Mum and Dad took us up to the airport for a teary farewell and we were off, we had to be economical with our luggage so I only took one board and my semi acoustic and the FX board of course. Our shitty old speakers were carking it so as soon as we got to Balikpapan we bought some new better ones. I’d recently bought a new computer so we played all our music through that; got to have the music sorted! Before going to Balik we had to go to Singapore for Visas and while we were there we went to the zoo which was cool and just cruised around Chinatown and the city. It’s a bit too clinical for us there but we enjoyed our time and it was funny because we stayed in the red light district and one night the cops turned up and the ho’s were running out all over the shop, handbags and shoes flying off everywhere. When we got to Balik we were stoked, our place was huge and everyone seemed really nice. We had a pool and gym in our compound which I was using every other day but it wasn’t really balancing with all the beer we were drinking. We also had a bowling alley and pool table which we used fairly often; I was enjoying my job, the kids were good and there was only 6 of them and the staff were mostly helpful. Not long after arriving we had a week off for Ramadan and we went to Manado; had a good dive, saw seahorses and Nudibranchs and went for a drive around the island through mountains and lakes. On the drive we went to a local market and they eat dogs, bats, rats and just about anything with meat on it. The bats and rats were on sticks and the dogs were roasted whole and sitting on the table with their heads cut off beside them while live dogs on death row were eating the guts of previous dogs.
We headed back to Balik and did more of the same there, there’s not much to do on the weekends so we did a lot drinking which is cheap to do. We had a few good friends and some we thought were friends and we hung out with them a lot, Carl an Aussie who also taught there was one such friend he’s a champ. He loves his beer though and he’d come round at 9 or 10am on Saturdays with a beer but thankfully I started teaching guitar so I had an excuse not to have a beer, sometimes no’s just not good enough. Teaching guitar also made me go back and relearn all the theory I’d forgotten which was good for my playing too. We also hung with Roz; a stupid bitch from South Efrika, at first we all had fun and did stupid things like pretending to have orgies and taking photos, I shat in her box of Pringles and I pushed her off a veranda because I thought it’d be funny for some reason. We actually got told by the principal that we had to tame it down as parents also lived in the compound and I was ok with that but that was the beginning of the end for Carl. He didn’t appreciate being told what to do and that along with not planning and coming to work hung-over or not at all eventually got him booted. Roz was not long to follow, she was becoming increasingly difficult to work with and after reacting like a child when I asked her not to kiss students in my class she was also booted. After she was being such a bitch I was glad I shat in the Pringles and pushed her off the veranda. We finally had good internet and computer so I was downloading music like it was going out of style, I have more than doubled our amount of music since then and found some awesome new metal. I was also playing in a band with a couple of mates; playing reasonably heavy stuff, even Slayer! But it didn’t last long, it was fun though. We went to Bali for a weekend with Carl, Roz and Greg; the fellas were there for a game of Aussie rules and we just went along for the ride. I surfed at Canggu mostly and had five surfs in that two days; the best waves were on Saturday arv at Canggu when it was glassy, decent size and plenty of fun. The other surfs I had were at Legian near our hotel when I was in a hurry and they were a bit of fun, other than that we drank. The school had a drum kit which I modified and out two kits together to make a double kick and I was playing them a lot and actually getting ok. The cranky drinker thing was gone now, I would only drink small amounts of spirits and it’s not happening so I’m glad.
