When I'm Not Surfing

There's a lot of stuff going on. Always something exciting happening. From pool training, fitness classes and yoga, there's free entry to Finn's recreation club with its gym, water park and tennis courts, the Friday bbq, surf quiz and movie night. Never a quiet moment, unless of course you're seeking one laying on the loungers by the pool.

Saturday is day off. Except mostly they're just as busy as the rest of the week and start even earlier. 3:30am start my first week to head to Lovina in the north. Went out on a boat to find some dolphins at sunrise. 

Then to the stunning Aling Aling waterfalls where I did lots of very brave and courageous cliff jumping. I even slid down the natural slide on the waterfall. It's more of a massive drop than a slide, but it is smooth so I guess it qualifies for slide status. There's a heck of a lot of water coming down with you and forcing you under before spitting you out further downstream. 

There was Lake Beratan water temple

Pondok Indah Bedugul abandoned hotel

I took a day trip to Nusa Penida, the nearest island to Bali. The plan was to go snorkelling with manta rays, but they were clearly having a duvet day and didn't want to show themselves. Disappointing, but the beautiful boat trips were still worth it. Went to a natural archway, much like Durdle Door back home, though the sea was a bit bluer over here! 

Me and my Spanish homie Paula have been doing a lot of exploring. We've rented out a scooter and travelled around the island. First stop was Uluwatu to see sunset at the temple. There's loads of monkeys there who like to steal things. Caught this fella chewing on someone's sunnies, and saw a guy running after one who had stolen his phone. One tried to take my flipflop as we were leaving  but I kept my foot on the floor even though his little hands were clutched around the thong!

We saw more monkeys at the top of Mount Batur volcano. What we didn't see was the sunrise. We left camp at 2am and hiked over 2 hours in the darkness. When we finally made it to the top after many stumbles and trips we discovered thick cloud that masked everything. Boom.

Heading back down, we found smoke rising from vents in the crater. And of course the monkeys. The view started to open up as the sun burnt the fog off.

One of my favourite experiences in Bali so far has been Tirta Empul Temple. Tirta Empul is on the site of a holy mountain spring, and Paula and I drove there to take part in a purification ceremony. First we meditated with an offering. This is very common in Bali, every building and home has a shrine and coconut leaf offerings consisting of flowers of different colours representing the different gods, food and incense are placed daily.

Once our minds were clear and devoted to our task we entered the water. 3 pools with spouts of fresh spring water, each one with a different purpose. The first pool had 13 fountains for cleansing the different parts of the body; eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands etc. There are two spouts in this pool to avoid, one for special ceremonies and one for cremations. At each spout you repeat 'namaste' three times, wash your head, then your face, then dip your head under the torrent. 

At the second pool, the Karma pool, there are just two fountains. One for confession and one for promise. You repeat the same process focusing on things you want to move on from and resolutions for the future. 

The final pool is for your chakras. The first fountain, the largest is the Fountain Of A Thousand Wishes. Same again, only this time you have to make a wish - very carefully, we were told. The others are for the seven chakras.

It was a very beautiful experience that left us both feeling lighter and airy. The feeling of the cool clear water cleaning body and mind was uplifting. 

It is currently event #3 in the World Surfing League, right here in Bali, the Corona Bali Pro. This morning we headed over to the event on our Saturday off. Only for the competition to be called off for the day as it has been for the last two. They're waiting on a big swell that is coming in. But we went along anyway and were treated to a wave that grew as we watched. The world's best surfers are all in Keramas for the event, so a lot of them were out in the water. We spotted seven time world champion Stephanie Gilmore heading out, and I'd kill to know who some of the other pros out there were, the level of surfing was beyond anything I've seen in the real world - not on a tv screen. We watched from a bar's pool practically on the shoreline. 

Wave House

At Wave House in Canguu, Bali, I've found my home! I'm living in paradise with like minded ocean lovers in what is essentially a hostel but is more like a 5 star hotel luxury resort. I'm talking a big spacious room I share with only 3 others, with my own cupboard and wardrobe and en suite - there's some building works at the minute so I get a 4 person dorm for the price of an 8, winner winner! Then there's two pools, one with a bridge over it, surrounded by loungers and grassy space, a tiki hut style restaurant, yoga/fitness space, free entry to a nearby gym and water park, not forgetting the indo board. And that's before mentioning the surfboard racks. And the fact that we head out to the best breaks every day to surf to our heart's content.

I have actually found my heaven! It's not quite so hot here, a comfortable high 20s, low 30s with a breeze that makes all the difference. I have a whole month here so I'm settled down for a while. It's a welcome change from moving around every few days. I always wanted to get properly good at surfing, and now here I am doing it. We go out every day except Saturday in small groups depending on ability with a couple of coaches and a photographer. After the session we have a photo analysis and look at how we did and what we need to work on. Being able to see exactly where you're making errors means it's a lot easier to make changes, and I'm improving fast.

It's physically exhausting and actually mentally too. There's so much to think about in such a short amount of time, but you can't over think it. And you can't freak out when it gets big. Even though you're facing powerful walls of water that tower over your head you have to stay calm or you'll mess up and be thrown around by that wall, and the one coming after it. I had a really bad couple of days this week where I got beat up pretty good; sucked up and over with a huge rogue wave, slammed down with my legs ripped apart and spun around so much I had no idea which way was up and then caught inside where the waves were endlessly breaking on me as I tried futilely to get out of there. When I finally managed to get out back behind the breaking waves I was knackered, coughing up a lot of salty water and pretty scared. Took a long time for me to work up the courage to catch a wave back to shore. The next day I was really apprehensive and making silly mistakes, getting frustrated and making it harder for myself. Eventually I realised I just needed to relax and quite literally go with the flow. And it all started looking up again.

Seriously, a lot of looking up. Cause some of these waves I'm riding are humongous! The biggest have been 7ft. It doesn't dawn on you until you're up and riding and the wave has grown to it's full size and you look up and see it's taller than you by a long shot. Such a cool feeling cause by then you've done the hard part and it's like you're flying along.

My favourite day by far was at Old Man's with a mellow 6ft left handed wave that just peeled along the line for ages. I felt like I rode a mile. And then a really long, though easy paddle back out ready for the next one.

Things You Should Know About Vietnam

1. I'm gonna start with the most disgusting and get it over with. 'Balut' is a local delicacy. Also know as 'half hatched egg'. A chick's embryo is boiled and eaten from the shell. Grim.
2. On a lighter note, in the Saigon Opera House they play bird song before a performance.
3. The Vietnamese language has 6 different tones or inflections, meaning the same word can be said 6 different ways with 6 different meanings. 
4. They love their coffee!! Every second place is a coffee place!
5. Ho Chi Minh is named after Vietnam's first president; Ho Chi Minh.
6. Snake wine is a thing. The whole snake is put in the bottle with the wine; for the venom or fermenting? I have no idea, but the thought of it scares me and seeing it creeps me out.
7. Back in England fancy people like to guard their gates with stone lions. Over here it's ceramic Alsatians.
8. There are over 45 million mopeds in Vietnam. With a population of 97 million that's almost half of the people who own a scooter.
9. Pavements are for driving your scooter, parking your scooter and outside seating for restaurants. Walking? Not a chance! 
10. Vietnamese traffic lights are very simple.
    Green = go. Amber = go. Red = go.