Indonesia - Bali - Balian - 4 to 11 April 2011

Tuesday 5 April 2011 – Balian – rain, cloudy, fun surf

I had early surf with no one out. The waves were okay at head height.

We had our Balian breakfast at the lodgings and it was okay.

We wandered up to the shops on the main road. Jacinta picked up a few supplies and the girls wandered around.

We had an early lunch/breakfast. I surfed and the girls went down the beach and back to the hotel pool.

We went to dinner at Gajah Mina resort. It was a pleasant 10 minute walk and the restaurant was nice and the food good.

Some interesting stories today:

Some places were robbed during the night a few weeks ago. Police response was to look and then go.

Non Balinese must pay money each month to stay in a Bali town.

Tipping either with money or gifts to one person in a hotel causes jealousy and problems. It is best to tip all by putting money in a common jar.

Met – two guys from South Africa and English guy and Irish girl

Wednesday 6 April 2011 – Balian – sunny, cloudy, okay surf.

I went for early surf on the river rights. There were some nice waves from ½ to 1m with no one out.

The girls and Jacinta wandered around during the day and I had second surf on the lefts after lunch. It started off good with three out but after an hour the wind swung to on/cross shore.

We had dinner at Pondok Pisces.

Tonight is Malaria tablet night.

Interesting stories:

Some Balinese problems stem from living for today – getting into debt, rubbish not my problem when off my land.

An American surfer had no waves when he went on a boat trip in Sumatra.

An Australian living in Bali had his car robbed and windows smashed by ex local partner.

Javanese in Bali are given a hard time by local Balinese. Restrictions placed on Javanese in Bali do not apply to Balinese in Java. Do I detect a problem!

Thursday – 7 April 2011 – Balian - rain, cloudy - small to head high surf

I was up early but surf was small and messy.

We had breakfast and wandered up to the village. The girls went to a beauty salon and had a facial for 40 000 rupiah. I bought credit for my mobile and headed back to the beach.

The surf looked better so I paddled out for some nice head high waves.

I and the girls spent the afternoon resting and we had dinner.

Interesting stories:

One of the foreign  hotel owners was sent packing out of Balian a few weeks ago by the locals. Apparently, he didn’t treat them with respect.

Another hotel had staff problems due to lower pay than other hotels and longer working hours.

Foreign owners pay the highest tax while local owners pay the least.

The wages of warong workers on the beach is 400 000 rupiah per month and hotels is 700 000 rupiah plus share of tips and bonuses for ‘good’ months.

Friday – 8 April 2011 – Balian, Seririt, Munduk, Candikunning, Mengwli - cloudy, sunny, rain – head high surf

Car tour all day 650 000 rupiah

I had an early surf on the lefts and rights with no one out. We then had breakfast and Nyoman came at 9 am for day tour.

We drove to Seririt in North Bali passing beautiful rice fields and small villages. At Seririt, we visited the local market which is the largest in north Bali. It was broken into sections selling the same products in each section e.g. shoes. It was fun to walk through. Next, we visited Nyoman’s home and met two of his brothers and mother who is 76.



Next, we drove to the hot springs at Banjar. We did the gauntlet along the street leading to the springs. You buy, cheap price, etc. The hot springs were nice with only a few people. Chloe and Ellen watched.



We drove next through Munduk, stopping for coffee and views of the lakes.



At Candikunning, we wandered around the market and bought some large strawberries for 15 000 rupiah.



At Mengwi, we visited the temple and the monkeys. The monkeys were pretty cool as they jumped on your shoulder to eat peanuts. The place also had bats and a multitude of shops. A guide with a number shows you around. She kept reminding us of her number 114 between informative monkey information… this baby monkey, this momma monkey ,  this boss monkey, pointing at badge 114 and so this was repeated in various order through the tour. Eventually, we discovered the meaning of 114 and the persistence of telling us. 114 was her shop and we only could shop at her shop. We were courteous and spent 30 seconds looking through her shop and farewelled her. We didn’t wait for a reply.



Next stop was back to Balian.

Saturday – 9 April 2011 – sunny – head high plus waves

I had good early morning surf on my own and the late morning surf was powerful and heaps of fun on the lefts.

In the afternoon we did a short walk to the north point though the resort. It is a nice at sunset.

Sunday - 10 April 2011 – Balian - sunny, cloudy, rain – head high plus surf

I had early surf on the river rights in head high plus waves after breakfast. The lefts were a little out of control. The girls went to the resort pool and Jacinta the beach pool.

I had early afternoon surf in head high plus waves but they were a bit too over the place so it wasn’t much fun.

Monday- 11 April 2011 – Balian and legian - sunny, cloudy – head high surf

Kumala Pantai – 860 000 for double room with extra bed

I had an early surf,  which was a lot cleaner than yesterday with only a handful of guys.

We had breakfast and drove to Legian. At Legian, we settled into the Kumala Pantai (The Kumala was full).  I went with Jacinta to get her a leather coat and the girls went shopping. On our return, I had a hot stone massage and the girls were still shopping.  I had a late afternoon swim in the two pools and the girls were still shopping.

We had dinner down the beach and later drove Ellen to the International airport for her flight back to Australia.