Grab Fails to Surfing Kuta Waves 🌊 🏄‍♂️

Landing in Denpasar last night was a breeze. Immigration was super fast thanks to the e-visa and e-gates, and my bag came out almost immediately. Nice, easy exit.

Alas, my phone wasn’t cooperating. Even with 5G reception, Grab wouldn’t connect, so I couldn’t book a ride to my hotel. Noticing my vulnerability—like vultures spotting a wounded animal—drivers swarmed, offering lifts. I shooed them away but eventually gave in. No internet meant going old-school.

“You take card for payment? I have no cash,” I asked repeatedly.

“Yes, boss. Yes,” he replied as we pushed through the crowds into the carpark and his waiting car.

Barely 100 m out of the airport we pulled off the main road into a dark alley.

“Uh, why are we stopping here?”

“To pay credit card,” he said.

“So you don’t take card then? You said you did,” I stated, a little cranky now.

“Yes, take card. Pay there, then we go.”

Somewhat annoyed, I had no choice but to pay a random guy in a small store. “Because you pay card, 5 % fee,” the man said as I tapped my card. He handed the cash to my driver. Lots of zeros on the receipt made it look like a fortune, but it wasn’t too much in reality.

The hotel was like meeting someone whose profile photo is from their best day—slightly dated but fine for one night. A free upgrade gave me a mini shared plunge pool on the balcony. Score. I crashed onto the oversized bed that could fit half a dozen people or just me sprawled at any angle. White noise on, I was out.

My Melbourne body clock woke me at 4:30 a.m. local time. I dozed, then went up for breakfast. Fooled by yellow watermelon (I thought it was pineapple), I otherwise enjoyed an alright breaky. Still full from the plane and lounge food, I kept it light and headed out to explore. Goal for the day: a morning walk, then pool time. I know—tough life.

I’d never been to Kuta, so I walked the beach toward Seminyak. Early morning meant bars and traders were still setting up. Surf schools were already out, and I got plenty of offers for lessons. Watching the surfers, it looked fun. I kept going, reaching the outskirts of Seminyak before turning back. It was the classic Bali scene: bars luring Aussies with names like Kangaroo and, of course, the ever-present Ketut and Rhonda.

By 10 a.m. a few Aussies were already knocking back Bintangs. I stuck with water and wrapped up a 6.5 km beach walk by booking myself a surfing lesson—spontaneity for the win. My last (and only) lesson was years ago in Torquay, where I definitely didn’t perform well enough to join the Bells Beach crowd. Today’s Kuta lesson cost about $30 for a two-hour private session. Bargain.

Bong, my instructor, taught me the moves on the sand: “Balance first… ready… push… up! Slow… relax… bend down.” I’d hear it over and over for the next two hours, and it worked. After each wave he explained what to fix. I was having a blast—managing to stand up quickly and even ride a few waves all the way to shore. Crashing may times in the process I understood why Bong said to fall on my shoulder, not my head - the water is shallow! Miraculously I came out of the lesson unscathed!

It’s exhausting work. After only five minutes I felt like I’d been surfing for hours. Bong launched me onto wave after wave. I looked at a father-son duo also in private lessons with us and (overconfidently) thought I was getting longer and more frequent stand time. Go me!The water was warm yet cool enough to refresh each time I fell in. After 45 minutes we took a beach break. Bong snapped a few photos (did it even happen if there aren’t photos?) and I drained my water bottle like I hadn’t seen water in days.

Back out for a shorter second session, I nailed the first few waves—earning double thumbs-up from Bong and even a cheer from a random surfer. The waves then turned rougher and I tired quickly, but I managed a final decent ride—ten seconds upright counts as a win. No riding the tube (yes, I googled that term) for me just yet though!

Lesson done, I thanked Bong, peeled the rashie off my skin, and headed to the hotel’s rooftop bar for a much-needed lunch: Nasi Goreng and a giant Bintang, overlooking the waves. A fun, unexpected way to spend the day.

Post-lunch I returned to my original plan—lounging beside the rooftop pool—before cooling off in my room (thank you, 5 p.m. late checkout). Later I wandered the streets near Kuta Beach, dodging offers of drugs and scooter rides, then booked a Grab at a quarter of last night’s price to the airport.

Kuta has a reputation for bogan Aussies, but I had a great time. I only stayed here for airport convenience and would probably choose somewhere else next time, but it shows how challenging stereotypes can pay off. What a great first full day out of Australia on this trip. The day isn’t done yet—my flight to Jakarta keeps getting delayed. Oh well, the 493,200 seconds I’ve lost to airline delays so far will gain a few extra tonight.Leia mais