Nusa Lembongan

After leaving Kuta i figured Bali would not be the best place to stay for my final week of holiday. The south-east coast of Bali, which is known for their perfect and world-class reefbreaks was actually in the plan, but an expected 8-10 ft. swell made me nervous and i didn't want to risk now surfing because the waves would be too big and too scary. So where else to go? I got that tip from a englisch guy while surfing Kaikoura. He told me to go to Nusa Lembongan. It has 3 interesting reefs and it is not crowded and isolated, which is exactly what i want after staying in Kuta. It takes a one hour ferry-ride to the little island west of Bali. It has a little sister, Nusa Cenigian, which can be entered by a narrow bridge which can only used by feet or motorbike. There is a big brother too, Nusa Penida, which is rarely inhabited and mostly covered with rainforest and mountains.

I arrived at the main beach and you have to go through a small channel which seperates two of the three main reefs. So i got a quite good idea how the waves are. I went into the first homestay that offered me a reasonable rate and went straight out for a surf. It was a long paddle out and later the days i took a boatride from a local. Once i made it the waves looked way bigger and i realised that the waves were really powerful. It comes out of deep water and hit the reef pretty hard. So it gets quite hollow and you either make the drop down the steep wall or you are fishfood. I didn't really hasitate and didn't really thought about the danger. The wave was pretictable and close to the channel, so no worries. The tide came in the the waves got bigger and bigger, almost scary. I had some amazing rides and it is a huge different putting a turn into the wall of such a powerful wave than in one on a beachbreak. The water pushes the board right back und inducts a lot of energy to it, when you drive down the wall after a turn. The board gets thrown down the line pretty much if you hit the pocket right. Feeling this raw power and energy of the ocean is amazing and it was something different than any spot before. Sure other reefs were similar but i haven't had a wave that pops up so fast and you really get thrown down once it collapses, which gives the ride a lot of energy to work with.

I went out twice every day since and didn't paddle back in unless i was really exhausted. The food was good and cheap on the island and for the reason i didn't had much to do besides surfing, i rented a scooter and was about to cruise around the island. It was fun, really fun. I saw some amazing beaches with green cliffs on both sides, palmtrees and bambus-cottages made it a real paradise. No rush, no hassle, just a few people that offer you stuff like scuba-diving, snorkeling or a motorbike. I also went to the little sister Nusa Cenigian and looked out for some surfspots. The scenery was amazing and just laying on the beach and having a look at the fishermen working at the seaweed-fields on lowtide with the volcanoes of Bali in the background was worth getting there.

It was a great last week in Indonesia, but it was time to go back home. Beeing on the road for 10 weeks and washing away all the bad things that happened back home and relaxing body and mind in spots that can only described as paradise every day, is perfect and worth every euro spent. But your mind gets lazy and was no longer used to do nothing, so i was kind of looking forward to come back and do at least something. The heat all day and night long and the strongly pouring rain at times was something i never got really used to. But getting to know a total different country, culture, religion and way of facing live as the indonesians do, was evident and helped me getting again another look at life in general. The people made me angry and nervous at times, but they also were friendly and curious about foreingers at the same time. They are used to live fast and have no serious planning of what to do today or in general. The hospitality stunned me at times, because living within their home is not something that i was used to. The do not really worry about anything, which concerns me when i think about their waste disposal system, which does not exist. Everything is going to be burned in the backyard or washed into the rivers and finally into the ocean. So paddeling not through seaweed or driftwood, but plastic bottles, bags, labels and all sorts of waste is disgusting and disappointing.

So this is how the trip ends and the wait for the next one begins. It's been an awesome one and I am happy for all the decisions I made to get there. I don't regret any second, any road, any talk and any spended cent. Although I'm still not sure what to do in my life and where to go, but I've grown a little more, saw a little more and learnt a little more. The next roadsign or Airportscedule will show me the next destination. Whereever it may take me, I am curious and always keen to take a buddy with me. Thank you for reading and see you all soon.