Life's a Beach

I arrived in Bali on Saturday with several goals in mind:

1) Relax.
2) Learn to Surf.
3) Go to the interior of the island.
4) Get a Balinese massage.
5) Buy a new swimsuit.

I had less than 48 hours to accomplish all of these goals, so as soon as I got to my hotel I tossed on my swimsuit and headed for the beach.



The waves crashing on the beach made me giddy. I love waves. The beaches I've been to in Thailand had mostly still water, no surf to enjoy. I needed to find a beach boy (the Balinese men who run the surfboard and beach chair rentals) to get surfing lessons from. I knew I needed to haggle a bit so I didn't want to seem too eager. After talking to a few men to size up the appropriate price, I settled with one guy for about $20 for the day.


My Surfing Instructor

And then out we went. I ditched my bag with his friends (they weren't going to get paid if they stole my money anyway), pulled on one of those wet-suit-top things they make you wear, and trudged into the Indian Ocean.



It turns out that standing up on the surfboard is not so hard at all. I did it on my first try. And then repeatedly after that. The hard part came when my instructor backed away. No more making sure the board was at the right angle or my feet were far enough back. Suddenly I was slipping and sliding all over the place. I could often get up... staying up was another question. The most difficult part to me was actually getting the board out there. The waves in Bali are strong. I needed to push myself and my board against the tide until I got to a suitable depth, no easy task. Next I needed to swing my board around fast enough and position it correctly before a good wave came. I suppose I thought that most surfers just kinda paddled out and sat there until a wave the liked came along. If that is what they do, I'm not sure how they do it. I didn't have the strength to fight against the waves! By the end of my first session I was completely exhausted but was doing a fairly decent job.



I spent a few hours relaxing on the beach with a book. It was lovely to just enjoy the sunshine and watch people pass me by. I was pleased to not see old white men with young Thai women. As the sun went down and the tide went out, I realized that I needed to get up and try to surf one last time, lest I waste that $20 I had spent. This time he gave me a shorter board. The board didn't seem all that short to me at first, but I immediately noticed the difference when I stood up on it. So much less surface area! So much more difficult to balance! But so much easier to maneuver once you did stand up! It was at this point that my teacher followed me out into the water with my camera and took all of the pictures you see posted here. This actually put a lot of pressure on me, as I couldn't just let him stand there and watch me fall off the board. I had to stand up on the thing and ride it into land, repeatedly. I managed to halfway succeed and there are photos to prove it! There are also many bruises on my body to prove that I still have quite a great deal to learn.



After watching the sun set on the beach I headed back towards my hotel. I got a Balinese massage that night. Balinese massage is quite different from a Thai massage, rather than stretching and pressure points, it's more kneading and rubbing with oil. It was pretty cheap and a nice treat after a long day.



Tomorrow I'll post about my adventure into the interior of the island. Certainly the high point of the trip!