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| Surfing in Bali |
Bali is now one of my favorite places in the world. Before I went I had talked to a few people about going solo and was met with alot of "Ten days! thats so long for Bali!" Well they were wrong. I could have spent two months just traveling there and probably longer just living and enjoying everything. I am definitely considering teaching/living on an island in the future, potentially Guam.
I stayed in Kuta at immediately headed out (as most people suggest) to Amed for some diving. I was recommended a driver/tour guide Suma https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g297698-d8504328-Reviews-Suma_Bali_Tour-Nusa_Dua_Nusa_Dua_Peninsula_Bali.html. He was so nice a friendly and wonderful. Which can pretty much summarize every local I had the pleasure of interacting with. I was upgraded at my hotel to a lovely room with a king sized bed, great sunset views, and lovely staff. (for 10$ a night) The place was super secluded but had wonderful food and the staff was so friendly. There were not many backpackers here but I did get the chance to interact with some "older" travelers I normally would not. Meeting people in their 50s traveling the world is humbling and fantastic. They have been so any places and still have such a great love for everything. I hope I can continue to find adventure where-ever I wind up.
I did a few days of diving here and it was incredible. My instructor was great for everything except that when I was low on air he had me buddy breath every time. Which was nice because every dive was an hour or more, but not nice because as you lose air in the tank, its hard to control your ascent etc.
-1st dive: Japanese ship wreck : 25 meters : 76 minutes
-2nd dive: Shore drift dive : saw a turtle!
-3rd +4th dive: Wreck Dive: USAT liberty: 25 meters : 65 minutes
-By far my favorite dives: We explored INSIDE the ship. It was incredible AND I saw my first sharks here. Some small black tipped reef sharks.
I then moved onto Changu. Same driver and some great conversation. Bali really surprised me with the colors. It was much more Hindu then I expected. There are shrines and temples EVERYWHERE and it is very much a part of daily life. Absolutely incredible.
I stayed at farmers yard hostel which is one of the cooler places I've stayed. Though not very clean it had a great vibe and people. Very chill, rock out at night kind of place. They have their own garden and are super sustainable so rock on.
The next day I had my first day of surfing with Buddy Bali. And Oh My God was it terrible. Seriously I've failed before, but never so bad as this. I knew it would be hard but DAAAAAAmn! Also the hardest workout I've ever had. I'd be paddling out and have to take a rest. Only good thing was because I was terrible, I didn't ride the wave very long and therefor didn't have to paddle very far. I also got so sea-sick. Which I should have maybe figured was going to happen but what the hell body. I've lived months of my life on the open ocean but sitting on a board for a few hours and I'm ready to hurl everything I've got. After surfing I hung around, met some people for dinner, and just relaxed at the hostel.
Side Story: That morning I had gotten lost on the way to the beach and couldn't find a taxi. When I stopped at a store to ask for directions the store owner just told me to hop on this bike and drove me down. It was so kind and generous and just encompassed everything I loved about Bali. He refused to take any cash was just a lovely human being.
The next day I rented a bike and made my way to the beach. Already surfing is so much better. I could stand and generally felt like I may one day get it. I chilled on the beach and splurged on a delicious dinner after a great sunset.
Final day of surfing: I LOVE it. It is one of my favorite things. Still super difficult, and I'm still super bad, but I can catch and ride a wave to the shore. We went to a slightly more "advanced" area and it felt great. The surfing community is so great, local and foreign. Everyones encouraging and willing to help. I can turn and avoid people and my proudest moment was having a surfer motion for me to go right instead of left around them AND DOING IT! rock on. Worst moment was crashing into a surfer near the shore who was paddling out BUT my instructor said he was paddling in the wrong place, and should have avoided me. Our leashed got tangled and it was not fun, but no harm no foul. It definitely a chore trying to figure all that out in the middle of the surf. He really should have been using the shoulder.
Afterwords I headed to Ubud, a place recommended by multiple people. After extending my surfing stay for longer I really only had a few days left. The hostel I stayed at (Jukung Hostel) was so cool. I was new so not many people but it was completely made of old ships. The tables, baths, walls, everything. The owner was super nice and cool (though a little blunt) and fun to hang out with.
I met two British sisters and the next day we really explored the area with Suma. We got to see the rice terraces and the temples. It was all beautiful but Ubud was definitely not my favorite part of Bali. It seams to be very touristy and I preferred the small town areas around the beaches.
The next day I went to Monkey forest before my flight. Very cool. The monkeys were not ferocious like so many other "wild" monkeys I've seen and the park was just genuinely a pleasure to walk around. I walked around the market, bought a few things, and was off.
The overnight layover in KL was killer man! but eventually I landed back in the bitter cold of Korea. Bali was fantastic. I want to live somewhere where I can surf everyday and Bali seams like a great option. I really do think Ocean living may be the life for me someday, and maybe I'll finally figure out the tides etc. Much love Bali.
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| Monkey Forest : Ubud |
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| Monkey Forest : Ubud |
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| Water temple: Ubud |
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| Ubud |
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| Rice terracesL Ubud |
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| Farmers Yard Hostel Kuta |
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| Echo Beach Kuta |
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| Echo Beach: Kuta |
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| Sunset Echo Beach: Kuta |
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