BALI, BALIAN - SURF, CHATS AND RAIN - 25 JUNE 2017

24 June 2017

I drove to Truckstops. in the morning. It is about 10km north of Balian. As usual, the drive along the main road in Bali traffic was amazing. Trucks, cars, buses, motorbikes and dogs on a very narrow and rough road. The waves were nice with a lot of push. There were three locals out surfing. They didn't look like share-type guys so I watched for awhile and headed but to Balian.

I ended up having a fun surf mid morning surf.

The rest of the day was very lazy - chatting with Mick, eating, reading

After lunch, heavy rain settled in for the afternoon.

We had dinner at hotel restaurant with Mick and Brandt.

25 June 2017

The end of Ramadan but it wasn't noticeable at Balian which is a Hindu village.

I had an early glassy surf with size. I got some nice waves and a few floggings and a couple of caught badly inside :) All part of the fun.

I had breakfast, a rest and was back out again for a surf with Rodney Boulden. 

We had lunch at Pitaya - great food but it took ages to arrive.

A restful afternoon and then I joined Rodney, Brandt, Adi and (can't remember name) for a few beers and a chat.

It was raining so we had dinner at the hotel. We met Idam and Daniel and their two kids. Idam was from Nias island ( a small island off Sumatra) in Indonesia and Daniel was a head chef on an oil rig in WA. 

INDONESIA - BALI - BALIAN - 30 SEPTEMBER TO 13 OCTOBER 2015

The car ride from Kuta to Balian was just over 2 hours at 400 000R.

We pulled into Gubug Bungalows which we booked through booking.com. We were a bit early so we waited an hour for the rooms to be vacated and cleaned. All settled and happy.

The new infinity pool was cool in temperature and appearance. The rooms were good but Kara's shower didn't work properly and despite numerous attempts to have it fixed, it was defected the whole stay. Avoid room 2. Later, she changed to room 4 and that had shower issues as well. Anyway our room was great.

 

The room's verandah looked out across the gardens, pool and the Balian surf break. Nice to sit, eat cheese and biscuits with a JD and coke.

Breakfast was plentiful and tasty.



So in a nutshell, I surfed, hiked, rode motorbike, ate and slept. Jacinta and Kara sat by the pool, swam, got ridden on a motorbike, ate and slept. Everyone was happy and this trend continued for the next two weeks.

The surf . I had good waves everyday surfing one, two, and even three times a day but one for the two weeks from shoulder height to double overhead waves. Heaps of waves and so much fun!

People - we met lots of people and caught up on some old friends. It is a good place to meet people most of them were nice and normal and some were very different. One guy had exactly the same conversation (dialogue) with me on the three times I spoke with him.

Catching up with friends was great - Mark, Jeff and Marty are nice guys and local people like Ayu were very warm to see me. I wouldn't call it home but I feel very comfortable there.

One morning, I went for a hike north when the tide was super low and the waves very small. I managed to go through three caves and follow the coast line without one incident.

On another day, I drove the bike around looking for fun things to do. I drove along two beaches, a number of coconut groves and some very rough tracks. FUN :)



Twice, I drove to Medewi. The first time the surf was good at head height with only two other guys out. Heaps and heaps of waves. The second time, the waves were very good but it was crowded. Still, there were heaps of waves and some obstacles to maneuver (people) around.

 

 

We all left Balian happy and I was surf exhausted and needed a rest. Nice way to be!

INDONESIA - BALI - BALIAN - 13 to 19 August, 2014 - 'SURF AND SURROUNDINGS'

Info

Car Legian to Balian 350 000R

Ayu home stay aircon room -  200 000R

Motorbike 60 000R

Car Balian to Legian 450 000R

My journey

It was a smooth trip to Balian from Legian. There was lots of traffic of course but that is, par for course, on the road to Gilimanuk.

I settled into Ayu’s aircon top room – 200 000R – nice bed, hot water and a balcony with surf view.

Now, I have been to Balian many times. Each time it is a different trip depending on weather, surf, people and my mood.

This stay was full of surprises, I met very nice people, had the best motor bike rides and the surf was good.

The surf was over head height the whole stay with some quality waves on the lefts and outside rights. My toe was feeling heaps better and my surfing was improving with fitness and practise.

I met Scotty, who I ran into a number of times later. We got a long well from the start and had so much past history in common yet we had never met.

Talking to Scotty one day and another guy walks up. It was Mark, who I met in Sri Lanka in 1985. He was building a house at Balian. It was great to see him again.

I met Ann from Bordeaux; she had an interesting life having had three kids and lived in Caribbean for years.

Amazing who you meet there!

I hired a motorbike and had a number of bike rides in the afternoon when the wind turned onshore.

I motored north taking in the beaches north of Balian. It was great fun motoring along the main road then turning off onto minor roads and dirt tracks. I rode pass and along rice fields, beaches and villages. I had a few chats with some locals.

One guy had a series of strings with plastic tied to it at various intervals all around his rice field. When birds landed in his rice fields, he tugged on the string which vibrated along the length and breadth of the string in large waves scaring off would be rice eating birds. I also came across a resort on a very isolated stretch of beach. It looked nice, quiet but too lonely for me.

On another ride, I rode north to Truckstops and had a walk around the reef and beach, then up to Pura Siwi Rambut, which is past Medewi. This temple is in a very scenic coastal location with a number of temples over the complex. Pretty!

 I followed coastal road but there was not much surf potential except erratic beach breaks. At one stage, after mermaid statue, the road turned to dirt and passed rice fields when suddenly there were a series of dingy looking karaoke bars. Welcome to Negara brothel district! The main road was fun but the buses were very hazardous – move off the road or die – I chose to move.

On another ride, I went up into the mountains behind Balian. It was such a good ride. Up, up, up and a turnoff to a temple led to a view over the coast from Balian to Soka. On the way back, I took a small turn off which lead down the mountain along a dirt/concrete, road/track. There were a lot of people to talk to along the way, which were working on road maintenance or tending to their fields. It was steep and challenging!

I got a call from Brian – visa extension – to come back for visa photos. Off to Legian I go!