Kota Kinabalu, Philppines, Langkawi and Sumatra
For the Christmas holiday we left Balik and went to Kota Kinabalu for a night on our way to the Philippines; we went for a snorkel which was awesome, heaps of fish and some nice bright coral. W got lucky there; I tried to use my aussie card in a local atm and it got swallowed, thankfully the bank was open the next day and I got it back. We then arrived in Clark and had to get a car to Manila, we loved the Philos but there was a lot of driving. Manila is a huge smoggy city and to get anywhere takes hours, we stayed in Manila a few days to get our teeth done. We went out with some locals and tried some of the local delicacies; pork intestines and duck eggs with the foetus inside. After a couple of days we got out of Manila and went to Catanduanes; a small Island where I was hoping to get waves. We got on a pretty old small plane and Michelle was a bit nervous so it was a good thing I waited until we were in the air to tell her we were heading to the Typhoon central of the Philos and there’d been one forecast for the next few days. We loved it when we got there though; it was beautiful, remote and green, what we wanted to see when we went to the Philos. At first we stayed at a home stay which was nice and we went out for a crazy long drive to Majestic’s. It was blowing a gale; no one was out and it looked pretty unpredictable, I could see the potential but not that time. So after the long drive out there we got back in the car and started back; I was lucky on the way though I had seen a wave that was a long way out and looked pretty fun from the car. When I paddled out there and it took me about 20 minutes it was looking bigger and more serious as I got closer; when I eventually got into the line up it was a decent size and pretty heavy and if I got messed up it was a long paddle back so I was being a bit cautious. When we got back to the road we hitched a ride on one of the big old Jeepneys; it was a wild ride, the roads were all muddy and pretty steep up the mountains. I was on the roof along with another 10 or so blokes and there would have been 20 people inside with Shell and I could look over the edge of the big drops over the side of the mountain that we were sliding around. After that we went to a place called Igang beach where we had our fifth anniversary and it was really a beautiful place, we were the only foreigners in the resort and it was a beautiful spot. It was right on the beach and had lovely water colour and rock formations, we had an ok snorkel but I got some sick waves. At first I went out the front and got some hairy little solo barrels and then the next day I went for a bit of a walk and found a peak that had fun hollow lefts that I surfed by myself for ages. Through the day we had fun and when day we went to a ‘dive’ place but after seeing corroded gear, a turtle in a bath, monkeys on chains and scabs on the family that ran it we decided that we’d give it a miss. At night though we got a bit frustrated with the Karaoke as the locals were having parties, it was all good though when we went and met them and joined in. We then went to another place called St Andres which was very quiet and picturesque, we went for a ride in a tricycle up to a cave but the best thing was going for a snorkel there. It didn’t look like anything from the beach but we went out to a reef in a boat and found lovely bright coral and plenty of fish; on the way back the boat broke down and they paddled but that’s half the fun. We then went for one night in Virac before heading for the next part of our journey.
We went back to the airport in Clark and thought we scored a bargain of a hotel; the fact was it was really a brothel. We didn’t mind too much but the blood and condoms on the bed were enough to make Michelle go and demand for another room. We then spent Christmas day flying from Philo to Langkawi Island, when we got there we went and had a feed but we just wanted to crash and get out to explore the next day. The first day we just went and got our bearings; went to the harbour and organised a dive trip for the next day and then just cruised around and found a nice place to eat. The next day we had a couple of dives; the first one was great, a bit murky but lovely flowery coral that we hadn’t seen before, lots of fish like giant groupers, lionfish and nemos. The second dive was so murky we couldn’t see past a few feet in front of us and on several occasions we thought we’d lost the instructor but right at the end we saw some coral and some bright Nudibranchs which were amazing. The nest day we went on an island hopping tour and saw monkeys stealing naive people’s food, beautiful lakes and I had an ok snorkel. After that we went to a touristy beach for a while but decided to stay away where it was quieter and cheaper so we went to a wildlife park that was pretty cool. At the end of Langkawi we just did some shopping as everything was so cheap and we were getting excited about going to Sumatra. We stayed in Padang which is a big dirty city, it was nice to get out of there a bit and away from places I could have surfed like Cholera creek but decided against it when even locals said I’d get crook. I did get a fair few waves at Pasir Putih which were fun little occasionally hollow waves and we had a fun new years there at a pub watching a cool band and having a few. We also went to a place called Pantai Air Manis and after being taken for a long boat ride to waves too small to surf I went back and got a few fat ones on the beach. We then went to Bungus Bay where we planned to go to the Mentawais but we woudn’t get back in time for me to get back to work, spewing. We did go on a nice island hop there and did some awesome snorkelling and saw leopard fish and sea snakes, the water was such a beautiful turquoise blue colour. We then went out to a quiet beach called Pasir Jambak and stayed in a little shack just off the sand and I got an ok little surf at a place that could be like spot K with some more swell. I got lucky again here, I left my wallet and tow bottles of duty free in a checked bag that never arrived, thankfully I got it back, wouldn’t have been much of a new years without any money! It was coming to the end of our trip and we had a couple more days in Padang just relaxing and I got in as much surfing at Pasir Putih before heading back to Balikpapan.
