Hawaii, Oahu - A Lazy Start

Arriving in Honolulu was fun because of the time difference. For the first time I hopped over the date line. I've departed from Tokyo on Sunday evening and arrive again Sunday morning in Hawaii. The immigration process was also easier as expected. I was afraid I had to fight around with the officer because of the many stamps of "evil" countries I have in my passport but I had a cool officer. He was amazed about all my travels and again surprised as I had to show him my "spare" passport. I literally flushed into the country. The next good thing was that I've got a real good deal for the rental car. I've headed directly to the most expensive car rental (Hertz) and after some arguing over the price the clerk found a real good deal for me. Just 27$ per day instead of 35$ at the cheapest car rental. I even got a mighty SUV! Perfect for surfboard transportation.

The only downer was the wave conditions. At arrival and two days after the surf has been dramatically low - almost no waves at all! Luckily now surf is up again and also the running Rip Curl surfing contest nearby. It's part of the Van's triple crown surf competition. One of the best contest series for surfing. Just high profile surfers there.

Tomorrow I'll expect to have a decent surf and after that I want to see the pro's how it really should look like.

One Week In Tokyo

It's again late night and time to write a few words about my time in Japan. I always wanted to visit Japan but I never went there because I thought it was too expensive and too difficult to get around. Luckily it was no so dramatic!

Finding an address in Tokyo is really a challenge! I had to find the hotel in the district Shinjuku and it was almost impossible to locate the hotel. The many Japanese I've asked couldn't speak English well and there was a lot of guessing where the hotel could be. The ultimate solution was to go by Taxi and GPS to the hotel. The city was also not too expensive. At least not more expensive then other big cities. It can get expensive when it comes to exclusive restaurants. The most expensive dinner was a sushi set at the fish market Tsukiji. The big sushi set was about 3500 JPY (28Eur). Tsukiji was a very special visit. Arriving at the early morning I could take some nice pictures of the tuna auction. Also of the fish market where fresh sea food is sold at numerous stands.

On my final day in Tokyo I have moved from a standard hotel to a capsule hotel. This was for men only and the sleeping place is a tiny cabin just like a sleeping compartment in a train. Equipped with a TV it was a quite good option to spend a night. The only bummer was that you shouldn't have too much baggage because there are no storage facilities. The hotel capacity was close to 1000 guests and there have been extra floors with spa's and restaurants. I've tried out the hot tubes, saunas and even a scrub massage. After that I went out to enjoy the night life in the nearby entertainment area.

In this week I met a few very nice people including a former German chef and now a restaurant owner as well as some very interesting Japanese artists. At the end I was sad to leave Japan so early just when it really started to get interesting and again the weather turned to get better.

From Bali To Tokyo

I have just uploaded a photo of Bali's most famous surf spot: Uluwatu. The surf wasn't high at my final week and I also couldn't go on my final surf session - Just a few lazy waves. It was a great time in Bali and I was really sad to leave. I made many great friends and hope to see them soon again.

Beside of surfing I also was interested in the recent development of the island. Even Bali is a so-called paradise it has a lot of challenges to cope with. I'm writing this post now in Hawaii and I can mention the difference between the islands. For me Bali is the more scenic and interesting place as Hawaii. The positive fact about Hawaii is the waste management and the good infrastructure of the island - at the moment just speaking of Oahu. The local government of Bali plans to attract much more tourists as in former years. At the moment 2 million visitors come to Bali. The midterm goal is 4-5 Million and in a decade about 10 million visitors are the target. The Bali government wants to copy Hawaii and Malaysia to gain a better share in the tourism market. With more visitors the country will definitely make a permanent change to "Disneyland".

After leaving Bali and a short flight I arrived in Tokyo - But more about this great city in the next post....

Final week in Bali

Finally my time in Bali comes to an end. I had a great time here with good friends and I am sad to move on. Of course I am also excited because of the new upcoming adventures. My surfing became way better but I’m not satisfied. I need much more experience but now I’m confident that I will progress my surfing skills on this long trip. The next surf spots will be Hawaii and Cabarete (Dominican Republic).

I just moved to a new bungalow and it was quite busy here. Yesterday people have been sleeping everywhere – even in the living room on the floor. I want to save on living costs to afford more stuff that I really need.

The weather in Bali is now slowly changing. It gets hotter and the rain season is coming up. Luckily it is still not raining but more about that later. Hindus celebrated recently Galungan and Kuningan and it was great to see the colourful ceremonies and the devoted people offering to their gods. Beside the beautiful surroundings here there are also a lot of side effects from excessive tourism. There are about 15 Million tourists coming annually to Bali and new resorts and Villas are finished every day. That is a big challenge for the Balinese society and infrastructure.

Environmental Issues

Water: On the first sight Bali is full of water – Rice terraces, waterfalls, hot springs, tropical rain and countless recreation centers and spa’s. The story behind is that an average tourist spends about 3000l water/day and a Balinese just needs 700l/day. Big hotels and golf centers have been established around Bali and worse – also at the driest places, Bukit in the south. The water comes most of the times from ground water and the ground water level is rapidly falling. In the capitol Denpasar the level dropped 5m last year. Some wells are now 40m deep! The risk that salty sea water breaks in is very high and could cause a disaster. Hotels are asked to install desalination units but they refuse because it doesn’t support their business model.

Beside the ground water problem the other problem is the drought. There has been no rain for a long time and more the half of the rivers are dried up and villages are cut off from water.

