Outside the Police Station with the boys on duty cerca Kuta Lombok
As I find myself in Bali, the freedom of renting a scooter and chasing waves and adventure is too good to resist. As I island hop across Indonesia’s islands to the east I meet great people, pumping waves and a slice of misfortune. A free pizza turns into the most expensive pizza I’ve ever had and I learn the lessons of awareness and karma.
We love Indonesia, warts and all.
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The thing to do - rent a scooter
Any trip to Indonesia will most likely start in Bali, whether it’s your final destination or a launching pad to one of the myriad islands east or west of Bali.
Inevitably, after spending some time in Bali it will become clear that the thing to do is rent a scooter and make your own way to the surf breaks.
There’s an undeniable sense of freedom and adventure when the time comes to grab your scooter, strap on your board and make way to one of the many line-ups located on the Bukit Peninsula and beyond.
Now you’re probably asking, “what’s a fair price?” Well that’s a good question, it depends on the model, location and for how long you’re renting a scooter for. As business is highly competitive in Bali, negotiation skills are key. Don’t settle on the first offer (which is likely to be around 100k IDR per day). Instead, aim for a day rate between 50-80k IDR. After renting a bike for 60k per day in Uluwatu for a week, I later rented a bike in Sanur for 1million IDR per month, which equates to approximately 34k per day.
(tip: if possible rent your bike closer to Denspasar, many companies will even drop off a bike to your accomodation. The further out from tourist hotspots like Canggu and Uluwatu you are, the more competitive the prices become.
After spending a couple of weeks in Bali, I started to feel this paradox, on one hand, feeling like there’s an adventure to be had every day, yet on the other feeling like I’m getting boxed in. I guess that’s what happens when you get familiar with a new area, and knowing that the true adventure has been commercialized and popularised.
My mind can’t help but wonder what the likes of Gerry Lopez and Peter McCabe felt when they arrived upon virtually virgin land and discovering new waves back in the 1970’s. Back then, the only way to reach remote breaks on outer islands was by boat. While Bali is now crowded, the early pioneering efforts by guys such as Lopez and McCabe have paved the way for inter-island travel, a journey that still requires a boat (ferry), but once the bow door drops and rubber hits the road, those two wheels will take you on the adventure of a lifetime.
Island Hopping
I’m headed for Padang Bai ferry terminal as I depart my homestay at 4am, still in complete darkness. As much as I’d normally avoid driving in pitch black, there’s a calmness to the night, the chaos of Bali hasn’t yet awoken and I feel safe navigating the occasional stray dog and bump in the road.
It’s hard to tell what information online is reliable or when the ferry’s will actually depart, but I find that the advice I received is generally accurate. I arrive at the ticket merchants window just as the sun begins to rise, and the woman tells me via Google translate that the ferry is leaving in 1 hour, perfect!
180k IDR leaves my pocket and I enter the queue to get onto the ferry
On the other end of journey, in Lembar, I spot one other bule (foreigner) with a surfboard and motorbike, I ask him, ‘are you headed to Bangko Bangko’ ? He nods smiling.
Of course we are headed to Desert Point, and whilst it’s easier to catch a fast boat over from Bali, something says that this trip is a rite of passage into the realm of true surf travel and world-class waves, where a host of world-class surfers inevitably follow.
As predicted, a pumping swell arrives the next day, with the bay almost maxing out. 8-10ft sets roll through powerfully, but there’s little tube action as the massive walls often fail to turn into proper barrels.
It’s hard to believe by the end of the day the ocean goes flat, a few of the surfers score world-class waves, but the majority leave with tail between their legs.
As the sun sets, a collective sigh of relief fills the air as the intense energy of the day fades away.
The waves
If you’ve come here hoping for a list of the best waves and the perfect time to surf them, you’ve come to the wrong place.
This story isn’t about giving you the inside scoop on the best surf spots, rather it’s about inspiring you to island-hop in search of your own adventure.