West Java, Yogya and Phuket
Not long after getting back we were on the cans and Carl and Adam were wresting, they then decided to attack me and after Adam put me in a choke hold and dropped me on a window sill when I passed out I busted my head open, fun times! We went to Samarinda which is just another indo city but the second time when we went to see Carl who was staying there with his girlfriend Cheryl, a cool South African we had a ball. We went to a museum through the day which had heaps of old cultural stuff from before Islam took over and just hung around drinking of course. Another Aussie; Luke; who took over from Carl fell asleep and we were all pretty pissed so we dressed up in the girls clothes and took compromising photos of him while he was asleep. We did a few other fun things there like seeing the sun bears and going out for snorkelling and fishing, not that we saw or caught much. It was not long til we were off again; this time to West Java, it was great, quiet, pretty uncrowded and cheap. It involved a fair but of driving but I got some sick waves at Cimaja and especially at Sawarna, just me and one other bloke getting backhand barrels for hours. It was an even shorter time after that we went to Yogyakarta for a few days and then to Thailand for a few weeks. It was the first time I’d hired a scooter in Indo at Yogya and we never looked back after that. We went out and checked out the temple at Borobudur which was cool and just had a fun time hanging around the city which was cheaper and a bit more fun than Balik. We then went on to Thailand and we had a ball there; we got a bike straight away and spent most of the first day riding around checking out the beaches around Phuket. We had an awesome couple of dives, saw heaps of bright coral and different fish and I even got to have a few fun little surfs. While we were there by ourselves we did a fair bit of partying as it was pretty cheap and the people were so nice. It was the Song Kran (water) festival and people were drenching each other everywhere and generally just in party mode. We also went and saw a ping pong show which involved darts shooting balloons, a hamster, razor blades and everything but the kitchen sink, it was a classic. Mum and Dad then met us there which was great; we’d waited for them to go on an island hopping tour and went canoeing through caves and saw lots of the picture postcard places we went there for. We also did a fair bit of snorkelling with them mostly just at little hideaways that we’d stumble across and jump in and have a look. I also got to eat crickets, grasshoppers, some other kind of bugs and silkworms; they were actually ok, with a beer of course. Towards the end we went to a big show they have there called Fantasea which had lots of different animals like monkeys and Elephants and a lot of dances, trapeze acts and that sort of thing which we enjoyed.
Mum and Dad came back to Balik with us for a week or so and we just took them out to dinner and about as much as you can do there. Not long after that we went to Bali and got a bike and headed west this time to Balian river and Medewi; we loved it, it was a lot more picturesque and quiet outh there and I got some sick waves. Balian was pretty big and a bugger of a paddle but I loved it and Medewi is pretty good but a bit slow and crowded. The place I got the best waves was a beachy there that I surfed by myself and got stand-up left and right pits by myself for hours. We also went for a bit of a ride around in the bush there just checking the place out which was fun; we then headed back and I had an ok surf at Canggu before we had to head back to Balik. While in Bali we found out I got a job in Surabaya for the next year which we were very excited about and when we got home we started to think about the holidays we’d have from there and we booked Vietnam for Ramadan. We went for a visit to my new school and saw where we’d be living and we couldn’t believe it, we‘d be living in a palace, everyone was really nice too so we were very happy with the choice to take the job. Because the school years didn’t match up I only had about two weeks between finishing Balik and starting in Surabaya so Michelle left a couple of weeks earlier and the time with her olds. We were both happy to be leaving Balik; we’d had a great time there but we’d had enough and needed to keep moving. We would have preferred further afield than Surabaya but it was a great opportunity with more money and I would gain experience in the Brit curriculum which would help my career. One of the reasons I was happy to leave was that the school had ripped me off a month pay and after doing a great job and putting in extra for the school they turned around and were really rude about it all, Yet another lesson that you can’t trust anyone! The extra I put in included organising a school disco and at the last minute a parent said they can supple a belly dancer, I said yes, not knowing that the belly dancer was a banchong- cross dresser. So we had primary school kids dancing along to a bloke dressed up as a belly dancer shaking his groove thing all around the disco. In the time I was alone I was getting in to the rum a bit and missing Michelle; I did go and make a metal song with Luke in which I played drums and we filmed it, I was pleasantly surprised to see I could actually play.
