Kuta, Bali - Surf Lesson

Hey hey I'm in Bali- how fantastic i have been looking forward to arriving here. Not really got any expectations other than its paradise!!!

So keeping true to form i arrive about 12am at Depensar airport which is not actually in Depensar!! It is though only a 15 min taxi ride into Kuta which according to the bible (Lonely Planet) is the place to be as a backpacker. Unfortunately i have arrived during the high season and with nowhere booked to stay, where is the fun in that, it is about 3am before i find anywhere! So that was a good couple of hours wondering from Losmen to Losmen (guesthouses) before i found one with vacancies. I managed to get myself totally lost down the various Gangs (side streets) that run between Poppies I and Poppies II, the main areas for budget accommodation.

Even though it is very early in the morning there are plenty of people about. Kuta is a party town it is to the Australians what the south of Spain is to the British (and i feel i must add they are no better behaved than the Brits!!)

It turns out i have booked myself into a place on Poppies II which as it turns out is the busier of the two streets and requires ear plugs.

The streets are very narrow, just about the width of a car and lined right the way down to the beach with market stalls. It is a friendly place and very quickly the locals get to know your name and where you are from though they will try and herd you into their shop each time they see you. This is of course if you don't get hustled into a side street to have your nails painted or your hair braided!

The beach here in Kuta is lovely, a long stretch of white sands and clear sea, you can walk out into the sea for quite a way and it doesn't get past your knees, but beware the surfers they are everywhere!

So if this is the main pass time i best get myself some lessons. This is really easy to do there are plenty of surf shops dotted amongst the market stalls. I follow the first sign i come to which leads me to Jason and Made, its not actually their sign they have just moved their tour business to this location and are not yet open for business but Jason is quite happy to provide info on the different surf companies. Eventually we decide it would be best if he just took me out himself and make arrangements for the following day.

So with my new board shorts and feeling the part i start my lesson. First off is learning the positioning for paddling a few rules like not placing yourself between the board and the beach (this one is important!) and how to jump up on the board- i am more comfortable with my left foot forward which means the strap will go round my right ankle, this apparently makes me goofy (ha ha yes thank you!!) if i was to have the strap around my left foot i would be normal.

Time to get into the sea. After about half an hour i am getting to grips with the sea and balancing and do actually manage to stand up, no hands- this is great fun!! Time for a quick break and its back in the water my first attempt is not good am unbalanced and fall off, as i wipe the sea from my eyes i am totally unaware i have broken an important rule here, until the surf board smacks me in the face, and i spit my teeth out into my hand.

In case anyone is unaware my front teeth are false i have a bridge which means they are held in place with strips of metal at the back and its these odd looking teeth i am now looking at, actually i am very lucky a wave didn't wash them straight out of my hand stood there like i was, lisping to my surf teacher that i need a dentist!

Jason was very good as soon as he got over his own shock he got me to his dentist which charged only slightly more than the local rates (a lot less than the tourist dentist) and insisted on paying for the repairs. As it wasn't his fault we settled on half each. In a couple of hours my teeth were glued back in place as good as new. Thank god they were false would have been in a right mess had they been real!

No i do not have pics of this incident!