Kage's posts with tag: bali
|  | Random shots taken during our last two afternoons at Kuta Beach. There was one day where Moro went out while the rest of us jammed with the locals... then later on decided to use our boards as bodyboards and we belly rode the whitewash. Aya and Phil attempted to tandem ride on the 9'1. Key word: attempted. Super fun.
The last afternoon was right after we hit Dreamland and despite the blown out, close out conditions, JP and I decided we had to have one last surf session before leaving Bali. So we positioned ourselves at the super inside section and waited for white water. Sometimes the waves would reform into 5 inch walls. Sometimes it was foam all the way. It was cold, it was shallow... but damn it was still fun.
And so ended our Bali vacation. No photos from our last morning cos we were all trying to pack our things, buy last minute pasalubongs, say bye to new friends and make it to the airport on time. :)
Terima Kasih Bali. We'll be back! |
| | When we hit Padang Padang to watch the Rip Curl Cup, we made a stop at Balangan on the way home to see if we could surf it. The fifteen foot faces on those waves gave us our answer. So we went back to Kuta... and hit the Masa Inn pool.
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| | On our last full day in Bali, we made another attempt at surfing the Bukit. We drove up right after breakfast and checked out Balangan. Dead low tide showed the sharp reef poking through the water. Hard, fast, overhead drops.
We made a move to Dreamland - where the smaller sets on the inside looked doable (shoulder to head high lefts, no shorebreak). But the bigger sets that rolled in looked like monsters -- overhead and a half that often closed out on the outside in massive clean-up sets. So Aya and I decided to watch and see first while Moro, JP and Phil paddled out.
Moro hit the reef (it was peak of high tide) while Phil and JP took ten minutes to paddle out ... and an hour to come back in. So yeah, the search for fun waves continued in vain.
Back to Kuta beach for one last session catching tiny reform walls and knocking back cold Bintangs and Teh Botols.
The End. |
Snapped this one afternoon while waiting for the rest of the crew to come up from a surf session at Kuta. Now let me explain why this bottle of sweetend jasmine tea encapsulates our Bali experience:
- A brand new taste of something familiar
- Refreshing
- Surprisingly affordable
- Addicting
- Something to tell your friends back home about
Teh Botol = Bali.
The End
| | Due to popular demand (hint: Vic Gamboa), here are the rest of the Padang Padang photos. Yung iba, panget yung kulay pero KEBS kasi ang ganda nung alon!
Hahahaha. Up next -- our second trip to Dreamland.
Photos in this set by Moro and me. |
| | These are only a fraction of the photos Ter snapped during his week with us in Bali. Well done Ter! Couldn't have asked for a better person to be with us on the trip. :) |
 Everyone knows that my greatest ambition in life is to grow up and be Hawaiian. So it was with great pleasure (read: kilig to the max) when Ryan Agustein's girlfriend Betthany told me "I didnt know you were from here! I thought you were Hawaiian!" last year. Fast forward to Bali last week. Phil, Aya, Moro and I are making our way down Poppies Lane 1 with our boards. We pass by a vendor who says "Hey, where you from? You Hawaiian?" And instantly I make up a rule: if you are asked three times that makes it official. Eh... can Phil and I help it if we were asked not one more but three more times over the course of our Bali vaycay?! That's twice the quota right there! And so we spent the rest of our stay responding to friendly calls of "Aloha" and resisting the urge to say "Mahalo" instead of "Thank you." Hahahaha. That's it kids... we're officially Hawaiian! I am now going to call Philip "Mano" (which means "Shark" according to http://www.alohafriendsluau.com/names_traditional.html And since Noelle has been calling me Nani forever, I am sticking to it. Heehee. It doesn't hurt that Nani apparently means pretty. A dream has been realized. :) Nga pala DREW -- as fellow Hawaiians, we wish you a safe journey back to the homeland.
| | We were lucky enough to catch the trials for a major event on our second week in Bali. The Rip Curl Cup is entitled "It's On When It's On" because Padang Padang is such a fickle break that the smallest changes in weather can cause the biggest changes in swell size. There is a month long wait period for the comp - one of the longest known in the circuits.