Back home, briefly
I was pretty stuffed when I got off the plane; Mum, Dad, Kara and Clint came and met me and we looked for a wave but it was woeful so I just had a kip on the grass before heading up to see sexybum. I really was tired; I don’t often get that way but I actually started to doze off and got woken up with a fright as I was solely veering towards a truck so I stopped and drank extra strong coffee and one of those Guarana turnouts. When I eventually got to Gin Gin we were both over the moon to see each other so after a bit of a chat with Roy and Joy snuck off for a minute or two. The next week or so was mostly filled with catching up for lost time and lots of drinking. We then headed back home and stopped in and spent a night with Krepo which was good, apart from Mum and Dad he was the only one who came to visit us In Balik, the sort of thing a friend like him does. When at home I got some good waves at Mullaway and was happy just chilling out at home with the family, the boys also threw me a 30th at Darkum where we got slaughtered and before we knew it we had to head back to Indo. Clint took us up to the airport and we had a few with Davo the night before and then we were off again. When we arrived and saw the place some more we were even more stoked. Everything was going great; we got along with all the staff and while I worked harder the work was also made easier. Not long after we got there Clint went to Bali then came and visited; we just got on it and took him to the Martini Brunch. The next weekend though we went to Bali with him; I got some sick waves at Keramas and a few the next day at inside Kuta reef as it was too big everywhere else. Rabsy, Tommy and my principal and mate Viki were also there so we got on it with them a bit.
A couple of weeks after that we went to Vietnam; I took my board and used it for about half an hour in half a foot waves out of stubbornness. The first day after 7 hours on a train we got to Nha Trang but Michelle wasn’t well so I just sussed out the joint while she recovered. The second day we had an awesome dive, saw a stack of bright coral and a couple of turtles and when we came home we just enjoyed our lovely view from the veranda. We then went on an island tour and had a fun snorkel, drank in the ‘floating bar’ and went to a dodgy aquarium. After that we went out and got spastic and then we headed down to Mui Ne on a bus for 5 hours. It was a quiet place with not really a lot to do, we went for a ride around one day and saw some beautiful spots we headed for Saigon after s couple of days. In Saigon we went to the markets which were a bargain and I bought another instrument. We then met up with Viki and Sep and got trashed, at about 3 in the morning we couldn’t find our hotel and woke up some old lady who was pretty pissed off with us bloody pissed Aussies. The last we night we went on a dinner cruise which was lovely to have a romantic night and then went back to our hotel for some more romance. We enjoyed Vietnam but it’s another one of those places where you have to do a lot of travelling. When we got back to Surabaya we booked our next holiday for Christmas in Sri Lanka and in March at Lombok so we had plenty to look forward to. There was also the chance of going down the coast in Java for some uncrowded waves and something we were really excited about was the chance that we might be heading to Switzerland the next year.
Bali, 6th time
A month or so after Vietnam we went to Bali for a four day weekend and went back to Candi Dasa and we had a ball. We got to Sanur about 9 on the Wednesday night to our cheapy little home stay, had awesome feed and crashed. The next morning I got up early and checked the surf and scouted around for a bike, there wasn’t much swell and lots of people said I’d have to go to Kuta for a bike with racks but eventually I met an aussie down the beach that showed me somewhere in Sanur. So we loaded up the bike and headed off, we stopped at Saba to check the surf with no reward except for a flat tyre and I had to push the bike a few K’s to get it fixed. It was bloody hot and I was stuffed by the time I got there but it didn’t’ take too long and we were off again. We then rode pretty much straight through to Candi Dasa, found a cheap hotel after a bit of hunting and I headed out to Jasri for a fun surf. That night we went to a cool place that had a band that even let me stumble through a song pissed with them on guitar. The next day I headed back out to Jasri and got some better waves, in the arvo we went for an explore and found a nice water temple for some photos, we were also looking for a beach we’d been told had good snorkelling but we had no luck. That might we took it a bit easier and went out for a nice feed and had a bottle of wine at the hotel and some good alone time. The next day Shell came out to a new spot with me that looked like I’d get plenty of barrels, it turned out to be a bit quick but she got some good photos and a bit of video at least of me pulling in. I went back to the Jasri about lunchtime and got some sick long smackable waves and I was stoked. In the arvo I was buggered after an OK snorkel and had a lay down then we went out for tea. The next morning I got up early and was out at Jasri by myself for a while and got sick pits and heaps of waves. I took some food and a book and rested a bit before going out for the last surf of the weekend, it wasn’t as good but I had it to myself and did a few airs and had fun, I headed back and we loaded up and rode back to Sanur. On the way we got another flat tyre but this time I only had to push it about a K, we had a great time again in Bali and it was nice to get away and spend some time alone together. The weekend after I went down the coast here and got some fun little waves with some blokes from another school, bit of a crazy, long drive down there but I got a few waves and explored a new part of Java.
