My Bali Story (Chapter 7): Balangan

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Life in paradise

In the last chapter, I wrote about what was it like going to class in Denpasar. But of course, most of the fun happened outside of the university.

Off classes

Let me tell you, it was extremely hard to go to class in Bali. The last thing you want when you are in a paradise island is to shut yourself in a dark room and study. But it was our job, the Indonesian government actually paid us money to attend and to learn something.

Going to school and back home felt like a huge effort. You either had to drive your scooter in the middle of crazy traffic or take the bus which took a really long time. Either way, after driving there, having 4h of lessons and driving back, we were mostly exhausted. That was the price we had to pay for living in the Bukit... But it was worth it!

We got home around 2pm, in the most extreme heat you can imagine. Heat, pollution, near misses while driving... When I got home, drenched in sweat and coal, I thanked the (Balinese) Gods that we lived in a house with a pool. I used to take off my clothes and jump straight into the pool. All my troubles went away when I submerged myself in that cold blue water.

The first days, we all did the same. The first month in Jimbaran Shore (how we named our house) we were: me, Davos, Fiorella, Diana and Dimitra.

We got along pretty well. We used to have beers and play music next to the pool, and just talk for hours. It was amazing: we were all extremely happy, kind of high on Bali life. It felt like a dream.

There was also Alvaro from Peru. It turns out that Alvaro was Fiorella's friend from a long time ago, and he happened to be living in Bali, in the Bukit as well. Alvaro was a bit older than us, more experienced with life and with everything in regards to Bali.

He was, you could say, our guide in those first days living in the Bukit. He knew all the good places to eat, the best times and roads to go to the beach. And he had a motorbike. That's an important detail because in those first days we used to go walking everywhere. Alvaro could not believe that we did that: he told us it was extremely dangerous, that no one walks in Bali. He was absolutely right: there are no sidewalks and lightning is mostly nonexistent.

We became good friends really fast. I loved his Peruvian accent and he had this coolness that people who live in Bali for a while tend to acquire. One of the first things he did was to teach Dimitra how to ride a scooter. Dimitra was brave, she was not scared at all. After a few trials around the neighbourhood, she started driving everywhere. Just like that!

I felt so scared of driving. Davos knew how to drive; Fiorella and Diana learned fast. So I was the only one who still did not dare. They tried to convince me a lot of times just to try.

And one day, I did. I got on the bike and tried to go on a straight line. Then I went around the block. And then, after a few minutes driving, I fell in love: driving a motorbike was amazing. It was like riding a bicycle, but with a flick of the wrist you can speed up super fast. The mixed feeling of danger, adventure and speed were like a drug for me. Especially in the Bukit, where you get to ride through a jungle during the sunset, for example. I have great (and bad) memories of riding in Bali, more on that soon.

There was someone else who used to always come around our house: Maria. Maria was a Polish girl, also a Darmasiswa. She studied in ISI Denpasar (arts) and in the beginning, she lived around Canggu. For some reason, she did not like Canggu. She seemed lonely, and did not have many friends. It was one of the few people around us that seemed kind of sad to be in Bali. She was obsessed with surfing, so she used to come to the Bukit to surf and then came by our house. Surfing (usually) made her happy, and when she was happy she was a great person to have around. She always spoke her mind.

After a while, she confessed to us that she really wanted to move in with us; which was cool because we had four spare rooms we were trying to fill.

Balangan Beach

My first time in Balangan was an experience I will never forget.

One day after coming back from classes, we decided to drive to Balangan beach. Balangan beach is a really famous place in Bali, especially popular for surfers. The wave itself is one of the longest in Bali, and really consistent: the water is always crowded.

We all went, including Maria and Alvaro. I and Davos were the only ones who had no intention of surfing. The drive to Balangan was amazing. The road is narrow, full of twists and turns. You drive right through trees filled with monkeys, and in the end, you reach a massive cliff. Well, the beach is right under that cliff. From a distance, you can see it: this massive, glassy, giant wave that seems endless.

We parked our bikes and went down. What's nice about Balangan is that it felt really local: just a small row of warungs in the sand. I and Davos sat down, ordered some food and beers; the others went surfing. This was to be a common strategy for our team when we went to the beach.

It was an incredible sight. Crystal clear blue water, and all these people surfing... Most of them were really good and it made it entertaining for me and Davos.

Trying to swim was not that fun. The bottom of the beach was full of rocks you could not see, and the wave had a lot of power. Even the whitewash dragged you back a few meters if you did not jump or dive under it. After eating rice and a few beers, I and Davos deemed the Balangan waters not suitable for us: we stayed onshore.

On sunset time we all gathered together and watched the horizon while in our heads, we were all still trying to guess if it was all a dream...

To be continued...

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