Tropical Surf Tour

End of The Dream

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:47:40 +0200

I'm now back home in Wales. Its not too cold but there aren't even ripples, let alone waves. It looks like I'll be working in boring Cambridge again in about a week. Bah! Humbug! I've got the blues.

The end of my holiday was great. The swell died & I grew tired of Lombok. I decided to go back to Medewi for my last week of surfing. Good decision :-) Even though there was only a little swell when I got there it was still surfable as long as you didn't mind dodging rocks. The swell was well behaved & after a couple of days picked up to provide some decent waves. God I've improved since I first visited this place! On my last morning the waves were perfect: Glassy, a reasonable size & not crowded. I caught a great 1st wave, it was fantastic & took me about 100 yards. By the time I'd paddled back I felt like a rest but along came another wave; it would be rude to refuse & hey, I'm paddling those 100 yards again after another great wave. The third wave came along in the same manner & as I'm paddling back for the third time I think that this is too perfect, if I catch a fourth beauty I'm getting out of the water 'cos it can't keep on like this. Well, whaddya know, here comes the fourth incarnation of perfection. Somehow I mess up & eat saline solution. Try again & wo.. this is the best of the day. I ride it alllllllll the way across the bay (about 200-250 yards) & hop out of the sea. Eating my 2nd breakfast I'm totally stoked, those 4 waves probably add up to more time actually surfing than a day on most UK beaches. Of course I can't resist going back in & I catch a few more good 'uns before a double-whammy of dropping swell & large crowds chases me from the water.
An uneventful night in Kuta (except for the snake in my bathroom) & I'm off to Jakarta.

Jakarta, a city with little to recommend it to the site-seer (how do you spell that?). To a lucky person like me it can be a great place. I arrived at about 10 in the evening & checked into a guesthouse at the same time as a couple of girls. We head out for dinner at a street stall together. The grub's good, the conversation better. I find them fascinating & somehow it gets to be 3 AM & we're still talking.
Next day I go see a couple of malls (yep, that's one of things recommended to do in Jakarta, I found it dull) then the old Dutch 'Kota' (crumbling not very old or interesting buildings). On the train back to my bit of town, as I'm wondering how to fill in my last few hours, a true tropical storm breaks & the rain plummets by the gallon.

At my station I hang about rather than getting drenched. I get chatting with some local guys & share a laugh or two at the expense of others getting soaked. when they decided that they really need to get back to the office I'm left wondering if I'm willing to get soaked.
In Indonesian towns just about any space that can be occupied is occupied. In this station, under the stairs which run up to the platform are three tellys, three PS2s, a piece of carpet & many kids. They beckon me over to have a go.

Excellent! Head-to-head motorbike racing against local kids! The kids are totally chuffed to see a white boy willing to join in & I'm totally chuffed to be asked. Chuffing great! After a bit of chat about Indo music I listen to some of their MP3 players & when I say I like what I hear off we go to an Internet caff & burn some of their music onto a CD for me. Sweeeeeeeeeet.
But I have to go, I have an appointment with a French Girl to keep & a plane to catch. A tuk-tuk ride, a French lesson, a slow taxi ride & now I'm leaving Indonesia, my holiday & reality to head back to the bad dream of offices & expensive living.
Have I enjoyed myself? YES
Will I do it again? YES YES
Should you do it? YES YES YES, just stay off my waves ;-) Better still you could donate to the worthy cause of getting me out there again.

Thanks for reading, that's all for now folks. N :-)

Tropical Surf Tour

End of The Dream

Best Wave

Down & out in Kuta & Kuta 05/06/07

Random Quickie

After The Storm 20/05/07

Photos..

Before Sushi.. 16/05/07

Kuta & SL vs Indo

(Late...) 28/04/07

(Early...) 28/04/07

Jogjakarta Soundbites 26/04/07

Perfect Future 23/11/07

Bad Decisions 14/04/07

Hasty Update 16/04/06

Rain, Rain, Rain...

Warwounds

Safari – 30/03

Busy Days – 24-27/03

‘Home’ Monday 19/03

Tranquility on the Wewa 16/03

Kaos in Kandy 15/03

Up & Down

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