After that we laid pretty low for a while, we didn’t have much time off other than a long weekend when we went a bit further down the coast with the same blokes I went with last time. It was a longer drive but Michelle came this time and we stayed for a few days so it was worth it. The surf wasn’t huge but on the second day it got a bit bigger and we got some sick, hollow waves. I got a few quick pits and heaps of fun waves then when I tried to pull into a decent one I hit the bottom and dinged my board once again. It was a beautiful place and it was nice to see a new part of Indo that wasn’t ravaged by tourists just like ourselves, very different to the big smoke of Surabaya. It wasn’t long after that until the end of the year but it seemed to go on and on. Our good friend and my principal Viki lost her job and we were feeling a bit threatened by the unstable International School system where we really had no leg to stand on if it was decided that I was to be shipped out whether there was good reason or not. From past experience though I’d learnt to keep my head down and finish out the year and if the worst that happened was that I was booted I would at least know I’d done my job. This ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’ business wears thin sometimes and it seems it’s who you blow. Anyway the end of the year came and we headed off to Sri Lanka looking forward to getting away and a change from the Indo-Asia thing. Of course Sri Lanka is still Asia but we were stoked with the change of environment, culture and attitude. When we went to Thailand we noticed a gentler nature to the people and while Sri Lankans weren’t quite as sweet there was a real calm to them that we’d been missing. Indonesia is great, and we are getting spoilt but Sri Lanka was comparatively clean and there wasn’t as much of a ‘what can I get from this white fella’ feel. The waves weren’t awesome but it was really fun and easy to surf; not so many long boat trips and either uncrowded or crowded with people who spent most of their time watching and waiting for waves anyway.
Sri Lanka
We went to Hikkaduwa first which is the main tourist beachy place and I got some fun waves and we had some great nights together sampling the dirt cheap food and bevvys. We were so wrapped up we weven forgot our anniversary but there was no lack of loving going on in that time anyway. We had a sick dive there and went in our first shipwreck and cave dive, we saw heaps of bright, hard coral and fish and lots of Nudibranchs. We then went down to Mirissa which was beautiful but not much to do and tiny surf so the next day we headed back up the coast where I was sure I saw more swell. I had a sick surf at Ahangama and we stayed near Unawatuna. We also went and checked out a turtle rehab and then went to Unawatuna for a couple of nights. I hired a bike from there and had a few more surfs out at Kabalana and then we headed back to Hikkaduwa to meet the olds. It was great to see them again and the waves were a lot better than last time. I got some little barrels and did a few airs. We then went to Unawatuna again and this time the waves were OK so I got to surf a fair bit with Dad. We also went to check out temples and the fort in Galle, Shell got a sexy Sari and I got a Sitar. Back to Hikkaduwa yet again, we had a fun new year and danced the night away. New years day was flat which was OK because we headed back up the coast and then out to Kandy. It was fun too, the first night we saw some traditional music and dance and firewalkers and the nest day we went to see the Elephants. St first they were chained up being fed and we weren’t to impressed but then they all went and swam down in the river. There were at least fifty of them and there was beautiful bush all around, it was amazing, like nothing we’d ever seen before and it made our trip up the mountain worthwhile. We then went to the botanical gardens which were great and the nest day we took a train back to near the airport. The train trip was beautiful also; it gave a very different perspective of the countryside. The next day we headed back home and after a freak out with slack ass striking immigration and hours of delays we were stoked to have had such an awesome holiday and end to another fairytale year.
We settled down a lot at the beginning of 2010; our drinking buddy was gone, I was looking for heaps of jobs and we were trying to save money and get fit. We’d still get on it together on the weekends but we were buying a lot less beer and doing a lot of other things to keep us busy. I was still playing sport 4 days a week and now I was also going to gym and swimming before school. We had a few trips around here including down to Blitar with Mum and Dad. We got some waves at the same spot I’d surfed before and it was similar conditions but higher tide. Dad didn’t make it out because it was a pretty tough paddle and it was a bit of a wakeup call for me that It gets harder to stay fit and strong from here on in. We knew we had a couple of months til our next real trip so we spaced out our little trips around here to pass the time. The first was to Malang, we took a train which was a hot, stinky crammed experience but we got to see some nice country side in the mountains. On the way back from Malang we got off the bus and went to the Safari Park which was great, it had; big cats, Rhino’s, Hippo’s, bears, all the African, American and Asian favourites and it was huge with areas rather than enclosures. We went in the safari bus which was a bit quick and it was raining but we still had fun. A couple of weeks later we went to Madura Island on a bus with Alisdair and his Thai girl Prau. The bus ride was cool, it’s nice and green which is a nice change after Surabaya and there were some nice creeks and a bit of rainforest around the caves created by an old lava flow. We were on the bus for a few hours so we got off and had a feed, it was going to be another hour to get to a dirty beach so we headed for the ferry back. It wasn’t that exciting but we got out of there and saw another place we hadn’t seen before.