The same break whose inside section we had surfed only two days before was now throwing massive double overhead sets that broke in front of the cliff and wrapped around the cove towards the beach. DAMN!
And of course, my first order of business was to check the heat schedule and find out who was around. On the menu for the surf aids? Friend Mostafa Jeksen, Tipi Jabrik, and Betet Merta. Rizal Tanjung, Made Widiarta, John John Florence, Kahea Hart, Nathan Hedge, and Koby Abberton! Woot, woot!
We found a spot safe from incoming tide and tried to get comfortable while watching the heats. Unfortunately, my lens couldnt quite cover the distance but I think you'll get a good enough idea of what Padang was like that day.
More Padang pics coming soon. Photos by me, Moro, Phil and Aya. |
| | We finally left Kuta beach to check out the Bukit Peninsula. On the agenda were Dreamland, Padang Padang and Uluwatu.
Dreamland is BEAUTIFUL. Terence plans to retire there. Hehe. Phil, Moro and Ter went out while Aya and I waited for the conditions to get a little better. Eh, wala. Hahahaha. So only the boys scored Dreamland... land of shoulder high shorebreaks. To be fair, the waves from outside were breaking naman but there were monster sets coming in that were hella scary. A lot of the guys out had to suffer close out barrels if they couldnt manage to bail in time.
Our new friends Sam and Paddy came up to us and said they were going to move to Padang Padang. They promised it would be smaller and cleaner. So, despite the rep Padang has, we went to check it out.
The break, which is usually hella gnarly, was nice and clean. So we did the pre-sunset session there. My fingers were so frozen that I couldnt feel my board anymore. On one of the bigger sets, I lost my grip and nearly dinged Moro on the head with my nose. Eeep! That kinda rattled me so I crept away from the peak and sat on the inside (again) with this cute Thai grommet. Got a few good rides but ultimately, nearly spearing Moro through the head had shaken me too much... so I left everyone and paddled in... (this is the good part)
While waiting for everyone to come in (Aya caught one of the best right handers that afternoon by the way... super yeah, yeah wave for Aya!!!), I noticed this girl about ten feet away from us... I thought I recognized her from somewhere but I wasnt sure... so I checked out her gear and her board... all Billabong... and I stared at her some more before I became convinced ... I WAS TEN FEET AWAY FROM SANOE LAKE!!! Sobrang kinikilig kami ni Aya.
I'll post our whole convo about it later cos it merits its own space. Suffice it na lang to say that we cam-whored with Sanoe, who is super nice and very friendly... and then went to Uluwatu to see the sunset.
We ditched the prices of Jimbaran Bay and ended up having dinner at this awesome place near Kuta Night Market. Go to the place owned by Romano. You cant miss him. He looks like he is on his nth round of roids, is cross-eyed and has this charming personality. Total character man. But one of the good guys. His food is cheap and tasty. Para siyang Gerry Shan of Bali. :)
All in all, a good day... even if the Dreamland waves did try to kill us. |
| | We rented a van for half a day and checked out Ubud, Bali's art central. We didn't get to eat any babi guling (boo!) or see Antonio Blanco's gallery (boo!) but we did score a nice print for my mom (yay!), some carvings for JP's mom (yay!) and take a walk through the Monkey Forest where we found ourselves in the middle of a monkey tribe war. National Geographic moment!!!
In the afternoon, Phil and Moro surfed while the rest of us chilled on the beach with Teh Botols and, later, cold Bintang. :) |
| | After we found our bearings, we decided to stick around the Kuta beach area for a few days, braving the cold water and the often close out waves. I made friends with some local instructors and they picked waves for me to take. Nothing great but deffo long fun rides. By this time, we'd all developed a taste for Teh Botol, a locally bottled tea drink. And we were starting to make friends with the vendors on the beach... getting discounts on our Teh Botols and Bintangs... and earning a safe place for us to leave our bags while we all surfed. (Most of the hangin' and surfin' Kuta pics are with Terence).
