INDONESIA - BALI - BALIAN - 13 to 19 September, 2014 - '2ND HOME'

My journey

Back to Balian and Ayu's. I spent my time there surfing, wandering, talking and eating. A good combo!

The surf was great most of the time, though a bit big and rough at the beginning.

I caught up with Scotty and met Eddie and Matt, who have guesthouse in Balian, expats Matt and John, and Peter and Fiona from Wollongong.  They were all nice and friendly people.

Balian is like an oasis for me - I feel relaxed and comfortable and familiar. It is my place to 'dance the way I feel'.

The time flew quickly and pleasantly until it was time to leave Balian for Legian and the final leg of the odyssey.

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!

INDONESIA - BALI - BALIAN - April 2013

It’s back to Balian. The car was 400 000R. It’s never like groundhog’s day there as it such a different trip each time.

I stayed at Ayu’s (150 000R) at the beginning but the mosquitoes were relentless. I never had a problem with them before.

I moved next door to Gubug Balian Bungalows 350 000R to 400 000R). It had aircon, better bed, no mosquitoes and a great view. The staff was friendly and helpful. Especially Putu, who drove me to an ATM. It took about 2 hours to find an ATM that worked for my card. We had a couple of informative nice chats.

I hired a motorbike for a day but the main road was too risky with busses and trucks overtaking smaller vehicles in an unsafe manner.

I walked south and north. The south walk is great especially at low tide. There were heaps of locals around to have a chat along the way and the sea cave at the end of the walk is a highlight.

I met a number of other tourists - Steve and Jamie, Gus and Lorraine and a number of others.

Ian and his wife Jenny who own Batu Balian have had a baby. I visited with a present. Ian always has good, insightful and interesting stories to tell.

The food was good as usual thought the beach warungs were in decay due to heavy wave action wiping out their businesses.

 

The surf was good with a number of big days. The shore dump was horrendous at times. I got caught badly twice. The second time, I cut my feet a lot and end up getting an infection (though I treated them diligently) and now I’m on penicillin for a staph infection. The joys of surfing!

Impressions

Relaxing and quiet

Good food

Nice people

Grumpy people

Great walks

That was the end of the Indo trip for April. I’ll be back in August – where to next - Somewhere old and somewhere new.  Let the planning begin!