I love Bali
What's with these floating warungs?
I was on NL recently, and the Bali Hai one out behind Lacerations was devoid of activity for all but one day. As far as I could find out, the only way you can only gain access is through a ticket (and charter boat) from Bali.
Lots Going On :
Dalton Thomas
@DaltonLThomas
·
Feb 17, 2024
In a few weeks we’re launching a growing fleet of vessels into the Indian Ocean that’ll be used for (1) floating surfing/diving villas off the coast of Bali, (2) remote surf and deep water spear fishing expeditions across Indonesia where there are no airports or roads, and (3) at-sea retreats and intensives for men wanting to make serious changes and get healthy in every area of their lives.
At the same time we’re launching a number of related businesses that will be connected in various ways (SALTWATER COWBOYS).
thermalben wrote:What's with these floating warungs?
I was on NL recently, and the Bali Hai one out behind Lacerations was devoid of activity for all but one day. As far as I could find out, the only way you can only gain access is through a ticket (and charter boat) from Bali.
The bali hai boat used to come daily, seats around 300 for lunch but this year has been very quiet . They run snorkeling and para sailing from there and used to have a submarine looking vessel that had glass bottom observatory. I would be extremely happy if they pissed it off to nusa penida as there is a flat water spot and it wouldn’t be in the path of lacerations . It snapped 3 chains one year in a big swell . The bounty also had a large pontoon which sunk during covid I think ??? And there large cat also no longer comes . 
Crikey that is big Lacerations! And your photos from Razors the other day... wow.
First group of photo’s is from 2014 same swell that snapped 3 chains. Next 2 photos are from 2013 , the old glass bottom boat ( submarine looking vessel) that used to cruise around muntigs . We would piss ourselves laughing watching this thing going over huge waves at muntigs , the captain sitting up high , unfazed , with tourists down below looking through the glass bottom. Third photo was the yellow bounty pontoon that sunk but was eventually relocated. 
Supafreak wrote:First group of photo’s is from 2014 same swell that snapped 3 chains. Next 2 photos are from 2013 , the old glass bottom boat ( submarine looking vessel) that used to cruise around muntigs . We would piss ourselves laughing watching this thing going over huge waves at muntigs , the captain sitting up high , unfazed , with tourists down below looking through the glass bottom. Third photo was the yellow bounty pontoon that sunk but was eventually relocated.
How’s the barrel in the background of the second last photo , one with the submarine in the foreground. Sure packing some punch. AW
udo wrote:Lots Going On :
Dalton Thomas
@DaltonLThomas
·
Feb 17, 2024In a few weeks we’re launching a growing fleet of vessels into the Indian Ocean that’ll be used for (1) floating surfing/diving villas off the coast of Bali, (2) remote surf and deep water spear fishing expeditions across Indonesia where there are no airports or roads, and (3) at-sea retreats and intensives for men wanting to make serious changes and get healthy in every area of their lives.
At the same time we’re launching a number of related businesses that will be connected in various ways (SALTWATER COWBOYS).
Sometimes I wish Indo was more like Hawaii, not a chance foreigners would be getting away with this shit.
Are they Euro’s? Russian?
Seppo .
Saltwater Cowboy Owner is American..... And not a Surfer i Think ?
Plenty of Links on Previous Page....Start with his X Page .
Yerp, another parasite on surfing. Just what Bali needs
Agreed soggy.
Given everything the last two decades has shown us, I feel like I could mount a convincing argument that the collapse of almost all surf-adjacent business would be an overall net positive for Indonesia, for surfing, and for the world at large.
udo wrote:Saltwater Cowboy Owner is American..... And not a Surfer i Think ?
Plenty of Links on Previous Page....Start with his X Page .
X page reveals an opportunistic parasite with almost zero historical links to surfing.
Yep, agree with everything above about that Saltwater Cowboy snake-oil salesman. He's no good. Hopefully gets run out of town.
~ Piter is a Good Man ~
Got off lightly with deportation , no doubt lost all their Indonesian assets.
Very very lightly, maybe the prosecutor and judge were previous clients haha but more likely an "agreement was reached", foreigners involved in prostitution in SEA normally go down just look at the cases in Thailand.
Mount Laki - Laki playing up again . https://thebalisun.com/bali-tourists-must-monitor-for-flight-disruptions...
