KUTA LOMBOK

24th - 26th August 2015

At seven on the dot the bus to Padang Bay Harbour pulled up out side our homestay. From the harbour we could get a connecting boat to Senggigi on the island of Lombok to the east of Bali. After dozing off for a while I opened my eyes to some of the craziest driving we've seen yet. Some of the passengers up front ended up having strong words with the driver as we nearly took out a scooter. I closed my eyes tight and tightened my seat belt. We boarded the boat round half nine and were presently surprised to find there was an in-float film. It was called Captain Phillips, the story of a boat being taken over by Somali Pirates. Probably not the best film choice, but I had started watching it on the plane to India and unfortunately landed just before the end, so second time lucky.

After ping ponging through the Gili Islands we finally arrived in Senggigi harbour and managed to share a taxi to Kuta with three Swiss travellers. Annoyingly when negotiations didn't go well with the taxi driver one Swiss prick tried to screw us on the price by asking to split the taxi price fifty fifty so we would pay more rather than splitting it by person. We were at the point of finding some other folk to share the ride, but then they decided to come with us. It was a pretty solemn atmosphere in the taxi but either way we got a really cheap ride to Kuta.

Lucy had booked us into Shu Villas, a nice tranquil place a ten min walk up the hill from town and beach. Lucy and Andy hadn't arrived yet so with a few hours to kill we went exploring. Lunch was well overdue so we ate at the first place we saw that looked relatively hygienic. We parked our bums at a place called Nuggets Corner, a blanket clad, crooked little place with a hippy save the world kinda vibe. It wasn't on a corner though...  we ate beef rendang with red rice and it tasted damn good. We instantly made a mental note to learn how to make it. The flavours were kind of like a more zesty less heavy Chicken Makarni (Indian Butter Chicken) if you replace chicken with beef. We wondered around the little town hunting for a board, two bikes and some surf information. Kuta Lombok is a quaint little place that reminded us a little of Ton Sai in Thailand. Many of the structures that lined the road were open sided, constructed in bamboo with palm roofs. Behind the main road was a rugged deserted beach dotted with colourful fishing boats and tufts of sand dune and palms. 

We made or way back and kicked back at the villa for a while until Lucy and Andy arrived in the early evening. It was great to see familiar faces and a long period of hugging, handshaking and more hugging began. We had asked them to bring a few bits from home, but we were in for a treat as Lucy had bought us 2 giant bars of dairy milk AND a jar of marmite. Me and Andy walked back into the village to pick up the bikes from a bloke we chatted to earlier so we had them ready for the next morning. With our chores out the way there was nothing else to do except eat and drink. BBQ fish was what was required and we ended up in a busy little place with fresh fish being BBQed on the road outside, the smell was infectious. We ordered a range of dishes to share, squid, prawns and tuna stake and a chicken curry washed down with a load of Bintangs. It was so fresh and tasty, definitely a good call. We had a final drink in a little makeshift bar just across the road. It was constructed from crates and old tyres for furniture and a converted VW camper van bar at the centre, simple but effective.