Moro and I took an afternoon off to head up to Uluwatu. We rented a motorbike (Rp80,000 with insurance for two days), asked Juli to draw us a map and took off. Ulu was small that day - small for typical Indo standards. As it was, waves were head high, peeling and perfect. We watched the line up at Ulu and this cool guy taking off on double overhead waves with his paddleboard at Temples. Then up to the temple itself to catch the sunset... and lose sunnies to a cunning macaque.
Terence joined us in the motorbike brigade the next day and we went off in search of... sales! Hahahaha. Really chill day lang using the bike, surfing a bit and then checking out Joe's Place for the first time. Think Big Sky but chiller pa.
Next up! Ubud and the Monkey Wars! |
| | Landed in Jakarta well past midnight and spent the rest of the night at the house of Aya's tita (we slept girls in one room, boys in the other). Breakfast was thin slices of proscuito and heaping spoonfuls of nasi goreng. Then... off to Bali!
Arrived in the Island of the Gods after lunch and spent the first day getting settled in. Moro, JP and I were booked at Taman Ayu Bungalos -- really cheap place with clean rooms, comfortable beds, and a super friendly staff. I found out about Taman Ayu through Denver, who stayed there last year and made friends with one of the staff... this super nice local named Juli. Juli is the best.
Aya, Phil and Terence stayed down the street at Masa Inn. We heard about this place naman through Paolo and Cat (later backed up by Vince and Andrew). Value for money. Really great digs for a price you wont find in the Pinas.
Across Masa Inn is a restaurant called Nusa Indah. Yummy food at really low prices. Most of our meals were eaten here. Most of our Bintangs downed right after those meals. We made friends with one of the waiters pa. Komang (I know, whattaname!) became our command central... "Hey Komang, did you see Phil and Aya?" and he'd go "Yes, they just ate and went back to Masa Inn". Really convenient.
Oh... I took everyone to Legian Street the first night and introduced them to the Surfer Girl and Quiksilver store there. Third floor = sales floor. Little did any of us know that this was going to be a very small portion of what our shopping was going to be like. Hehe.
Surfing happened the second day. COLD water. So cold that after a while our fingers were going numb and our toes felt like they were going to fall off. But, since the swell had dropped off, we at least managed to have a fun session. I got long rides and got to practice my turning. Timing lang cos a lot of the waves were closing out and the sections that were consistently working were filled with locals we didnt wanna hassle.
Ano pa ba? Ah, Moro scored a board! He sold his 6'3 before we left for Bali so we were on a mission to find a a good deal on another board while we were there. The Kuta area is awash with surf shops so it took us a while to make a decision and to wrangle a good price. But on the third day of our stay, we made a choice - a 6'0 pintail Barreira board. You'll meet him soon.
Okay tama na kwento... pics na! |
Backtracking to last week. Moro and I rented a motorbike for two days (total RP80,000) and went up the coast of the Bukit Peninsula to check out Uluwatu and see the Uluwatu temple. It takes a while to get used to driving on the other side of the road and I kept thinking we were heading straight into some car or embankment. Experiencing Bali on the back of a bike is a must-try. Iba e. We got to Uluwatu in 45 minutes, found a spot to watch the surfers and drink some overpriced Coke. It was quiet and still. Very different from the crowded streets we'd been walking in Kuta. Plus, ang ganda ng alon. Next stop was the temple to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, it was an overcast day so we didn't really see it so much as sense the sun was going down by the sudden chill in the air. Also, despite valiant attempts to safeguard his shades, Moro lost his sunnies to one of the temple monkeys. (Speaking of monkeys, we saw a threeway monkey hump session... hahahaha!) We got back into town just in time for dinner at our favorite Nusa Indah (where Komang the Waiter was pleased to tell us "Phil and Aya just finished eating.") Okay, yan na muna k? Terima Kasih!
The swell is too big everywhere right now for any of us. Padang padang was double overhead, Impossibles looked impossible... Dreamland was all mushy close out shorebreaks and Balangan had beeeyootiful offshore winds and peeling FIFTEEN FOOT walls.
