Dreamland

The surfing spots are harder to find than I expected. There used to be signs but the government took them all down. The other day I rented a scooter which I've never really driven before. It is automatic, they drive on the left and the traffic here is complete chaos. There is a surfboard rack on it for my eight-foot longboard. When I first got the scooter I followed the guy to the Petrol station. When I got there I accidentally dropped the bike. He came over and asked if my board was okay. He didn't care about the bike! After a day of riding it I got the hang of it.

I was trying to find Canguu ("Changoo"). I stopped at an intersection in the middle of nowhere and could not decide where to go. Some French dude pulled up on his scooter with a board on it so I followed him to a spot called Tugu. It's a local or "secret spot". We drove through rice fields, past temples, through a village, past roosters, cows and more rice fields. We cut through a jungle trail that was like something out of "Raiders of the Lost Ark." It was a great spot and I caught two very long rides all the way to shore and watched a firery red sunset. Not sure I could ever find that spot again.

The other day I was searching for a surf spot called Dreamland. There was a guy named Froggy sitting on a bench and he took me to it as well as Balangan which is nearby. Later he took me to his secret spots, Froggy 1 and Froggy 2. This took a few hours and I was taking notes on the back of the scooter as he was driving. By now I realized that it was going to cost me something. I offered him what I thought was fair and he was not too happy about it. He went on about his rheumatic fever in his leg and how he could not surf anymore. He wanted $30 for each "secret spot" plus the other places. I gave him $50. More than enough. Although I never would of found any of the spots unless I bumped into him, I have no sympathy for someone who tries to manipulate me because of some sort of injury, imaginary or not.

Last night I stayed at a Loseman at Balangan. It's a surfers shack right on the beach for only $7 a night. I had to hike down some stairs with my board in order to get to it. I stayed in the best room as it had a window that faced the surf. The cheaper rooms were $5. I had arrived later in the afternoon to try and get high tide. I did my best to surf it but it is a hollow and fast left-hander which is difficult on a longboard but it was great to be in the water. I fell asleep with the sound of the crashing surf which took a while as it was very loud.

Previously, before I got to the Loseman, I stopped at a Warung along the way. It's like a no frills restaurant serving basic food. I stopped because the smoke of the grill caught my attention. It took a while but lunch was fantastic! I had BBQ chicken and prawns cooked with a spicy garlic tomato sauce, three dipping sauces, yummy steamed spinach with garlic and lime, rice, and a water for less than $5. Fantastic. No need for dinner.

The next morning I had breakfast at the Loseman and headed over to nearby Dreamland. No surfable waves, only a nasty shore break but the blue green colour of the water was amazing. I did not feel like hanging out for several hours for the tide to change so I headed over to Froggy 1. The drive on the scooter there is just as enjoyable as the surfing and is half the adventure. I'm either brave or stupid as I went out surfing alone. I caught a few waves and headed in, satisfied that I surfed it but damaged my fins on some rocks. A local was kind enough to let me use his outdoor shower. No charge! This time I asked first.

Later I went to the beach to have a Bintang beer and watch the sunset. It turned out to be two beers and some locals invited me to sit with them as they passed me shots of Jimmy Beam and coke.

Tomorrow I might take a break from surfing. When I wake up my arms feel like bags of sand from all the paddling and my feet have numerous cuts from the reef. On second thought, my feet hurt only when I walk, not when I surf so I'll probably have a massage in the morning and head out to Canguu later on for high tide.

I met a nice tanned young blonde girl from Holland. It turns out she left for the airport five minutes after I chatted with her. Typical! No Americans and lots of Europeans here which is great.

I haven't decided where I'm going to spend Christmas yet. New Years in Kuta will be a nut house as it is already party centrak and everyone from Indonesia comes here at that time. Fireworks on the beach too.