Indonesia

It is a beautiful full bodied woman, In-doNEa-sheya.......it fills my dreams. That smell, the sounds, the air, thick with jasmine, moist, hot, that feeling, the taste. There is something very special about that place. It haunts my dreams.

I went to Indonesia for the first time last year, with a few mates and a few surfboards. I'd only been surfing for around 15 months consistantly, so I was pretty sure I'd be way out of my depth. I still had this feeling that I'd find some waves I'd feel comfortable in even if it meant surfing at Kuta Beach for weeks.

The first few days I was absolutely petrified. I remember being out at Kuta Reef just overawed by the sound as the wave broke. I was so relieved when a boat arrived to pick us up and take us to dry land. I paddled over without catching a wave.

It took a while to settle in to the waves but we found cruisy surf spots to the west and in Lombok and I started to become more comfortable in the water. The further east we headed, the more comfortable I felt and by the time we reached Sumbawa, I was happy enough to paddle out at Lakey Peak and take a few waves.

I feel that when you hear about the famous breaks around the world like Pipeline, Teahuapo, *insert famous wave here*, you hear about them on their penultimate day. But even the waves have their bad days, when the wind is not quite right and the swell is coming from a different direction. Its at this time, that nufty's like me can head out and have a play! At any rate, there is always a learner wave somewhere around the corner. The Hawaiians don't start surfing Pipe as soon as they can walk! I'm happy to find the fat, soft, mellow wave and have my fun. I'll leave waves like Pipe to the real heroes.