We watched the Rip Curl Cup trials today after breakfast. The same break we had surfed on a small day was turned completely ON. Hayop yung alon. Malaki, malinis. There were jet skis with sleds in the water to ferry out the competitors... and to bring in the unfortunate few that were injured (we saw a guy come in with a broken leg!!!).
Aya and I once again become surf aids ("we're not groupies, we're band aids) and giggled over spotting Rizal Tanjung, Jon Jon Flores and (I think) Koby Abberton (he and Kahea Hart were listed on the heat scheds e so we were pretty sure siya nga yun).
So today the surf report from Bali is: hella big! Driving down the entire stretch of Kuta to Legian, we saw close out sections with white water that looked head high. Eeep! So much for having a surf sesh today.
We ended up in the swimming pool na lang.
First of all sorry to Dom for taking a whole seven days to do the first update!!! I know, we suck at being multiply addicts. Hehe.
Hmmm... this is going to be kind rambly and bullet pointed cos I'm rushing to get offline so we can grab dinner.
-- The water here is hella cold! So cold that after a while you cant feel the tips of your fingers. To keep warm, we paddle around while waiting for sets or stick our fingers in our mouths. The sun is very hot though so it sort of evens out... sort of. Pero sa totoo lang, ang lamig talaga ng tubig.
-- Our first three sessions were at Kuta Beach cos we wanted to get a feel of the place muna. Some sections really work but for the most part, it's close out city. Fast wave though. Makes our waves feel sluggish. And, if you dont mind a smaller section, you can sit on the inside and wait for the peak to mush out then paddle for the white water ... cos its kinda like Baler where the wave reforms into a small but fun wall. Plus, this method keeps you warm while waiting for the good sets to roll in ;-)
-- Philip and Moro are consistently scoring the best rides of the sessions.
-- We already have a Bali Crew... Padi, Sam, and Anthony ...locals who hang out on Kuta Beach. One of them has a stall that sells cold drinks and rents boards... the others are his friends lang who also hang around there. Padi is the cousin of one of the Quiksilver Indo Boys we met last year in Siargao. They are the chillest and nicest guys. Plus it helps that we now have friends in the line-up who are from here.
-- Yesterday we went to the Bukit Peninsula to check out Dreamland and Padang Padang. Dreamland is BEAUTIFUL. Terence plans to retire there. Hehe. Phil, Moro and Ter went out while Aya and I waited for the conditions to get a little better. Eh, wala. Hahahaha. So only the boys scored Dreamland... land of shoulder high shorebreaks. To be fair, the waves from outside were breaking naman.
-- Padang Padang, which is usually hella gnarly, was nice and small at the shoulder. So we did the pre-sunset session there. My fingers were so frozen that I couldnt feel my board anymore. On a big set, I lost my grip and nearly dinged Moro on the head with my nose. Eeep! That kinda rattled me so I crept away from the peak and sat on the inside (again) with this cute Thai grommet. Got a few good rides but ultimately, nearly spearing Moro through the head had shaken me too much... so I left everyone and paddled in... (this is the good part)
-- While waiting for everyone to come in (Aya caught one of the best right handers that afternoon by the way... super yeah, yeah wave for Aya!!!), I noticed this girl about ten feet away from us... I thought I recognized her from somewhere but I wasnt sure... so I checked out her gear and her board... all Billabong... and I stared at her some more before I became convinced ... I WAS TEN FEET AWAY FROM SANOE LAKE!!! Sobrang kinikilig kami ni Aya.
-- DOM: I have a gift for your new board :-)
-- We have three home bars na: Nusa Inda where our waiter's name is Komang. Kubuku, which gives complimentary shots of frozen margaritas and is owned by a lovely Scottish woman whose name we have all forgotten (we call her "Si Scotland"). And of course, Joe's Place (thanks to Vince and Drew for the heads up on this place). JP Ong is the Senator of Joe's Place now. Long story that I am sure will spread once we get home (or once Terence uploads his photos and videos).
Okay, time for dinner and some walking around.
Wish you were all here. Ang saya siguro nun!
| | My favorite snaps from my Global Gypsy pbase gallery.
Remember wandering gypsies, traveling is learning... and learning is living. Travel well. Travel safely. |
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