Surfing Bali

Surfing Bali may just be the "coolest" thing we've done during the past six months of travel and work.

And how cool I've been itching to be! More farm work? Please. Teach more English? Puhlease. I'm heading to Bali, baby, ergh, I mean, bro (bro? bro!), to surf! Steps strutted, sunglasses on, never off, and biceps flexed, I'm heading to Bali!

We landed, all cool (Larissa was not reading Wuthering Heights on the plane, and I was certainly not completing KenKen puzzles). We tried to catch the sunset but, intercepted, the sun settled instead for a soft landing inside some dense, grey clouds that were, we soon discovered, holding the night's rain as well. Rather dark at that point ("Will you take off those sunglasses already?"), Larissa led us to a bar/restaurant where fried rice, Bintang beer, and the surf report were consumed.

Next day, surf day! Mind you, my pretensions and nonchalant ego towards my surfing debut are due to an applicable background: swimming, say, reaching the state finals in Florida, should help, as should those years spent skateboarding Bergen County's mean streets and snowboarding Vermont's oft-icey mountains. Larissa was comfortable in her own right -- nationally ranked synchronized swimmer and years of snowboarding. Sure, we were excited. Thrilled, even. But, throwing up a cool front, we stayed down low.

Enter surboard rental shop:

Andrew (casually looks around): You know, just looking for two boards.

Surf Shop Dude (fortunately, a friendly local): Alright. 6, 7, 8, 10?

Andrew: Nah man, it's cool, we just want one board each. Two (holds up two fingers to help translate) boards total.

Surf Shop Dude (confused look turns to smile): I meant size. 6-foot, 10-foot. This your first time surfing?

Andrew: Yeah, but, you know, when I was younger. . .

Surf Shop Dude: Let's see. . . Ok, these two are perfect.

Not so surfer cool, these 8-foot padded boards decorated with sea creature cartoons.

I spent the ten minute walk mumbling under my breath and under the immense weight of the board, which balanced as so because it's weight and width proved any other carrying method impossible. Once we saw the waves, though, we stopped. Maybe Surf Shop Dude had a point about using these beginner boards for these Bali waves, these mountains of water that made me consider those lessons offered or trying to find a helmet somewhere or. . .Wait, what? Reason? That's totally onshore, while that wicked awesome dude -- me -- is powerstroking his way through the waves and into position to catch a big one. Oh yeah, gone surfing, let's do this!

I stumbled ashore, a bit anticlimactically, a few minutes later. My first thought was to shake my hair, nod to the nearest surfer and attempt a comment about the knarly waves the Surf Gods brought in today. But my shin was bleeding, and one of the three fins on the board was broken, so I let out an instinctive, New York "%#$&!!!" instead. Another wave crashed in, flipping the board over to reveal the smiling sea creature cartoons. I called the board stupid ("Stupid board!") and then searched for Larissa.

I found her standing up on her board, surfing! Ever so smart, so logical, Larissa chose to tackle the smaller waves closer to shore and then work her way back. By the time I reached her -- my cool front down, my ego broken with the fin -- she was up again (goofy stance) and I was shouting, cheering, clapping. She was still acting cool, but I could feel her smile. Giving in, she gave me a big high five and then I went back out to follow her example. By sunset we were riding some decent sized waves, and by day two we were cool again, riding 7-foot fiberglass surfboards.

___________

P.S. This is taking place in Kuta, the main tourist area of Bali. Combine a lacrosse player with a surfer bum and you're left with a bro that just loves broin' out and broin' up a Spring Break atmosphere all over Kuta. This is all good fun until the drinks are downed and the brosephs of all ages become surprisingly rude and offensive -- the worst tourists we've seen throughout our travels. The casual observer will begin to understand why it's said that the locals here love the money, but hate the tourist. If you're going, stay in Legian or Seminyak -- same stretch of beach, same food, about the same prices, cleaner, and fewer bros.

P.P.S We missed the Indonesian tsunami and volcano eruption, as we had moved further inland to Ubud a few days before both disasters hit. We may stay in Ubud for longer than expected -- a post about that soon.

Watch out!

This could happen to you too . . . if your request for a minor trim is lost in translation to your Thai male hairdresser who sports long golden fingernails. He took the liberty to give me short bangs despite the 99.5% humidity in Bangkok. Awesome.

"Be Right Back" Ranked #8 Travel Blog of 2010

We are thrilled to announce that our blog, "Be Right Back: Working and Eating our Way Around the World", received a prestigious accolade this morning: the #8 ranking by Lori&Lorna, an independent organization of everything awesome that just held its annual Top Travel Blog of the Year competition.

We thank our followers for all their support! Without our loyal fans, a consistently updated blog would have been tough work.

For those who casually peruse the blog, or for those who are new, here is a recap:

France, May-June: Starting in Provence and ending in Bordeaux, we toured, worked, biked, relaxed, ate and drank our way through the south. Highlights include many nights of conversation and wine with new friends as long hours of humbling farm work proved to be a certain bonding experience.

