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Published: January 15th 2012
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It was hard leaving Nusa Dua because we were so spoiled at Sagara. I can see myself living in one of these apartments. I have been talking to a few land owner here and it seems they actually do not own the land but rather only a 40 year lease. In some cases $7500 a year can get you a hostel with 3 BR along the beach. Sure beats Vancouver real estate. Average local rent here is $80/month. I think $200 a month will get you a pretty decent place.
We eventually made it back to the West side to Uluwatu because apparently there are some surf breaks there. We made our way near Bunin beach and stayed at this hostel literally right on the beach. Our room was located on the top floor and the building where literally built right up against the side of the cliff. The room overlooked the entire ocean and you constantly hear the waves and feel the breeze, it was fantastic. Probably the closest I have ever lived on the beach.
Getting around was tough because you had to walk up and down 60 flights of dodgy steps every day. The sea urchin spines didn't really bother me up until now with a 40 lbs backup going down it felt like someone was pressing down hard on each one of my splinters.
Food is limited in this area because it's a bit secluded, I would recommend Kelley's. The best fruit salad and chicken burger. Grilled snapper is also good because they catch it fresh from the sea every morning. At Kelly's I met this Aussie dude zenning out on his own looking like he had found the holy grail and eating his chicken burger. Apparently he had just purchased the hostel next to Kelly's for $7500 a year and was very eager to show us. He shared some surfing war stories how he dislocated his shoulder on a beach break and you can see all the battle scars on his body from the reef. It didn't exactly give me the warm fuzzy feeling to get in the water but he convinced me to surf for the first time on reef. Eddie was a world class surfer so he gave me some pointers and explained to me how the breaks work. It was a special moment being able to share a break with him. It made me realize how much I miss surfing and also how out of shape I was. I felt like a fat Toro..... But it was still very fun....
Throughout the next couple of days we rented a scooter and went all along the coast hunting for breaks. Most were impossible to surf and you had to get an understanding of low and high tide through out the day.
We tried to get to this one apparent legendary break call dream land which was accessible two ways. The hard way which of course we took and I almost bailed on some rocks slamming my toe against some rocks and getting he scooter stuck on mud. We got as far as we could go because the roads were so bad and left our scooter and trekked. We weren't sure we were even in the right direction because it felt like man hunter....it wasn't even a road, just rocks and giant puddles that if not careful will swallow your bike. We eventually got to the top of this hill and see the break but there was no way to get down without killing ourselves. Of course they build this giant hotel in front of the break so it looks like you have to take the long way. Once we got back to the main road it takes another 15 minutes to go through this heavily guarded compound with check points and guard dogs. It was funny because by the time we got to the break we actually saw the hill next to it where we were originally trying to come down which was impossible in hindsight. It's too bad most of the giant hotels are occupying some of the best surf breaks. I think in the dry season you will get world class barrels in dream land. They call it the brown short wave because you will crap your pants if it reaches 7 feet.
So far the break in front of our hotel is the best but there is a lot of debris on the West side in the wet season. I almost got clobbered by a flying coconut while trying to get pass the breaks.
Tommorow we head back to the East to Sunar...
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