A Sumbawa Sojourn: Surfing Lakey Peak

A couple of months ago, some friends & I decided to head East from Bali on a trip to Sumbawa, namely Lakey Peak.  I wanted to get out of Bali as it was 'Nyepi' - a Hindu ritual to rid all the bad spirits from the island, a sort of Hindu / Balinese new year.  However, this means that everyone has to stay indoors for the whole day and do absolutely nothing; no going out as there are people on the streets to tell you to go back in, no loud music, no loud TV, just stay indoors & be quiet.  For which, it seemed like as good a time to hot-foot it out of there as any! This is what I learnt from my short (but amazing) trip to Sumbawa.

Bali: A Love/Hate Affair

I have tried to sum up all that's good and all that's bad about Bali in a few paragraphs, here it is, as I see it......

5 THINGS YOU WILL LOVE;

• Beaches - I'm sure this a reason why most of you came in the first place - not all the beaches in Bali are as serene as you might think but I would recommend
  

Balangan Sunset Sesh

Yeehaw!

Uluwatu & Padang Padang photos

Rizal Tanjung was out there and (as always) ripping it up! He was getting the best waves of the sets and definitely stood out from the crowd.  It was the first Padang swell of the season and they were out in their droves.

Here's a video I just put together of some shots from Uluwatu & Padang Padang the other day

Padang Padang comes to life......

> Yesterday, Padang Padang finally came alive.....it took a 3.8m swell @ 15 seconds but it was alive and kicking. Below are some of the photos I took down there and at Balangan yesterday - it was a serious swell although I thought Padang would have been bigger. Check out the shallow inside section!! Also, click on the image for the full-size version.

Traffic

At the moment with the school holidays, the traffic is even crazier than ever - check out my video of the junction at the end of my road.....the traffic lights stopped working about a week ago and they haven't been fixed yet! 

Traffic in Denpasar

The Road to Medewi (why not to drive there on a motorbike!)

All of Bali's Surf Reports and Forecasts in a Single Page!!

All of Bali's Surf Reports and Forecasts in a Single Page!!

I have noticed in Bali that things have come a long way in the short time I have been here in terms of reports and forecasts, yet things are still pretty much in the dark ages compared to places like Australia; there are no live webcams at any surf beaches still and 'eyeball reports' only come from someone taking photos and putting them online (usually at the end of the day i.e. late enough to tell what you have missed and they are not