Amy and Steven's Endless Summer.: The first week in Indonesia!

Written 10th September 2012.

We flew into Bali in the late morning to beautiful views on the 2nd of September.

After landing at the airport we tried to get out some Indonesian money to pay for our visas but the machine would not work. So after some confusion and staying in a few wrong lines we eventually found out that we had to go through customs, get money, come back through, pay for our visas, line up, and go through customs properly. Luckily we didn't have to stand in the line the first time to go through as it was a very long wait. Then we were out into the hot day and catching a taxi 120 000 IDR to Poppies Two and a hotel Jabin recommended. We stored our gear then went for a walk.

When we got back and unpacked we found that all our boards had been damaged in the plane! Useless! What does fragile mean to some people? The noses got done on the way to Europe and the tails on the way back!

We had a bad night sleep due to jet lag again and in the morning decided to get a scooter to go check the waves.

This is where we were staying.

Everywhere has this incense things smoking away.

Our room.

This is our scooter. It has just been filled up with petrol form the petrol shop behind it. All the petrol shops are like that - stands with vodka bottles filled with petrol! 5000 IDR for a bottle. (7500 IDR is about NZ$1.)

First we checked Pedang Pedang

You walk down a crack in the rock to get to the beach.

A pretty cool place.

Next we went to Uluatu. It was MASSIVE. We sat in a cafe watching the huge surf being ridden by brave men.

People come around trying to sell you sarongs, DVDs, gasses, CDs, and massages.

This girl at the cafe looked just like Gemma. Must be a long lost relative!

After that we went to Bingin Beach when Steve surfed Bingin.

I watched him and this funny dog too.

We got a bit lost on the way home on the scooter. The road we needed to go on was closed so we had to go another way and need up deep in some market! Haha, found our way back eventually though and had some tea. We had asked for a new room to be saved for us (one with cold water rather than hot as it was cheeper and it's so hot you don't need hot water) but they had given in away so we had to have two single beds. We had another bad sleep.

The next morning we picked up our surfboards (which we had dropped off to be fixed).

This is Poppies Two.

We hopped back on the scooter and headed back out to Bingin where Steve surfed Impossibles. (It was still too big for my liking.)

That's Impossibles over there.

When set off on another scooter ride in which we got lost. We followed the signs to Kuta but at one intersection there was no sign so we guessed left. Wrong choice as after a while we ended turing onto the same road we had been on before. It took us about 2 hours to get back instead of 1! Not ideal being perched on the back of a scooter in the hot breathing in all those vehicle fumes! We made it back in the end though and had a yummy dinner.

The next morning I had a bit of a sleep in and Steve want for a dawnie to Cangua. Loud people had kept us awake half the night partying by the pool very loudly. We just chilled for a while after Steve got back and then we both went surfing at Kuta Beach. That was fun. I got one really nice long right hander. When I got out I was looking for Steve and it took ages to find him because every second guy on the beach stopped me to talk to me.

The next day (after being woken in the night again by loud partiers by the pool) we decided to move out to Bingin Beach. We caught a taxi for 190 000 IDR. Steve had a surf at Bingin.

This is our room.

It is right on the beach and our window looks out over the breaks.

You have to climb up a ladder to get up to our room.

Not a bad view!

In the evening we went for a walk.

This is where we are staying. Our room is on the left on the second story.

The next morning Steve had another surf at Bingin then in the afternoon we both had a surf at the right hander by Bingin.

Steve managed to ding both his boards in his two surfs at Bingin. Luckily he had bought a third one the other day in Kuta (the other two being too small for surfing bug waves).

The new one was dinged up first.

Then his old one. On this one he face planted the reef but managed to put his hand up in time and only grazed his hand a bit. Lucky!

I had a nice swim in the afternoon before our surf.

The next morning we walked down to Dream Land and met up with Adam (who was Steve's friend from primary school) and Dean (Adam's mate). We have been hanging out with them ever since. We surfed there for 2 and a 1/4 hours then Steve and I walked back to Bingin and the others met us there and relocated to where we are staying.

In the afternoon after a bit of lunch and a chill out we all went surfing at Bingin. It was tricky to get waves as the takeoff zone is really small. I got a few waves though but nothing flash.

The next day (yesterday) we were lazy as for most of the day as it was SO hot and the surf was pretty small.

Here are the boys chilling downstairs.

This is where we are staying.

We hiked up the many steps twice trying to rent scooters but had no luck. Finally we caught a taxi to Uluwatu (100 000 IDR). We left our gear in a restaurant overlooking the surf and headed out. I was a bit nervous about surfing there because of the reef but it was fine. I caught a few waves. It would be a mission walking across all that reef if you didn't have booties!

We had dinner there and then got a taxi back (100 000 IDR) and then had to negotiate all those uneven steep steps in the dark carrying surf boards. We chilled a bit upstairs before bed.

This morning we had a bit of a sleep in and then a yummy breakfast of pancakes (as usual) and then a chill out. After that we caught a taxi to Uluwatu again and had lunch in the cafe.

Then we went out surfing. I had such a great surf. I caught 12 waves and lots of them were good. One guy said I got barreled but I didn't realize because I was concentrating so hard on staying on my board. This Indonesian guy said I was ripping but I think he we just being nice. I did feel like I was surfing quite well though. I got quite a few long waves that were really wally. I did a few turns too (normally I'm not that good a turns on my back hand as I don't surf left handers as much. But I felt like I improved today. I didn't want the sun to set but that traitorous ball of flames sunk into the sea against my wishes! Steve was coming in when I was so we walked across the reef together and arrived up at the restaurant where Adam and Dean were finishing getting changed and drinking Bintang. We caught a taxi back to Bingin and had tea and Steve and I taught them how to play 500 which was fun. We had yummy fruit salad too. Mmmm!