I eventually found the guy who was picking me up, and we got in his car to drive the 30 minutes or so out to his place on the cliffs of the Bukit Peninsula. I would say the culture shock began the very second we left the airport and pulled onto the main road. We just pulled right out even though there were probably 6 motorcycles coming right for us - might makes right on Indonesian roads. Adding to the confusion is the driving on the opposite side of the road thing. About 90% of the traffic on the road is motorcycles, and there really are no rules other than "don't make contact with anyone," and even that one isn't absolute. Anyway, we arrived safely at the homestay and, exhausted as I was, I was grateful to have a nice bed to crash on.
My room was right over a classic surf spot, Bingin, and that first night I could hear the occasional wave breaking but I couldn't tell from the sound how big the surf was. When I woke up I saw that the surf was small but definitely ridable. Here's a shot of Bingin from that first morning:
Bingin at 20 minutes after first light. This is a pretty small day and the tide is higher than optimum.That first morning I just watched the wave for 30 minutes or so, and then the tide got so high that the wave hardly even broke anymore. (That was an interesting thing about the surf in Indonesia - the tidal swings are quite small in absolute terms, but they have a HUGE effect on the wave quality. Bingin, for example, is dangerously shallow on a lunar low tide, hopelessly mushy on a lunar high tide, and flawless perfection at mid tides.) I just took my time and got my boards ready and watched the show. Then I went up and had the first of dozens of INCREDIBLE meals. The morning cook, a cute Balinese girl named Koman, made the best banana pancakes I've ever had. I dream of these pancakes. They were about an inch thick and the size of a dinner plate, so one was a meal. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... banana pancakes.....(drool...).
Where was I. Oh yeah, surfing. While the tide was still too high for Bingin, I just couldn't wait any longer so I ran down the cliff trail to surf the next spot up the coast, Impossibles. I was so excited to surf that I didn't pay attention as I went down the trail. I didn't notice that several trails converged on the way down, so that on the way up there were several forks. Also, the beach access trail wanders in and out of stores and through the front yard of little bungalows. Very different from a beach access trail in the US! Anyway, I paddled out at Impossibles for my first session in Indonesia:
Impossibles on a good day - my first morning it was nothing like this.
Where was I. Oh yeah, surfing. While the tide was still too high for Bingin, I just couldn't wait any longer so I ran down the cliff trail to surf the next spot up the coast, Impossibles. I was so excited to surf that I didn't pay attention as I went down the trail. I didn't notice that several trails converged on the way down, so that on the way up there were several forks. Also, the beach access trail wanders in and out of stores and through the front yard of little bungalows. Very different from a beach access trail in the US! Anyway, I paddled out at Impossibles for my first session in Indonesia:
Impossibles on a good day - my first morning it was nothing like this.The surf was small, mushy, and closed out. The water was COLDER than it was in Leucadia when I left (76 in Leucadia - warmest summer ever - 73 in Bali), but I caught enough fun little waves for it to be a memorable first session. Impossibles was my "go to" spot while I was staying in the Bingin area. It handled a pretty huge crowd due to how sectiony the wave is, and although not a world class wave it occasionally serves up a gem.
Impossibles is a very tricky wave. There are several different peaks and different places to sit, and the right place to take off greatly depends on tide and wave size. To get a long ride, you have to get on your feet and start building up your down the line momentum because the wave gets extremely fast at times. A typical session at Impossibles went like this: takeoff, pump pump pump, wave closes out, kick out - repeat 10 times. But then you get one that connects and you surf as fast as you can for over 30 seconds until it turns into a round closeout tube that often suckers you into pulling in. That 1 in 10 wave is such a rush!
A wide-swinger catching part of the pack inside, with the closeout tube section visible on the wave in front of it. My strategy at Impossibles was to look way up the reef to get a 2 minute head start on a set, then paddle way outside and wide to try catch the wide swingers - they almost never closed out.
Impossibles is a very tricky wave. There are several different peaks and different places to sit, and the right place to take off greatly depends on tide and wave size. To get a long ride, you have to get on your feet and start building up your down the line momentum because the wave gets extremely fast at times. A typical session at Impossibles went like this: takeoff, pump pump pump, wave closes out, kick out - repeat 10 times. But then you get one that connects and you surf as fast as you can for over 30 seconds until it turns into a round closeout tube that often suckers you into pulling in. That 1 in 10 wave is such a rush!