Power: Since the 10th of October there are planned power cuts around Bali. The power demand is so high that the existing infrastructure can’t deliver the required power. To avoid an overload of the electrical grid planned shut-downs occur. At the evening whole quarters are dark and even the main touristic places having sometimes no power. A second main power cable is planned to be installed between Java and Bali but this will take a lot of time, effort and money to realize this project.

Rabies: Many stray dogs are infected with rabies. The main hospital designated to treat victims of dog bites counts actually 150 dog bites per day. Twelve people already died this year on rabies and there is a shortage of vaccine. The government can’t deliver enough vaccine for the bitten and the people return frequently and desperately to get help.

Crime: Petty crime is on the rise. Many cases of bag snatching robberies occur as well as organized crime. Last week the first armed bank robbery happend and worried the authorities. Also on the rise are scams of the lease of real estate. It is forbidden for foreigners to buy land on Bali. The workaround is a limited lease for 20-25 years. Many foreigners have been tricked by dubious agents who pretend to own the land and then, after the money transfer, they are never seen again.

Religion: "Kuningan celebration ", the last day of Galungan celebration, believed to be the ascendant day of the ancestral holy spirits and Deities to heaven after sojourning for several days on the material world. On this day, special offerings consisting of yellow rice and special dishes are offered while every compound and temple is decorated with ornaments made of young coconut leaves and flowers. I’ve taken many pictures from this celebration at Pura Sakenan, Serangan island ( Turtle Island), Denpasar municipality.

Julia Roberts is also on the island shooting her new movie Eat, Pray, Love. When the movie hits the cinemas some beautiful sites will be shown and the tourism industry hopes for many new visitors in the future.

Galungan

The most holy festival on the Balinese calendar was celebrated this week with ceremonies across the island to welcome the Hindu gods and ancestors to Earth. In Hindu belief, Galungan opens a 10-day celebration of the triumph of good over evil. It is a time when many Balinese return to their ancestral homes to be with family and friends and to prepare offerings and food for their ancestors.

The men prepare towering bamboo poles, decorated with intricate designs made from young coconut leaves, for placement at the front of the houses so that people travelling on the roads through villages move under canopies of the tall, festival poles. Major temples throughout Bali are crowded as Hindus gather to pray, make gifts to the gods and enjoy performances of the traditional barong dance. After 10 days, when the gods and ancestors return from Earth to heaven, the most important day of the festival “Kuningan” is celebrated by people quietly giving thanks for peace, safety and wellbeing. Galungan occurs twice during the 13-month Balinese calendar.

It was fascinating for me to pass through the many villages on the way to the surf spots. So many decorated poles around and all very artfully and with care prepared. The poles also come with a small altar for the offerings to be placed there several times a day. I have also been able to make some nice pictures of the street scenes. By driving through the streets I’ve also spotted traditional Balinese figures – A dragon and a demon accompanied by a traditional band. They were walking around the neighborhoods and entertaining mostly the kids who had great interest and sometimes fear of these figures.

Moving In, Moving Out And Back…

I am now the forth week in Bali and there is still a lot to do all the time. Last week I have finished my second week surf guiding and it is a lot of fun. Pretty exhausting too! After the morning session with the group I often go a second time at the Afternoon with my friends and almost a whole day is gone. On Friday I’ve had a very impressive experience. I got under a giant wave and got pushed to the rocky ground where I have stayed a few seconds after the wave passed by. My surfboard was just showing out buy the tip and winked friendly to the beach. Today I have decided to take a break to recover from the busy Friday night and some minor injuries.

Also last week we had to move out of our nice bungalow at the Double Palm and move to the surf camp. This was necessary because our bungalow was booked for one week by other guests. After two days we got another bungalow and we moved back in to the Double Palm. Now our first bungalow is free again and we will move back today.

Bali has the many festivals and celebrations all the time. I have attended already a Hindu celebration, took part of a memorial and been at a punk concert. There are also often surf contests and the famous Friday night life. It always takes a full day to recover from that. Next week there will be a celebration over multiple days where villages will be beautiful decorated. I will try to take a few pictures of that. Also surf guiding will continue and we will get bigger waves. That will be great if they will not be to high and fast for me.

Second Week On Bali

Today I've just heard that there was a big earthquake on Sumatra. Over 1000 people have died in the earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It's far away from here but it seems that the "ring of fire" is getting more active now. There have been several earthquakes in the region and one bigger 6.4 earthquake happened two weeks ago. People begin to think again what to do in a case of a Tsunami.

This week I have started surf guiding. There are five other surfers, head-coach, assistant and a driver (cameraman). Every day we have two surf sessions at different spots depending on the conditions (waves, swell...). We usually start between six and seven, sometimes even five o'clock in the morning. Surfing is a really physical demanding sport and it takes time for me to get used to it again. Today I have even managed to sneak into a mini barrel.

The previous days I have seen many sunsets because Susi had her final days here and it was cool to sit together and have a Bintang (local beer). We also had many delicious dinners in Kuta. From local food to Indian and Japanese cuisine. During the day and the morning I eat a lot nasi goreng (mixed fried rice). Tomorrow is already Friday and last week we had a big cocktail night at the Balicamp. Maybe we have the same intentions tomorrow. As I know the mates that stay with me at the same bungalow I have few doubts that they want to party.

I didn't take much photos yet. The big camera is still in the closet and I will start taking photos with it more to the end of the stay.