Bali 7th time
A couple of weeks later it was worth the 2 month wait, we went to Bali again. The first day I got some fun little barrels at Hyatt reef and then after that scored the best pit I’d had for ages at Sanur reef, I was stoked. There was an Aussie fella out there having some issues with the locals who were being dicks and then he came and talked to me about how they wouldn’t even be out in the water without the Whiteman. I was alright with them, I just stayed out of their way and waited patiently. I was just thinking these blokes will get karma for being such pelicans when one missed a waves and I swung round, did a sick reo and got the pit! That night we got wasted and went to a night club were Shell was telling me to dance with the lingerie girls but I was too useless. The next day I had some fun groggy waves at Cucukans to myself up the reef where it was bigger and better and after that we went for a ride to Nusa Dua but it was blown out and low tide so boats weren’t going. The last day I got some fun barrels by myself down the reef at Serangan, when I got back Shell realised we had an early flight so I couldn’t have a 2nd surf. It turned out the schedule changed so I could have just surfed but it had dropped off and the only place with waves was Sanur and I saw 2 waves were 5 blokes got dropped in on so I thought I’d rather not rush just so I could get dropped in on too. We were stoked with that weekend and we really started to like the laid back atmosphere of Sanur. We then had three weeks until Lombok, couldn’t wait!
After some sick surfs in Bali I was pumped on getting fit so I was playing as much sport as possible and going to gym and swimming every morning and I was feeling much better for it. We had an awesome time in Lombok, I got heaps of waves while at Kuta. The very first day I got fun little empty barrels at Senggigi then waited for Joy and Shell and headed down to Kuta. I then got a bit messy but long, fast smackable waves at inside Gerupuk. The next morning I went back out there early and it was nice and clean with a few pits and aalso a fair few people, that arvo I headed out to Mawun and found some messy but heavy, quick and shallow pits to myself. The next morning I headed back to Mawun and got some cleaner pits, it rained that arv and I knew the roads and boats would be out of action so I had a breather. The next morning I got small but awesome pits at Are Guling, there were a few blokes out but I was getting plenty so I was stoked. That arv I had a shocking surf at inside Gerupuk, it was dropping right off. The next and last morning in Kuta I got some fun little solo waves at Segar. Other than surfing at Kuta I had an average snorkel out the front and we just did a lot of drinking and lazing around the pool. We then headed back to Senggigi and the surf was getting pretty small. I got a few fun little barrels at Senggigi the first few days and then it dropped off even more and was pretty much unrideable but that was cool because I just snorkelled a few times and we did a lot of eating and drinking. We also had a great dive at Gili Air and we saw two turtles and I saw another one snorkelling off Gili Meno. When it was time to come home we were all pretty had it and looking forward to Bali after four long days back at work.
Bali 8, 9 and 10th time
Joy and Shell cruised around Surabaya shopping and that kind of thing and then we were off to Bali. We were stoked to see Kate and the first night had a few then I headed out for a fun session at Canggu but there was a comp on so I stayed away from it for the next few days. After a pretty average surf at Legian in the arv we hit the turps and went to Kuta for some jam jars. It was all fun and games while it lasted but the next day I was rooted, I don’t know if it was the booze or food but I couldn’t go far from the loo. I eventually had a crappy surf after lunch but then went back to bed after. The next day I headed out to Serangan and had a couple of sick surfs and got some barrels while the girls went out to Ubud. I was still weak as piss from the day before but after the surfs I had a few beers but as soon as I had dinner I was back on the throne and didn’t get to have a last big night with them. They went out and had a ball though so that was cool. I was still bloody tired and Kate was leaving soon so I just had a surf at Seminyak which was OK and it’s not so crowded for that area so I was happy enough. It was great to see Kate and Joy and a bit sad to go back to work and knowing that we had over a month til we got back Bali. The good thing was though that Krepo would be coming in a couple of weeks and we were planning to head to Blitar. Shell and I were both keen to settle down off the booze eat well and get fit, so we did and it payed off.