I woke at 4:45am for a solo adventure half an hour along the coast to a break I had heard about a short boat ride away from a sleepy fishing village called Gerupuk which marked the end of the road. Even though I knew where the break was I had no idea of what the roads were like, or where to catch a boat out to the reef. The stars were still out as I slipped away into the night / early morning. The road seemed to get worse and worse as potholes the size of footballs dotted the crumbly road, 'road' is a bit of an over statement. With only the moon light and a dodgy bike headlamp I didn't get much warning resulting in a fair amount of last minute manoeuvres. Eventually the road ended and a scruffy dimly lit village appeared out of the night. It was dark and deserted and I wasn't sure of my next move. Then a wetsuited chap appeared straight out of a gate in front of me, what a stroke of luck. The next choice was to stalk / follow or befriend. Befriend! His name was Remi and he was on holiday with his girlfriend from France. He offered to show me the ropes and split the cost of a boat with me. I quickly got my shit together and we headed down to the shore to meet a boat man called Haji. Within no time we were gliding across glassy waters around a lobster farm and off into the far corner of the bay where Gerupuk's famous inside reef break lies. It was still really dark however the sky just behind the mountains that surround the bay looked like it was catching fire as burnt orange tones threw the jagged skyline into silhouette. As dawn broke the beauty of this place was fully revealed. We were surrounded by hills that perfectly framed Rinjani (the islands famous volcano) in the distance. The water was a rich bright blue however the burnt orange sky was turning the surface pink and gold. We slipped off the boat and paddled to the peak. It was about 5:50am by this point and there were already another four guys in the water. After a flurry of "good mornings" and "nice day for its" we sat part watching out for the set waves and part watching the sun sneak over the mountains. To add to the scene a massive silver fish about three feet in length exploded four foot out of the water a few feet away from us. The wave itself was one of the most fun I have ever surfed, peeling perfectly across the reef to the right a little over head high and sometimes a tad hollow. We made the most of the quietness and laid back atmosphere, however more and more boats slowly crept up on us dropping off more and more surfers. This place is well know for getting over crowded and can get dangerous with too many people taking off on the waves and beginners ditching their boards. However this morning it never got that bad and me and Remi scored loads of good quality waves. 

We both paddled back over to Haji's boat at eight with large wave counts and even larger smiles, today was going to be a good day. I noticed a photographer shooting from a small weather battered boat near the end of the reef. Apparently he hangs out in the town and if you wander around in the afternoon or evening he will find you. I made a mental note to pop back later. In the daylight it's a pretty little fishing village and any excuse to pop back for a bit was most welcome, even if the road was like a ski slalom. I arrange to meet Remi at the same time the next morning, and scooted back to Kuta to make it back in time for breakfast. I was in a fantastically good mood everything was brilliant.

The guys were on the terrace when I got back, Andy had woken early so popped down to the beach for a morning swim. On his way back he walked through the village's morning food market and said it was a mass of fruit and veg stalls and a ridiculous amount of fresh fish. Sadly by the time we all got ready for the day and headed down there it had pretty much packed up. 

We decided to bike west along the south coast to a beach called Selong Belanak it's fine white sands (instead of reef) and remote location make it one of the closest places to paradise. The hour long bike ride to get there was stunning. We passed vast rice paddies, little villages, rolled the rolling hills and saw many beautiful beaches. Even a monkey jumped out from the roadside to say hello and numerous herds of cows stood stubbornly in the road unimpressed with the prospect of moving... we moooooved round them instead.

When we arrived we were all blown away by the beaches beauty, and all ran straight into the turquoise blue sea to cool off from the ride. The west end of the beach was pretty much deserted, the middle had a few little food shacks and sun beds and the east end was littered with pealing pastel painted fishing boats lounging around on the sands. We joined them and dozed for a while. After an afternoon beer we decided to rent two massive longboards which we paddled out on in twos to explore the bay. It was good fun floating in and out of the anchored boats and looking back at Lombok. We bobbed about a bit then paddled back to the beach. Me and Helen managed to catch a cheeky wave on the way in skimming up onto the shore.

Later on I gave Andy and H the worst surf lesson in the world. The waves were tiny, lack lustre and breaking into very shallow sand. It was pretty rubbish conditions so we gave up and grabbed some fresh seafood and rice at one of the many shabby shacks that lined the back of the beach. Almost everyday on our trip at some point we hear a Bob Marley track. It's happened everywhere from the top of the Himalayas in Nepal and the foot hills in India to the shores of Sri Lanka and traveler circuit of East Asia. And right on cue just as I was explaining this to Lucy & Andy a local chap wandered in from the back of the shack with a beaten up acoustic in hand and broke into "don't worry" in broken English. Perfect!

When we had nearly finished our lunch a poor lad no more that eleven crept over and started fingering through our left over fish bones. It's all too easy to forget that Indonesia is actually a very poor country once you leave the tourism bubble. We gave him what food we had left and headed back over to our corner of the beach.

