Last year Carol and I decided early on to spend September in Bali. Good thing, because with all the doom and gloom in the economy, we might not have gone if we hadn’t already purchased those tickets. As it turned out we didn’t miss much; only 2 West Maui homes and a handful of condos went into escrow while we were gone. Looking back over the year we’ve had more than our share of sales, and the time we spent in Bali recharging our batteries was absolutely wonderful. It also gave us a renewed appreciation for how blessed we are by experiencing a culture where people find joy in the simple things in life, and seem to live happily on pennies a day. The following is a diary from my perspective, which I’m afraid is a bit long winded (my apologies). Later we’ll add Carol’s dairy, a much more concise version of the trip—we hope you find them interesting.

We began our trip with a brief stay at the Kumala Pentai in Legion, an upscale hotel (A/C, lots of granite, nice oceanfront Italian restaurant; $50/day includes full breakfast) near Kuta and the airport. In the morning we met our Maui friends Tom (my associate at RE/MAX Maui) and Elly Guthrie, who had been on Bali for over a month, staying mainly in Ubud, the “Upcountry of Bali”. While the ladies swam in the beautiful statue-lined pool and became reacquainted with the local beach vendors and manicurists, Tom and I took a taxi to Kuta Beach and a boat ride out to Airport Lefts. We surfed fun, glassy, head-high waves for about 2 hours before talking our boat driver into dropping us off on the beach directly in front of the hotel, coolly avoiding the half hour taxi drive back through heavy Kuta traffic. That night we had a great dinner at the Tratoria, an Italian in-crowd hangout in Seminac, where we ran into La Jolla surfer/Realtor Ryan Bracker who was enjoying his last few hours on Bali before flying home. Coincidentally we’d be hanging out with his parents for the next month.

The next morning we all checked out and had our driver drop us off at the beach in Sanur, on the east side of the Bukit peninsula, where we met Dr. Mark and Alida Bracker. Mark just retired after 30 years at UCSD (Sports medicine is one of his specialties and he’s a “Surf Doc”—a surfer’s perfect traveling companion!); they had already been in Indonesia for 2 months. I’d met Mark in ‘97 on a surf boat trip to the Mentawai Islands, off Sumatra, and I owe him a LOT. When we first met in Nias, off Sumatra, he tended to a gash in my thigh that I’d gotten from landing on a fin at Uluwatu, Bali, the day before. Later on the boat he gave me a cortisone shot to relieve massive pain in my rotator cuff, and he’s been taking care of me ever since. It was he and Alida who introduced me to Carol in La Jolla 10 years ago—the rest, as they say, is history. Anyway, we loaded 3 couple’s worth of suitcases and surfboards onto the “fast boat” to Nusa Lemobongan, our destination for the next 3 days.

Nusa Lembongan is a small island--you can drive around it in less than an hour. It’s about 15 miles off the east coast of Bali. Lembongan’s fairly recent economy is based on seaweed production, which is used in ice cream and cosmetics, but I think more money is generated by tourists attracted by the great surf and diving. From our room at the Hideaway resort (about $60/day, A/C, pool, comp. Continental breakfast, but no hot water) we could watch the locals wade out at low tide to plant and harvest the seaweed, which grows in rectangular plots protected by the barrier reef. We all rented scooters the first day and caravanned around the island; scenic villages with beachfront grass huts, beautiful views of distant volcanoes, and an adrenaline-filled bridge crossing to Nusa Ceningan highlighted the mini-adventure. We had a nice dinner at one of the low-key restaurants and enjoyed one of the typically spectacular sunsets.

The next day Carol and I surfed longboards out front at Hideaways while Mark surfed Shipwrecks. Knowing they were going to miss their Bali friends, Tom and Elly decided to head back to Ubud for their last few days before flying home. Later on Mark and Alida snorkeled out front and learned about the nasty current that is created by ingoing and outgoing tides—you really have to pay attention to the tides in Indonesia.

