In Reply to: Is this a mid-life crisis posted by LynneeD on Friday, 26. November 2004 at 17:06 Bali Time:
Yeah go for it Lynnee...I have been surfing for 20 years now 30 and love it,the reason I first went to Indonesia,but then I realized there was so much more there.
In Bali definetly the best place for a learner is the northern end of kuta beach...as you can pick the size you want always smaller there and gets bigger as you move further west towards legian.
Morning before the wind picks up usaully best.
Most of the surf spots on Bali are reef so it's best sticking to the beach breaks first.
(best during the dry season se trade winds, also mid to high tides are better for learning here,not as dumping)
Medewi on the west coast is also a good long and easy slow peeling wave that is perfect for you once having mastered standing up and going along an open wave face...there is reef/rocks but no nasty coral.
Balian is another good spot down that way,when it's very small every where else an easier to paddle out than medewi.
Even though standing up is the ultimate...giving it a go on a body/boggie board with flippers/swim fins would be an advantage to get the feel for the waves and learn how to read them and build up some confidence,especially waves that havent broken yet.
As the boards are easy and soft.
Board wise a secondhand board with a bit more length thickness and width is the go providing more floatation and stability.
There are perfect boards to learn on now that are made of a hard foam,like a body board.
Most of the surf schools use them,that I recomend going too,
they will also teach you basic surfing rules and about rips ect.
There should be some sites on the net...about learning.
And also www.baliwaves.com is good for bali surfing info
Good luck :]