A wide-swinger catching part of the pack inside, with the closeout tube section visible on the wave in front of it. My strategy at Impossibles was to look way up the reef to get a 2 minute head start on a set, then paddle way outside and wide to try catch the wide swingers - they almost never closed out.Remember how I said the trail up the cliff from the beach is a little confusing? Well after my first session at Impossibles, I had a little trouble finding my way back up. In the picture below you can see the layout: To enter/exit Impossibles you walk (at low tide) or paddle (at high tide) across the reef in the area around the farthest point you can see. All the buildings on the left side of the picture are various losmen (homestays) and warungs (little stores). My losmen was at the very top of the cliff, somewhere behind the trees. Several trails from the beach meander up the cliff, going in and out of all these buildings.
Looking south at the Bingin "colony" (center) and the Impossibles entry/exit area (first point beyond Bingin).
Looking south at the Bingin "colony" (center) and the Impossibles entry/exit area (first point beyond Bingin).I was able to find the trailhead I used (because it was inside a warung), and I think I chose the correct path at the first few forks, but before too long things weren't looking familiar. At this point in my trip I spoke very little of the language, so when I "asked directions" I basically just pointed in the direction I thought I should go and said the name of my losmen, "Suara Ombak." Each time I asked the person looked blank, then smiled and nodded and said "ya Suara Ombak ya." I had not yet realized that the Balinese are so friendly that they were just agreeing with anything I said, even if they had no idea what I meant. Eventually I made it to the top of the cliff, but I was not at my losmen. There were a couple of Aussie surfers having lunch at the top of the trail.
"Fun seshy, mate?"
"Yeah, it was great. How about you guys?"
"Aww we haven't surfed yet, but I reckon it'll be good later this arvo."
"I bet you're right. Hey do you know where Suara Ombak is?"
"Nah mate never heard of it."
So I wandered toward the road where I got some more wrong directions from a little old Balinese lady, then walked down the road until I saw the turnoff for Suara Ombak. Some constructions workers at Suara Ombak had a good laugh at me coming in from the road (instead of the beach) dripping wet with a surfboard. Oh well, at least I found it! I made a mental note to actually pay attention the next time I walked down the trail.
After I got back, I probably took a nap then surfed again before sunset. I don't really remember, but that's what I did pretty much every day in Bali. Then I settled in for an incredible dinner cooked by the nighttime cook, Kati. She is an incredible cook, and made a huge family style dinner every night, usually one or two fish or meat dishes plus several spicy vegetable and rice dishes. SUCH GOOD FOOD!
After dinner I read a book for a little while, then listened to music as I fell asleep looking out over the Java-Bali straight where dozens of fishing boats lit up the black ocean. Some nights the number of blue and green lights out on the ocean was incredible, and other nights there were only one or two.
That's the story of my first day in Bali, and it's the story of most of my 2 weeks in Bali: surf, eat, nap, surf, Bintang, dinner, sleep, repeat.
My private balcony overlooking Bingin, where I would enjoy my late afternoon Bintang while watching the surf, the sunset, and listening to music.
"Fun seshy, mate?"
"Yeah, it was great. How about you guys?"
"Aww we haven't surfed yet, but I reckon it'll be good later this arvo."
"I bet you're right. Hey do you know where Suara Ombak is?"
"Nah mate never heard of it."
So I wandered toward the road where I got some more wrong directions from a little old Balinese lady, then walked down the road until I saw the turnoff for Suara Ombak. Some constructions workers at Suara Ombak had a good laugh at me coming in from the road (instead of the beach) dripping wet with a surfboard. Oh well, at least I found it! I made a mental note to actually pay attention the next time I walked down the trail.
After I got back, I probably took a nap then surfed again before sunset. I don't really remember, but that's what I did pretty much every day in Bali. Then I settled in for an incredible dinner cooked by the nighttime cook, Kati. She is an incredible cook, and made a huge family style dinner every night, usually one or two fish or meat dishes plus several spicy vegetable and rice dishes. SUCH GOOD FOOD!
After dinner I read a book for a little while, then listened to music as I fell asleep looking out over the Java-Bali straight where dozens of fishing boats lit up the black ocean. Some nights the number of blue and green lights out on the ocean was incredible, and other nights there were only one or two.
That's the story of my first day in Bali, and it's the story of most of my 2 weeks in Bali: surf, eat, nap, surf, Bintang, dinner, sleep, repeat.
My private balcony overlooking Bingin, where I would enjoy my late afternoon Bintang while watching the surf, the sunset, and listening to music.Go on to Part III - Random Bali photos
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