There are three good surf spots within paddling distance from one another: Hideaways, a fun right and left peak just below our resort; Shipwrecks, a challenging, heaving right barrel just a short boat ride to the south; and Lacerations, a short, fast, perfect right barrel, aptly named due to the sharp, shallow bottom. Lacerations is unfortunately located near beginner-friendly Hideaways, and right next to bunch of tourist barges featuring water slides and swim-up bars, so it regularly attracts clueless tourists on boogie boards who wind up bruised and bloodied after their first trip over the reef. There is a 4th surf spot on Nusa Ceningan a 15 min. boat trip away which produces thick, left peaks rolling off the south end of the island. When Mark and I surfed it (along with both Lacerations and Shipwrecks, all on our second day) I got caught and rolled way inside by double overhead + monsters—I was glad to get out of there after only one wave.

We could see all 3 main breaks from our lanai. They are amazing in that as the tide comes in they can go from basically flat to overhead within 15 minutes—crazy and intimidating! On the third day it was knee high and no one out at Shipwrecks. I was on my 6’3” 4-fin board. Within 15 minutes it was shoulder high and 30 other guys showed up. Then 15 minutes later it just went Richter. Double overhead, dredging monsters started cleaning out the lineup and half the guys bailed with their leashes between their legs. I decided to take a boat ride back to get my bigger board (6’9” 3-fin-still too small) and when I got back to Shipwrecks, Mark was gone! I didn’t know what to do so I just surfed, not too successfully, for another hour. After getting dragged over the long, shallow reef for the 4th time—it was impossible to avoid the clean up sets—I rode back home, leaving only 2 or 3 masochists in the lineup. Turns out that right after I left to get my bigger board, Mark got caught inside by a huge set, which snapped his leash and left him swimming the ¼ mile to shore. His board got caught in the swift tidal current & was on it’s way to Antarctica, but a savvy boatman spotted it and took Mark out to sea to retrieve it. Seeing as how it was his only board, Mark was happy to buff the guy out with a big tip.

Back on Bali, we met our driver in Sanur who took us up to Ubud. One fact I like about Bali is that you can hire a minivan for $30 to $50/day including gas and a driver, who will wait patiently while you finish your surfing, shopping, hiking, etc. He’ll hopefully speak English and sometimes offer tips about good surf spots, restaurants, shopping, and places to stay. Ubud is “upcountry” Bali, a little over an hour drive from oceanfront Kuta or Sanur, and an hour or so drive below Bali’s highest volcanic mountain peaks and lakes. We initially stayed at the Ubud Bungalows, a small, meticulously kept boutique hotel ($40/day incl. breakfast). It’s close to countless shops, restaurants, and wonderful attractions like the Sacred Monkey Forest, Ubud Palace, five museums and dozens of art galleries. I won’t go into how interesting these places are but you can read about them in Lonely Planet or other travel books. Suffice to say Ubud is a goldmine of exotic people, culture, art, and activities. We checked out the Kachuk dancers, played with the monkeys at the Monkey Forest, and enjoyed fantastic meals (from $4 to $10) in places like Sari Organic, which boasts possibly the coolest setting for a restaurant I’ve ever seen; it’s nestled in a beautiful terraced rice paddy, a pleasant walk along waterways but far removed from the busy streets below. We also spent some time spoiling ourselves with hour-long massages ($10), and the ladies didn’t miss out on their manicures, pedicures, and facials. Basically we lived like royalty on a pauper’s budget.

After a few days we said goodbye to our friends Tom and Elly, and moved in to Mark and Alida’s wonderfully furnished and decorated home on the other side of Ubud, which they had rented for three months. What a classic Bali house! You can reach it by walking up 110 steps from the main road (tough with two surfboards & luggage), or take a circuitous route via motor scooter. It is bordered by rice paddies and has wonderful views from the upper loft of the surrounding terraced hillsides, homes, temples, and distant volcanos. Just below the living quarters is a warung, or café, run by the caretakers of the home. We could order breakfast ($2 for pancakes and a smoothie) and they would walk it right on up for us moments later. There were two other warungs within a short walk of the house, offering an amazing variety of culinary delights, all at super low prices.

(to be continued!)