I love Bali
Supafreak wrote:seeds wrote:How long are you there. It’s a long trip isn’t it?
I may stay up your way. Budget friendly is key. Your previous tip about place behind is still in my mind. Got some research to do.
Thanks manI’m here for a few years with trips east and west during the year. There are plenty of homestays that are tidy just not beachfront but very close. That one behind tarci is good value at $15 - $20 a night , there’s others that are cheaper but further from the beach again .
Lucky you.
Any cheapos that have a duckpond ie pool to cool off in? What’s the cheapest where you are? I’m probably setting a $50 ceiling a night.
ant01 wrote:ant01 wrote:blackers wrote:seeds wrote:Thanks Supa. Great info. I’ll carry a torch.
Thinking I might plonk myself in Lembongan for up to 2 weeks. May start on the Bukit. Any experts in Balangan area?No way an expert but the crew at Bombora Balangan are really nice, the place is schmick. The wave is fun but fairly pedestrian and often full of euros. Quick buzz around to the better breaks further south.
Balangan is anything but "pedestrian" when it's on; at size.
Balangan seaview bungalows have good budget accomodation
Thanks ant01
@seeds , here’s that homestay behind tarci , Pondok Wisata Widi , Pak Widi WhatsApp +6285829219195 , you could message him and book if interested, negotiate price on length of stay, at least you don’t have to outlay any money until your there . He will just want name and date of arrival.
Thanks Supa
Thanks ant01 that looks perfect at Balangan
@seeds , sorry just saw your other post, I have a friend with homestay with splash pool for $450 a month so $15 a night , it’s close to a beach but around from shipwrecks probably 1 klm towards mangroves . I find you can use any resorts pool as long as you buy something, some do charge for pool but not many .
@seeds I actually just googled pondok wisata and it’s now on booking.com and other websites , I wouldn’t bother booking through them as they take 20% commission and can take 3 months to pay the owners, always good to deal with the locals first hand I reckon plus your not paying out yet . Couldn’t find his own personal website but the others have photos and reviews so that’s something .
Agree totally Supa
Have Virgin stopped the direct flights from the Gold Coast? Nothing available online for months.
Also stopped direct flights from Adelaide burleigh - now go via Melbourne.
Supa..Whats your Go To Board over there ...Desert Storms ?
maddogmorley wrote:Also stopped direct flights from Adelaide burleigh - now go via Melbourne.
Spewing. they were so convenient.
udo wrote:Supa..Whats your Go To Board over there ...Desert Storms ?
At the moment with these weak swells knee to head high I ride a lost HP puddle jumper 6’6” plenty of volume, over head high Ive got a 6’6” & 6’10” DS , I haven’t had the 7’6” out in anything yet, I got it for a certain wave that Im hoping to go to later this year .
@burleigh , I knew they were down to about 5 flights a week doing direct run but didn’t realise they had now stopped . I flew in to goldy on February 8th & out next day and flight in had about 25 empty seats and flight back only about 15 , I know this because I always board last and look for the 3 empty seats to have a lay down in .
maddogmorley wrote:Also stopped direct flights from Adelaide burleigh - now go via Melbourne.
Yeah that's a bugger. We booked Virgin tickets for direct flights for may. Then a few weeks later they informed us that our flights were going via Melbourne. Just for anyone's info, you can get a full refund without penalty in these circumstances.
DPS Goldy return is still Direct
its just Way there is via Sydney ...11 hrs all up i think
udo wrote:DPS Goldy return is still Direct
its just Way there is via Sydney ...11 hrs all up i think
ummmmmmmm, that's not direct mate
Back to Brisbane us Gold Coasters go.
DPS to Goldy the return flight is direct
udo wrote:DPS to Goldy the return flight is direct
Nope. No direct flight from DPS to Goldy that i can see.
Shiit ..Pos i saw one there this Morning
:-0
Damn, that is a bummer.
udo wrote:https://book.virginaustralia.com/dx/VADX/#/flight-selection?journeyType=...
There ya go. Mid April. Hopefully it's just a seasonal thing.