After another doze and a quick play on the long boards we decided to head back across the coast to Kuta. I wanted to nip back to Gerupuk to find the mornings photographer and Andy being a bike enthusiast wanted to put the bike through its paces. We dropped the girls back at the villa then me and Andy opened up the bikes along the coastal road East. This didn't last long however due to the shocking state of the road. Just on the edge of the village a big volleyball match was in full swing, it seemed like the whole village was there. It didn't take long to find the photographer when we arrived and he had some lovely shots to offer, mainly due to the orange morning light and rugged backdrop rather than my surfing ability. He said he would be out the next morning and agreed to meet me shortly after tomorrow's session to name a price for the lot. Just before we left we bumped into Remi and the boat driver Haji watching the volley ball. Me and Andy enjoyed a romantic sunset ride back to Kuta racing the sinking sun to the hills in the east. Just as we got to the edge of the village Helen and Lucy appeared out of nowhere so we went for a beer on a near by balcony bar overlooking the coast. Andy was in a world of his own as everything was made by wood using traditional practices and techniques. 

We dropped the bikes back at the villa and then headed back to the beach front to meet H & L who were holding the best table in a well reviewed seafood place. We decided to go all out ordering jumbo prawns, half lobster, squid, snapper, tuna with various sauces and rice, washed down with a bottle of Balinese white. It was bloody good but probably the most expensive meal of the trip, however it's not everyday we have guests to entertain.

With wine and Bintang on board we went in search of a bit of life. About half way through the town we found a surf shop / bar / gig venue blaring out all kinds of covers. There was a fairly big crowd, most likely the whole town as everywhere else was very quiet. We watched a couple of long haired locals head banging to almost everything and a local singer murdering some old favourites. 

We left just after midnight and walked back to the villa. About half way up the dark main road a scooter slowly rolled up along side us on the wrong side. Before we put two and two together the lad on the back grabbed Lucy's bag strap and they tried to speed off. She twisted round but Andy had a strong hold of her and as the bag was over her head not just on one shoulder the muggers lost grip and sped away with nothing. We had read about this on various travel sites however had never heard of or met anyone it had happened to on our whole trip. Talk about bad luck. Right on cue as it says on the sites, another bike appeared to check we were okay. Once he saw we still had the bag he instantly lost interest a sped off. Part two of the scam is to tell the victim that he knows who the thieves are and can get the bag back for a price. Luckily no one was hurt and nothing was taken but it was a big shock for us all.

I rose before dawn the following morning and biked over to Gerupuk again to meet Remi and Haji.

I successfully negotiated the moon lit potholes and made it to the bay by 5:20am. Remi was milling about when I arrived and soon we were gliding out past the lobster pots to the break. It was a little busier this morning but the first hour before it got super busy was still brilliant, as head high waves pealed like clockwork along the reef. There were two photographers out this morning bobbing about towards the end of the reef. By about 6:45 a few surf schools arrived, saturating the line up. Catching waves was now a slalom between people in the wrong position ditching their surfboards, which were then sucked up and thrown over the falls. Either way there were still a few good waves to be had and round eight I paddled back over to Haji and Remi tired but super stoked. I wanted to hang around to strike a deal with the photographers so I joined Remi and his girlfriend for breakfast. Within no time the photographers were back on dry land selling their wares. There were two guys who had photographed both sessions today and yesterday. I made a good deal with both to get all the pics they had as it's rare you see yourself on a wave. 

I bid farewell to Remi and thanked him again for taking me under his wing, then headed back to Kuta in time for a second breakfast with the guys. The day plan was to pack up, check out and hang out at the beach. My plan was a tad different as a few weeks back I had been contacted by a book publisher asking me to submit a project and piece of writing to a new publication. So I left the guys on the sand, searched out a quiet cafe and tried to get back into work mode.

I hooked up with them again round two, we dropped the bikes and my board back at their various homes, then went for a final beef rendang at Nuggets Corner, before catching our ride North to Rinjani.