Although I did mention Desert Point, it’s important to note that this wave is far from a secret. On any given good swell, you’ll find 100+ surfers in the lineup
The reality is, many of us will go to the same spots anyway, but the experience will always be unique. It’s shaped by the waves we catch, the people we meet, the places we stay and how we interact with the locals.
The next island east of Lombok is Sumbawa, and this was my favourite part of the trip. There’s more untamed wilderness and far fewer people. Although, the premier waves in the area still get crowded when the winds turn unfavourable and the tides become too low in certain spots.
Sumbawa is definitely not for beginner surfers – its shallow reefs and heavy waves can be unforgiving, just ask me how I got badly scratched up. While a quick google search will reveal most of the well-known breaks, true adventure lies in asking the locals, exploring off the beaten path and following your intuition.
The incident
Up until the point of the incident, my trip had been going smoothly, I had met some great people, scored pumping waves, pushed my comfort zone in heavy waters, indulged in countless coconuts and was doing what I love most – exploring.
But what’s a trip without a little misadventure? In what started out as a free pizza, turned out to be the most expensive pizza of my life.
We met these guys at the top of the lookout (see picture below), they were eating pizza and sipping beers as the sun went down. They told my mate Jamie that a new Italian restaurant in town was having a promotion and were handing out vouchers for free pizza, say no more..
A combination of naivety and bad timing soon followed.
On our way back to town my scooter ran out of fuel, with only 20 minutes to get to the restaurant before the promotion ended.
With free pizza firmly on our minds, we decided to leave my scooter on the side of the road. I locked the steering mechanism, grabbed a few things from the storage compartment, and jumped on the back of Jamie’s scooter.
As the night faded, the keys safely in my possession and the scooter just a short, but inconvenient trip out of town, we decided to pick it up the next day.
The next morning, with a plastic bottle full of gas in hand, we returned back to the spot where I’d left my scooter. But it was gone. Surely not, we thought. The roads looked different during daylight, but we were certain we were in the right area. A quick chat to the security guards and a post on the Kuta Lombok Community Facebook group, revealed that I had made a major mistake and practically invited someone to steal my scooter.
When something goes wrong on a trip, the mind runs rampant – the what ifs and sudden changes of plans. I asked my hostel manager what should I do, he advised ‘talk to the people on the streets first, don’t get the police involved just yet or the scooter will be gone for good’. Things work differently around here..
Long story short, I ended up spending hours at the police station drinking tea, jamming with the officers and their friends, taking one of them out to lunch, giving the officers on duty cigarette money and even helping write my own police report. But ultimately the police couldn’t do anything.
That pizza ended up costing me $1300, Lesson learnt.
Lessons learnt & karmic law
Well, this ain’t Australia – leaving your stuff out in plain sight and expecting it to still be there is a rookie mistake.
A few lessons learnt include:
- Sort out what you need to before getting a pizza -Take heed of the situation, ‘wash your bowls’ and focus on whats important. I would’ve paid less than $10 for that pizza, but my judgement was clouded by time pressure and the promise of free pizza
- Be aware of where you are – I had brought my bike over from Bali on the ferry and while it may have been safe in Bali, I was unaware that I was in an area with a high level of theft. It didn’t help my bike was from Bali in this situation, making it more likely to be targeted
- Own your decisions and deal with the consequences – I could have easily left the woman I hired the bike from in a tough spot, as we didn’t have a formal rental contract. But I knew karma would have got me good. In two weeks of work in back in Australia I can make and payback the $1300, whereas it could ruin her whole year and foreseeable future.
Whether you believe in karma or not, I made the decision to go home after the incident and soon after I got the biggest job of my freelance career. Coincidence? Maybe. But I like to believe that because I did the right thing, right was done by me. After all, wouldn’t the world be a better place if we believed that by doing good, good things will happen in return?
Before your next trip, know before you go, accept that things may go wrong, embrace the chaos, take responsibility for your actions and don’t look back.
Thanks for reading : – )