Yeh new it was there....i remembered looking at the Flight Time and thinking anything over 6 hrs these Days for this Old Kook and im Flying Business Class.
burleigh wrote:udo wrote:https://book.virginaustralia.com/dx/VADX/#/flight-selection?journeyType=...
There ya go. Mid April. Hopefully it's just a seasonal thing.
Shows March 13th as Restart of Direct .
udo wrote:Yeh new it was there....i remembered looking at the Flight Time and thinking anything over 6 hrs these Days for this Old Kook and im Flying Business Class.
@andy-M , I remember you were asking about bronze zinc on another thread . I’ve come across this stuff in a few shops on Lembongan, $23 for 75g or $11 for 30g . It’s not as soft as the original stuff that came in a tube, it’s actually quite a bit firmer which isn’t a bad thing in the humidity . It rubs in to the face and lips. 
@andy-m
The best I’ve found for use in the tropics is SurfYogis , made in Bali, great on your forehead, face and nose
Save The Bees Natural Zinc from Byron does the same job also. AW
Trusty sunzapper is my go to (Coles and Wollies or buy online) and I've got fair skin and never get burnt when using it even in the tropics. Comes in a stick and I carry it with me so I can top up out in the surf.
R.I.P.
To Ben Ryan who passed away in Bali result of Motor bike Accident.
R.I.P. Ben
Supa, how is that broooom broooom bike coming along?
seeds wrote:Supa, how is that broooom broooom bike coming along?
Waiting on a couple of parts and currently Galungan / kunningan then nyepi followed by ramadan has slowed things down. Once it’s all done then it will be taken apart and painted, not sure what colour, told him to surprise me . 
Can you get these old girls in Oz?
I’d love one!
Without scrolling up what exactly is it?
Coolest thing similar here is a modified postie bike.
Is that what it is? Haha do you want to make me poor?
Be pretty shmick though.
Supafreak wrote:It’s actually raining ! Woohoo ! The gardens need it . Fun headhigh pulse yesterday arvo back to knee to waist high this morning. Some headhigh swell on the way with light onshore winds . I’m getting a custom bike built should be ready in a few weeks , a 1970s honda clutchless 4 speed 4 stroke. These motors are bulletproof and parts are plentiful, got some decent shocks for the crap roads that destroy the scooters .
Here's Supa's original post @seeds, I was just poking around on ebay..
@seeds , it’s a honda 100cc clutchless 4 speed from the 1970s , it’s not going to break any speed records but it’s for Lembongan so no rego or anything needed . The motor has been completely rebuilt . On Lembongan unless you’re a true maniac with a death wish , I cant see me doing more than 60 kph , most riding will be in the 30-40 kph range .
Haha yes that was my limit too. And you’re a local!
Thanks basesix yes I like it!!
Where is the seat for the driver ?
If I went within 10 meters of it , I would be in danger , by the look of this beast .
Like Nuclear Waste , riding a Bike , scares the shit out of me and I don't want to touch one .
Looks so much fun , though .
You gotta sit up front on the put put pipe and you’re insides clear the climate crisis with every word you talk. Then convert to carbon credits with every internet post.
seeds
Just had a close look at the Bike and that all sounds very sensible .
Keep up the good work !
You’re a cool as old cat Pop. I’m more clueless and care less than you. I’ve got Sypy splinters on this subject. We aren’t that important.
Hello Seeds
As I am an opposite type , am guessing u are a bit cagey ( wise like 6'y ) , not clueless and care more than most .
We are not important , in the long term .
Quite a few of your posts , many more than I have posted ( longer time lol ) have RECENTLY been Important to SN ,imho !
As an old bloke , I have tinnea of the scalp , from being trampled , but a few surfs helps wash the shit off lol .
Lovely weather and great waves 
Noice Supa
Oh man that looks fun and no crowd WTF?
Fuck, surfed with this bloke a lot.......
Sad days.
https://tracksmag.com.au/australian-expat-gunther-kitzler-presumed-dead-...
G-land rights?
Is that ‘reverse G’?
Heavy situation for his mates there.
Wonder if it was heart attack or something.
Knocked out?