Had a great time with Krepo, went to Blitar and got the best waves I’ve ever had there on the right, even some barrels. Tried to surf the left the first day as he was keen and it looked doable but it was too shallow I got one and thought I could pull in so I did on the next and hit the bottom so after that I just waited for him in case I had to scrape him off the reef but he just paddled so that was lucky. We spent the rest of the week he was here on the turps. It’s great to have visitors but every time we were missing home and normal people more. Not long after he was here we had a four day weekend in Sanur and I got sick waves, the first morning Hyatt Reef was about 5 foot and I got some barrels. Then I met an Aussie called Luke and he told me about Pabean so the next day I headed there and got fun little uncrowded pits, nearly every wave. The next day was bigger, still barrelling but more people, not too many though. Josh Kerr was out there and although I was getting plenty he just made us all look silly doing big airs when we were just happy to make it. He was a cool bloke too, didn’t try and own the joint just cruised around and still got all the best waves, He did laugh when I got hammered but I think anyone would have. A couple of weeks after that we were back in Sanur, unfortunately the first day the surf was blown out so we just had a cruisy day and watched the tigers win the footy in the arvo. The next day though was cranking and I got so many barrels, it was one of the best surfs I’ve ever had. The next day was fun day, not as many barrels but I got one of the longest I’ve ever had and made it out, one of those ones you think you’re not going to make before you pull in, during and at the end but somehow you fly out. We didn’t hit the piss as hard this time, a bit because of the cash but also that we wanted to enjoy the days more than felling groggy and we were really glad we did, it was a great last time there for a while. A couple of weeks after that we were heading back home. I got my new fish before we left and was keen as mustard to ride it. We had a farewell at Lemongrass and then went to Despos and got wasted then the next week we were off, a bit sad that it’d be a while before we went to Bali or anywhere with waves again but also looking very forward to going home and the UK, our next big Adventure.
Back home again
Had a great time back home, was good to be back longer this time. We went to Roy and Joy’s first, after I had my Visa appointment in Brisbane. I was going to work there before school holidays but I couldn’t get my Ed QLD Id and I wasn’t extremely disappointed, it was good to be on holidays. As usual we did lots of getting wasted and I spent a heap of time re-recording my songs with the awesome USB recording thing Shell got me. Claire came up for a week or so too so that was good, Roxanne and her latest fool also came for a while. I went looking for waves one day but that was a big waste of time and fuel. We had a few barbies here and there which was good, I chopped wood and thistles to get myself outside and moving around. I was also spending a lot of time sorting stuff out for the UK, applications, resume’s, certifying documents etc. it seemed to never end for a while there. We then stayed at Leanne’s on the way to spending a few days at Tin Can Bay with Joy and Raelene, I had a couple of tiny surfs at Rainbow and it wasn’t much good but fun to get out there again. After that we spent a weekend in the Goldie, got a cheap hotel and caught up with Davo, Kreppo, Dover, John, Ezzy and even Luke Patterson briefly. Didn’t have a surf, it was shitty and we were also seedy.
Then we got back to Mum and Dad’s and for a while we had a break from getting maggot. At first I surfed Mullaway mostly on the new fish and was loving it, I worked a bit at Woopi Public and High School just to get in the system and it was good coin. We went into the girl’s place in Coffs for Kate’s birthday and another time, was great fun. Started getting waves at Darkum a few days with Dad and then one sick big day with Clint, then the next day I got fun little waves at south end cabs. We went and saw Kerry and Nan and Pa and I caught up with Rob and had a few surfs unfortunately though I was having troubles with the fin plugs in the newy. Then we went to Byron for a weekend to see Joy who was staying at Connie’s, actually got some fun little waves at Tallows which was a bonus. Was good to surf a bit with Kaiden too, on Monday night we went and saw Dead letter circus which was awesome. It was then time to go back home and get as much surfing in as I could before leaving, we had a farewell party at home which was good fun. Clint took us up to the Goldie which was really handy and we watched the footy at the pub then had a few quiet wines at the backpackers. For most of the time we weren’t thinking about it too much as we were just so glad to be home but towards the end we were getting very excited for this big uncertain adventure.
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