Italy, July: Ah, Italy. From Bologna to Rome . . . the best coffee, the best art, and our best work exchange. Highlights include making gnocchi with an Italian gradma, making gelato with an Italian grandpa, and butchering a wild boar with a city-slicker turned farmer.

Turkey, August-September: The land of incredible hospitality, baklava, and a compelling history that is only matched by its landscape. We started in Fethiye, in the southeast, and bussed our way throughout the country until we reached Istanbul. Highlights include the Rhodes, Greece to Fethiye, Turkey ferry, Gulhayat, two Turkish weddings, and hanging out by the Galata Tower.

Malaysia & Singapore, September: Leaving the ol' comforts of Europe and landing in Kuala Lumpur, we entered the bustling future. We ate an impressive amount of food in KL, and then traveled down to Singapore, which seems all but programmed for success. Highlights do not include crocodile meat and durians (both made possible by Singha beer), but rather the familiar hawker centers -- congregations of food stalls serving real, delicious food to families and friends, rich and not so rich.

Cambodia & Thailand, October: With Bangkok as our base, we traveled the region a bit. We taught English outside Korat, a city in northeast Thailand. We then trekked to Siem Reap, Cambodia, dodging scams along the way to see the inspiring land of Angkor Wat. Highlights include 1hr, $7 traditional Thai massages (feels great, but much more of a body-alignment wrestling match than table-top relaxation session), getting hassled by government officials in Cambodia, surviving a flat tire en route to Bangkok, where we are currently stationed, watching typhoons and floods wreak havoc on the region and our itinerary.

And there you have it! See the post below for our upcoming plans (or current lackthereof). To get a better picture about us, and why we received such a high ranking, please look through the pictures and posts.

Lori&Lorna was not available for immediate comment about the rankings. The reputable organization, led by a two person staff, must be busy answering questions as to why "Be Right Back" wasn't #1.

Finally, getting through to Lorna, I received strange replies of "...What are you talking about? Have you been getting sleep? Are you.." and then the Skype line cut out.

Where to next?

Great question!

Traveling in Southeast Asia during the rainy season calls for a bit of flexibility and patience as the weather -- rainy -- will no doubt change your itinerary.

At this very moment, Larissa and I should be sampling some fine banh mi in Hanoi, Vietnam. But as "Super Typhoon Megi", a category 5 son-of-a-, barrels through the northern Philippines and heads towards Vietnam, we've decided to delay our trip and sit tight in Bangkok for the moment.

Our Thai visas are good until October 27th, so we plan to explore Thailand a bit more, track Megi and other possible storms, and head to Vietnam (perhaps from Malaysia) around the beginning of November when the rainy/typhoony season supposedly ends.

Don't worry! We'll keep you updated.

In other news, below is the wild, adolescent monkey in Cambodia who played a one-sided game of "slap-n-scratch" with Larissa. I helped her out by throwing in a "just don't let him get the water!!" jab. Because, you know, it was really hot there.

The Brightest Green

The Temples at Angkor, my reason for visiting Cambodia, were spectacular.  The complex was much bigger than I thought and included many unique temples.  I loved the views from East Mabon, the Jungle Book trees gripping Ta Phrom's crumbling walls, and of course the majestic Angkor Wat.

My favorite part of our short venture into Cambodia was the tuk-tuk ride to Banteay Srei.  It poured the night before Andrew and I planned to see Angkor Wat at sunrise.  When the alarm beeped at 5am, the rain was still thundering down.  Though our early plans were washed out, the weather cleared into a beautiful day.  We grabbed a tuk-tuk and continued to explore.  Tuk-tuks are the way to travel around Siem Reap and the temples.  You feel the wind in your hair, wave to smiling kids, marvel at the apparently unlimited hauling capacity of a single motor bike, and inhale the exhaust along with everyone else.

During the 21km ride to one of the farthest of the Angkor Temples, I marveled at the scenery as we zipped by.  Thatch roof houses perched on stilts, tall palms, kids throwing nets to catch fish in the swollen canals, and my personal favorite: fields and fields of flooded rice patties.  They are so green!  Brilliant, alive, green.  4pm until sunset (6:30ish) is the most beautiful time in my opinion.  The sun is a little lower, the clouds are puffy with the night's rain, and the water in the fields shines.

Backstage in Bangkok

We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into when we joined our host to watch students from her school perform in Bangkok . . .  

 Turns out they were competing on national TV!  The other school's flashy performance won this time, but it was still exciting that our group made it that far.  Good luck next time!

Thai English

Ok, back in Bangkok and back online.

We spent a week in Pat-a-Choy, a town outside Korat that doesn't see many tourists. Drop a camera-toting Canadian (a respectful photographer, mind you) and a mosquito-clapping American, both throwing sluggish, useless, Muay Thai kicks and punches at the haze of humidity, and attention from the spice loving, never sweating Thai -- how?! -- is drawn.

Despite that, we eventually made friends.


We taught these kids some damn good ABCs.


But mainly we worked with our host's awesome nieces

More to come soon, but do check out the photo albums to the right.