3-25-10 temple adventure

so today we met up with our friends and headed to a secret surf spot. The secret spot is called ganung payung. it took about 40 minutes on scooters to get there, but it was very worth it. the surf was epic. looking down the cliff side you see line after line after line. it was solid waves too. i'd say head high on average with some bombs up to about 9-10ft. the shacks were incredible. you drop in get barreled and think you are too deep but the waves were just sooo perfect you ride in them forever. then you shoot out with the spit. i had a handful of in-n-outs and so did the rest of the crew. it was epic! On the paddle out you paddle for about 5 minutes over what looks like fields of crops you would see while flying over a farm. The people here farm seaweed and it looks just like feilds above water its pretty cool. The ocean is very unique here the water is gets to about 5 feet deep close then it gets to high reef thats about shin deep then it gets deeper again over more reef. The reef is incredible. when you surf you hear it and how alive it is. when there is a lull in the surf you can even feel it crackling and being so alive. it's an incredible experience. there are spots where there are deep cracks in the reef that go down and ectra 10 ft. those spots are wonderful to stop over because they have cold water coming out of them. the water is very warm and combined with the sun it's super hot so any coolness you can get you take. after surfing we went to another spot to surf more. we got there and the waves weren't good at all so we cruized through the city looking at temples and other places of interest. we decided mcdonalds for a little snack. of all place mcdonalds. what makes mcdonalds soooo good is the mcflurry. they are like 50 cents and soooooo darn cold! cold ice cream makes hot people feel great! anyways after mcdonalds we decided to see if we could find another surf spot called niang niang. we found the hotel at niang niang, but couldn't find access to the water. its supposed to be a good spot, maybe today we can find it. About then it was getting dark and me and brian met up with our friends will and julia again. we were going to try to make it to the fire dance at padang padang, but we were too late. so i went on a solo trip to the hindu temple at uluwatu. i was told not to get a tour guide just walk in and cruiz around so i did. you get there and pay your 10 cents for parking then pay your 25 cents to get into the temple. the temple is right on the cliffs and is incredible to see. there are wild monkeys everywhere in the temple so you need to watch yourself. i walked along the side of the cliff on a dirt path that has small castle like ledges made of cement to a point where you walk out on the volcano rock and can see this incredible view of the ocean and the curve of the land. it was amazing. so i continued my way through the temple that was built with rock, corral, as well as cement. it was awesome. i kept trying to get pictures with monkeys, but it was getting dark and kind of difficult. i was trying to do a self photo with a monkey when another monkey jumped on my back and started climbing up me. i quickly shook him off. it freaked me out. so i continued on looking at the monkeys and taking pictures. i asked a lady to take a photo of me by a monkey when another monkey jumped on my back. this time he was quick and grabbed my hat and took off. that little son of a b was trying to steal from me. i wasn't letting that happen so i chased him to a wall he tried to climb up i grabbed him by his back and threw him off the wall. thats when he let go of my hat. no one touches the chargers hat, no one! so i continued on, got my camera back from the lady who was laughing her head off, and headed towards a sort of amphitheatre that was full of people and noise. i got there and i guess it was some sort of play or something. about 50 bali people were chanting and sitting, while a few others were wearing some very extravagant costumes and running around fighting and doing all kinds of other stuff. i missed most of it because i was playing with the monkeys, but it was darn cool to see. After that i went and got a snack from some guy. he was cooking chicken kabobs right there in the parking lot. 10 kabobs for a buck. they were wonderful. I then got on my trusty scooter turned the lights on and headed home. i got home and sat for a while on our porch and read. after reading a few chapters i decided it was time to eat. i went to yeye's again and tried some of the only micro bre in indonesia. it's called storm and let me tell you. don't come to indo to drink the micro brew. its not very good. hahaha. after dinner and a few beers i headed home for the eve, it was a wonderful day and i think today will be as well. gonna go check the surf right in front of our house now.

Indo 3-24-10

SO far the trip has been super interesting. i forgot to mention, but a day ago brian and i were looking to meet up with some friends. we stopped in at their hotel to see if they were there. sadly they weren't there, but the locals said we should hang out for dinner and to see the cock fight. we walked into a little clearing in the jungle-ish area outside of the hotel to see the cockfight. The locals were getting the roosters all riled up and ready to fight. now cock fights are illegal here because there is always gambling involved and gambling is illegal. anyways its a fight to the death between 2 roosters. each rooster has a knife strapped to its leg and they fight until there is a winner. the looser is eaton for dinner and the winner if strong enough to continue living is kept alive to fight another day. if the winner is too weak it is eaten that night as well. we watched 2 fights and didn't want to watch anymore or stay for dinner. we left shortly after.

now on to more recent events. we got up at about 7 on the 23rd and went down to uluwatu to check the surf. it wa slow tide and kinda small, but we decided to get in anyways. the water is of course very hot and so is the weather. The water is sooo clear you can't tell how deep the reef is unless you place your foot on the ground. We surfed for a few hours. it was a fun sesh, small but really fun. after surfin we ate some food and hung out with the locals. brian bartered with a man andf got himself a new board because his other one was so waterlogged it was starting to sink. I got a pair of shades because when you ride a scooter you need them . a bunch of dust and stuff kicks up and gets in yoru eyes. it's kind of wierd driving on the wrong side of the road, but it comes really quick and you don't mess up and go the wrong way. All the roads are sooo narrow only scooters and a vw bug or vw bus will fit. they drive all scooters and like suzuki mini bus things. they are just like vw bus mived with trucks. everyone here beeps their horns all the time. its not something you do when you're pissed off you do it to let people know you are there. when you pass someone you beep, when you go around a blind corner you beep; its very much an awareness thing. back on track... after surfin we ate and relaxed. then we got on the scooters and headed to another beach to surf. we saw it yesterday and it looked epic. however this day not so good. surtf was small so i chatted with the locals and went on a little snorkeling adventure. after snorkeling i came in for a snooz on the beach. after waking up brian was back in and we went out with some friends from san diego. we went to a resteraunt called yeye's it was darn good.

