6 December 2006: BALI

Medewi Sunset

It is a beautiful quiet evening on the Indonesian island of Bali and I am enjoying the peaceful sunset while Nick, my brother and two of my brother’s best childhood friends are out with a fisherman trying their luck at providing a fresh tuna dinner. Nick and I arrived on Monday and met up with my younger brother (confusingly also a Nick) who is here traveling and surfing. We spent two un-delightful nights in Kuta (famous for the 2002 Bali bombings and hedonistic tourism) before heading off to more remote and less-traveled regions. First stop is a surfing spot famous to the local Balinese in a little town called Medewi.

Beach Meditation

Our day began at the beach. Brother Nick and company immediately hit the waves. Nick paddled out after them with an underwater camera to capture the moment of big-wave bliss. I stayed on the beach and watched the morning turn to day with a surfing backdrop.

The Morning's Surf Wounds

We are staying in a rustic little beach guesthouse where we have three bamboo huts to sleep in and a friendly host that makes the best watermelon juices around. Last night the guys met a local fisherman who sold them some lobsters, which his mother cooked and returned to us at dinnertime. Life is simple and salty at the moment…

Beach Read