A bloke from the UK got sentenced to death by firing squad a few weeks ago but it doesn’t seem to deter some. This guy’s life is in for a dramatic change of scenery .
Anyone applied for the Indo Visa On Arrival online? Or is it just easier to get it at the airport once you land as was the standard operating procedure since forever? First trip back to indo since 2019 for me, seems like there’s been quite a few changes…
More tubes please wrote:Anyone applied for the Indo Visa On Arrival online? Or is it just easier to get it at the airport once you land as was the standard operating procedure since forever? First trip back to indo since 2019 for me, seems like there’s been quite a few changes…
If you've only got carry on, the online visa is great, if you've got boards you'll most likely be waiting either way, but IMO its better to wait for your boards than wait in those slow as fuck visa lines.
So get the online visa.
You will also need to fill your entry form online and have the QR code ready for a quick exit.
With online visa and smart passport you can clear immigration in about 30 seconds. As burleigh pointed out, you will always wait for boards . Customs declaration 3 days before flight along with tourist tax . Just make sure you have the correct link for your visa, there are some scam websites apparently .
Agree with the above, so much easier having done it all online prior. Don't forget the Health declaration too.
Supafreak wrote:With online visa and smart passport you can clear immigration in about 30 seconds. As burleigh pointed out, you will always wait for boards . Customs declaration 3 days before flight along with tourist tax . Just make sure you have the correct link for your visa, there are some scam websites apparently .
You pay the tourist tax?
Went last April, and the online visa was not working, wouldn't let me upload photo's. Previous trip had used it no worries.
Did on arrival, no dramas, just a bit of a wait but then again had to wait for boards anyway.
Health app SatuSehat was not checked at all even though had done it online.
burleigh wrote:Supafreak wrote:With online visa and smart passport you can clear immigration in about 30 seconds. As burleigh pointed out, you will always wait for boards . Customs declaration 3 days before flight along with tourist tax . Just make sure you have the correct link for your visa, there are some scam websites apparently .
You pay the tourist tax?
I've never paid it (3 trips in the last 12 months) and never been asked for it.
Thanks all, tried to apply for the visa online but they wanted a passport photo uploaded, which means a trip to the post office with the missus and son, so we’ll just get the visa at the airport.
I’ve done the health Dec and customs forms online, so hopefully won’t have too long of a wait.
Forecast is looking fun, can’t wait!
fitzroy-21 wrote:burleigh wrote:Supafreak wrote:With online visa and smart passport you can clear immigration in about 30 seconds. As burleigh pointed out, you will always wait for boards . Customs declaration 3 days before flight along with tourist tax . Just make sure you have the correct link for your visa, there are some scam websites apparently .
You pay the tourist tax?
I've never paid it (3 trips in the last 12 months) and never been asked for it.
I don’t pay it as have temporary residency but have known people that were checked at toll road and given a hard time, they didn’t get fined just had to pay the 150,000 rp tax , some pay it some don’t.
More tubes please wrote:Thanks all, tried to apply for the visa online but they wanted a passport photo uploaded, which means a trip to the post office with the missus and son, so we’ll just get the visa at the airport.
I’ve done the health Dec and customs forms online, so hopefully won’t have too long of a wait.
Forecast is looking fun, can’t wait!
You only need a photo of your passport and a photo of yourself. It doesn't have to be a proper passport photo, just a phone photo like the example shown on the application.
More tubes please wrote:Thanks all, tried to apply for the visa online but they wanted a passport photo uploaded, which means a trip to the post office with the missus and son, so we’ll just get the visa at the airport.
I’ve done the health Dec and customs forms online, so hopefully won’t have too long of a wait.
Forecast is looking fun, can’t wait!
Just a photo of your passport.
Mine wouldn't upload when I tried, a few of us couldn't, sites must have had issues at time.
fitzroy-21 wrote:More tubes please wrote:Thanks all, tried to apply for the visa online but they wanted a passport photo uploaded, which means a trip to the post office with the missus and son, so we’ll just get the visa at the airport.
I’ve done the health Dec and customs forms online, so hopefully won’t have too long of a wait.
Forecast is looking fun, can’t wait!
You only need a photo of your passport and a photo of yourself. It doesn't have to be a proper passport photo, just a phone photo like the example shown on the application.
Yep that worked, visas approved straight away! Cheers Fitzy
This monkey is having a fun day at the zoo .
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.