Clemi Hardie : Chilled Turtle Team Riders Journal : Indonesia
Chilled Turtle Team Rider Clemi Hardie writes about her recent training trip to Indonesia for us.
Clemi Hardie Chilled Turtle Team Rider
Clemi writes…….
My love affair with Indonesia is well documented, with the eleven visa stamps in my passport and many more scars from surfing and motorbikes. So, post graduation it seemed the logical thing to do - run away to a tropical island and spend two months chasing perfect waves and untrodden paths with the perfect wingman (or women) - my friend, Holly.
Bali, Bali, Bali
We spent our first few weeks soaking up the sun and the surf in Bali. This island has one of the most special vibes of all the places I’ve ever travelled to, coupled with massive diversity. I remember being blown away the first time I landed here and it’s still the same every time, even now. The smell of kretek cigarettes and sate mix with sights of street offerings and a hundred smiles, all thrown together with the sound of a million scooter horns. My love for Bali has even enabled me to block out the more annoying aspects - the endless cries of transport, hair braid and massage!!!
Clemi and Nyoman
Balangan Beach
We stayed at Balangan Beach for most of our time in Bali, where there were some fun waves to be had. I always spend a good chunk of time at this place every time I visit Bali and my familiarity with the wave makes it seem like a home away from home. The Sunset Café family, who we stayed with, were as welcoming as always - giving us cheap rooms and lots of smiles. It was great to get back into the famous Indonesian concept of ‘rubber time’ where the hours of the day cease to matter and it becomes all about barrels, sunbathing and sunset Bintangs with the only choice of the day being which local cuisine to sample.
Turtle Time
Gilli Islands
Our trip to the Gili Islands was well timed with the swell dropping and the tickle of itchy feet. The long trip there was well worth it to reach these islands off the coast of Lombok, renowned for their lack of traffic, peaceful lifestyle and excellent diving. We stuck to snorkelling for the first few days and were amazed by the reefs and marine life there - especially the turtles!! When we made it down for a dive - again we weren’t disappointed, being treated to an amazingly rich variety of marine life. And more turtles, amazing. This part of the trip was truly relaxing but after five days here, I was ready to get back to a more action packed schedule. Holly was also glad to be leaving the affections of one of the guys at the hotel, with his endless offerings of ‘banana pancakes’!
Balinese Dancing
Dance with Dengue
After a very relaxing stint in the Gilli Islands, it was back to Bali to catch our flight to Jakarta so we could start making our way up to Krui in South Sumatra. We stayed with an old friend of mine, Rob and I went out to sample the Jakarta nightlife (and traffic) which as always was great fun and a sharp contrast to Bali. The next morning arrived and I woke up feeling awful but I just assumed that I had overindulged the night before. The ‘hangover’ kept going for two more days, delaying our departure until finally we decided to just make the trip and that I would be able to recover on the way there from my mysterious illness. A classic swell was about to hit and I was determined not to miss it!
Things did not improve as we’d hoped; in fact they only got worse and after only one night of being in Krui, we had to make the journey back to Bali due to my increasingly grey complexion. I won’t bore you with the details of our journey back but it involved more hair-raising driving along crazy Sumatran roads and a few more flights until we finally touched down in Bali eighteen hours later. We were both shocked when the diagnosis came back as Dengue fever - I couldn’t believe it but it did explain most of my symptoms with the brutal joint aches, blurred vision, fever and splitting headache. Looking back, I really should have clocked this earlier!!! I was gutted to not get in the water up in Sumatra and it is by far the most beautiful island I have been to in Indonesia, making it a definite future trip for me.
Clemi - Big Day Bali
Sumbawa Solo
After ten days of recovery post dengue, it was time to make a move to escape the endless crowds in Bali. Holly had left to go back to the UK, so it was time for some solo missions to Sumbawa. Another mammoth journey later, involving a combination of bemos, ferries and planes, I finally arrived at Hu’u. The next few days were spent getting up early to hit Lakey Peak and Pipe before the onshore winds kicked in followed by a lot of napping, relaxing and eating. It was great to be travelling solo again, meeting new people and surfing some of the best waves that Indonesia has to offer. On my fifth day here, the swell picked up and the wind stayed offshore until the middle of the afternoon - serving up some hollow, 5ft Lakey perfection for everyone to enjoy. Unfortunately, the swell only stuck around for that day and the next day it was back to small but fun waves.
Clemi - Dusk Session
Homeward Bound
After two weeks of Sumbawa, the charts were showing an absolutely massive swell was about to hit the whole coast of Indonesia. I was planning to round off my trip with a few days at G-Land but the size of this swell made it a better plan to stay Bali - 15ft G-Land sounded a little intimidating. It was the right choice - I scored the best and biggest waves of my trip in these last few days. Everywhere was absolutely pumping, 8-10 foot perfection with a much reduced crowd because of the size. I got on my plane a few days later with the biggest smile on my face, totally satisfied and with another seasons worth of memories.
Written by Clemi Hardie : Chilled Turtle Team Rider : 8th October 2009
Clemi and Wayan
Tags: Chilled Turtle, Clemi Hardie, Girl Jam, Uk Bodyboarding
