Kuta Beach, Bali

Greetings from Indo. The pictures are all from my hotel, the Masa Inn. The property is impressive and the rooms are clean with a warm shower and breakfast for about $17 Canadian a night! I've stayed and photographed some swanky places in Australia and Hawaii and this place is just as good.

Kuta is a nut house. Imagine Bladerunner in the tropics with more scooters than Rome. And it's the low season!

I've been here three days and surfed twice and today I bought my first surfboard. Strange to charge four million rupies to your Visa card but with all the gack including a bag. A local gave me the lowdown so it's a fairly good price for a board that was barely used. It's a longboard, an 8 foot mini Malibu. It works out to be about $350 which would be at least triple back home. Longboards are not the fashion, kind of like skiing is to snowboarding but I'd rather ride a wave for a longer time than do a million turns.

I also took a lesson from a local on the beach today. A lot cheaper than going the official route and I'd rather help out a local instead of supporting a place like the Hard Rock Cafe Bali with it's "accredited" lessons.

It's been harder than I thought to meet people but I've only been here a few days. Having my own board feels like a type of freedom. I might outgrow it but I can always sell it before I leave but I will probably hang onto it for future surf trips.

Strange to paddle through garbage while surfing. Not quite as squeaky clean as Waikiki but they do have people that clean up the beach.

It's very cheap to eat decent meals here and with your room you can live like a sultan for the equivalent of $35 a day.

Tomorrow I'm taking another surf lesson and in the next day or so I might head down to a break called Dreamland with the local who has been teaching me. He's got a surfboard rack on his scooter that fits two boards.

It appears that I can base myself out of Kuta and take cabs or get rides for surfing and be back in Kuta for happy hour.

The cost of my hotel rooms in Hong Kong for three days will probably exceed the cost of my accommodations here for a month.

It's rainy season here but so far there has barely been a cloud in the sky. Knock on wood. Teak.