Now i think today is the 24th, but im not sure as i lost my cheapo watch day one in the surf. again did the usual. got up at 7 surf check and figured it out from there. we got breakfast on the way to a surf spot called green bowl. the ride took about 30 minutes to get there. it is one of the prettiest placed i have EVER seen. we stopped in there sometime in the past and i played with the wild monkeys... we get there and there is a guy sitting by the stair to the beach. this guy sells drinks and watches your stuff for you while you surf. indonesia so far has been the safest place i have ever been. you just leave your stuff anywhere and people want to watch it for you, wallet, keys, camera, whatever. no one will steal anything it's incredible to be in a culture like this! amuwaus surf at green bowl was pretty fun. mostly about 5 ft with some bigger sets as well. i had 4-5 in-n-outs that were just great. its almost all lefts in indo so far, however green bowl is on the south side of the island, where the surf comes in at a different angle. i finally got some rights to play on. i bonked into the reef a handful of times, but just with the flippers. it's deep enough so you don't have to worry about unless its super low tide. anyways we all had some fun waves and headed back home. we sat in for lunch at uluwatu our local spot. its right on the cliffs overlooking the surf. we had fried noodles with chicken and an egg. it's darn good and runs just under 2 us dollars. we watched the surf and relaxed for an hour. the surf wasn't to good so i decided to get my very first massage. i got my massage from Honey who is probubly 60ish, but my goodness she hasd strong hands. i can't say how long the massage was because i sacked out for alot of it. i wo uld say it was probubly at least an hour and a half tho. the cost for the massage was just under 5 usd. Everything here is so darn cheap! One thing i've learned is how much the tip means to the locals. Tipping for everything puts a huge smile on their faces and it is something i can easily afford. anyways thats the recent events. im at an interent place getting a snack then im gonna go get petrol and head to surf an eve sesh.

all my pictures will be up on facebook. its easier to uplaod photos on that.

1st day in indo

So overall the journey took about 30 hours from the us to finally indo and through the customs line. got out and found a man who had some paper with my name on it. thanks for setting me up swardo! some guys took my bags and carried them for me and said "tip" i was like ok here and gave 1 guy 5000 rupiah. he looked at me and said "more" i was like "na man i just gave you like 5 usd" we argued for about 5 minutes and he wouldn't give me my bags until i gave his buddy some money. i told him i was big and didn't need him to carry my stuff anyways. i gave him another 5000 rupiah to get my stuff from him and walked away. come to find out i did my conversion wrong and gave em both 50 cents. hahahah oops! so i got in my cab and got to my hotel. Im currently in ULUWATA. i guess it's one of the best surf spots in bali. everyone here is sooo nice and welcoming. vini and tini the two women of the hotel hooked me up with my room and are super nice. i sacked out about 7ish indo time and brian got to the hotel at about midnight. we chatted forever and i sacked out again till about 7. it rained in the night i think but not sure. we got up walked to the surf (about 5 minutes away) and got breakfast and overlooked the surf. i had an omelet and a jaffle. its like a grilled cheese sandwich kind of. darn good. then we surfed till noon. we came in and theres a cave you have to swim into to get to shore. well i didn't know how strong the current was in front of the cave and it took me 2 times to make it in. my legs burnt like acid from kicking sooooo long and hard. i finally just got washed up on the rock cliff and rock climbed to to a wee ledge and jumped back into the water and into the cave. the indo people laughed at me but were super cool about it. so we went up and got lunch over looking the surf. they take photos of you the whole time you surf and you check em out and buy what you want! super sick. they don't miss a wave you catch either. we walked back home and i realized i got kinda burnt. sucky! we chilled in the room for a few hours then rented scooters and checked the surf all over. I tried to play with some wild monkeys. i was kinda scared of them. i went near a mama with her baby and she opened her mouth and hissed at me. i left shortly after that. then swardo and i just cruized around no the scoots and checked out more surf spots. now i think we are going to have some bin tang (the local brew) maybe we will surf again maybe not. so thats my trip so far. internet acess is limited so i wont be back on too much until i get to taiwan the 1st of april.

Flights Away

so pops and i drove from esco to lax to send me off on my adventure. we said our goodbyes and he dropped me off in front of air china...sadly i was flying on china air so he came back and we drove around for another halfhour trying to find the spot. Finally found it and said our goodbyes again. i got in line for my flight tickets and was pretty much on my way. i expected to have to pay a bunch for bringing 2 boards in a bad and another bag, but they checked em both free. thank you china airlines! got on board into some mega tiny seats and sacked out for a while off and on the whole time. I sat next to a guy names glenn who was really fun to sit and chat with. that made the flight alot easier for me. we tried to order jack on the rocks or a jack and coke and what we got was vodka on the rocks. whatever free is free right? the flight continued on and i sat and slept off and on the whole time. near the end i watched some videos about the places im traveling to and then i watched couples retreat. im gonna be honest its pretty darn funny. so now im sitting in taiwan international airport waiting for my flight to bali. 3 hours till the flight leaves and another 4 or 5 hours on the plane. i will have been on a plane for about 20 or 21 hours and total travel time about 24 hours. im gonna be POOPED! well Indo here i come.