I love Bali.
You wouldn't think that such a thought could be controversial . But it is.
Many people don't love Bali, in fact they proclaim to hate it. Bemoan what it has become, it's lack of purity, it's lost innocence.
Sure, I can see their point. I can't imagine anywhere on Earth that has been transformed as radically as Bali over the last thirty years. From rice paddies and coconut groves to six story discotheques . It's totally unrecognisable in the most built up areas.
But that's not what this post is about. It's about why I LOVE Bali.
I love Bali because ...
- it's still the home of an intense cluster of world class waves. Roping lefts : Uluwatu, freight train right barrels : Sanur, backlit mega tubes : Padang Padang. Rip able reefs, fun beachies. Short , slabby pits and long mellow points. River mouths and bombies. It's got the lot.
- it's still possible to get uncrowded quality waves in 2015 when it seems as though the entire planet has discovered surfing. I was trading crystal clear , rolling right walls with only two other surfers just this morning.
- it's still freaking beautiful. Watching the mist reveal Mt Agung in that unique Bali morning light from a black sand beach as the sun comes up is still special.
- the food is amazing. Walking around town building up a hunger and knowing that at any given time you are within shouting distance of fresh, exotic and delicious meals with enough variety to make your head spin is priceless.
- the Balinese are legends. Friendly, happy and always keen for a joke. Unfailingly polite and welcoming. Healthy, spiritual and decent.
- the Balinese surfers rip their waves and they still own them. A visiting Brazilian would not think twice to drop in on an Aussie local at Kirra. But you won't see the same in Bali. The Balinese surfers are treated with the respect they deserve. Because as everyone knows, if they are not treated with respect there is consequences.
- the water is so warm it's like swimming in silken angels tears.
- telling people that you are going to Bali will often elicit a response along the lines of ......"why would you go to that traffic ridden, noisy shithole ?" And then as you're kicking back with a Bintang watching the sunset over Uluwatu you can imagine them sitting at lights in their car on their way home from work in Perth. Which , for those that have never been , is a noisy , traffic ridden shithole. And this makes me laugh. Which is something I enjoy doing.
- The fruit is incredible.
- despite the millions of tourists, the fast food franchises and the Aussie over familiarity with the joint it's still exotic. The smell of clove cigarettes, the ogo ogos of Nyepi, the Buddhist offerings , monkeys , food and language are all enticingly foreign.
- there is no overreaching nanny state. You want to ride your motorbike with all four of your children and the missus on the back...whilst texting. Go for it.
- you can live like a king on a regular Aussie income. Maybe not such a great benefit for the Balinese themselves though.
- it's close to Oz. Twenty hour plane ride and a shot at developing deep vein thrombosis.....ummm no thanks. It's actually faster to fly to Bali from Perth than it is to drive to Albany. You can fly from Port Hedland in less than two hours.
- you get an opportunity to regularly witness some of the most foolhardy behaviour imaginable on a daily basis. You ever seen a man being doubled on a motorbike through traffic whilst holding a large pane of glass ? What about seeing someone hold a nail between his bare fingers while his mate tries to grind the tip off it ? It's all there folks.
- you can see people making do with not much and making it work. An exhaust system held on with a T Shirt ? An outboard motor attached to a boat with no anchoring system, just held on with a man's brute force ? Why not ? It might not work forever but it'll usually get em over the line.
- the winds can blow offshore for months at a time and when they blow onshore, well , that just makes it offshore somewhere else. It's an island !
- you haven't seen glassy oceanic conditions till you've seen Indonesian sheet glass. It's like an oil slick. And if you're ever near Benoa Harbour that could well be what it is.
- old people are accorded the respect they deserve.
- it's exciting. It's a melting pot of the world. Wide eyed villages from remote Asia, jaded techno princesses from Russia, sleek surfy chicks from Canada , your next door neighbour from Ipswich....it's a party and everyone is invited.
Including YOU. I'll see you there. You can't miss me.
I'll be the sun burnt drunk in a head to toe Bintang ensemble with hair braids and a fresh tattoo of a unicorn across my back . Don't be shy. Come and say hello.