture
Mad Dog Friday, 8 Sep 2023 at 2:25pm

Semoga berhasil Tom!