Dec 8th 2008 Gatwick to Dubai, Dubai to Jakarta
NB; WARNING Sleeping Tablets (Temazepan) doctors prescription
Quite simply I have had 7 knee surgeries and can easily if sat for too long suffer from back ache due to skateboarding and the abuse it has served me over the last 20 years, as a result I do not like sitting still for a long periods of time. This is especially true if I am cramped in a window seat on a two 8 hr long haul flights with a four hour stop over inbetween. OK I must say a brief note to my friend Katerina Petropolous, Hey Kat I wish i had followed your advice. Please let me briefly explain here,I have previously asked the doctor for sleeping tablets to ease a previous long haul flight experience to Thailand rlier in the year whilst visiting my brother and friend Katerina Petropolous. Well to my own detriment, I ignored my friends Kat’s advice not to do this again after she found me like a zombie at Bangkok airport in Jan 08. Well I went and did it again, in a daze I ended up in Jakarta and somewhere along the way i have left my Nikon 5100 coolpix camera (small 12mp pocket size camera) on the plane, its not in my bags and I can not remember much else except I last used it taking photos landing at Jakarta… So there goes 1st loss on the trip.. its a gutted feeling but has made me realize I need to wake up a bit now.. So its Monday 8th Dec 2008, well right now I am sat in the waiting lounge at Jakarta airport, it has been a long few days I had an 8hr flight from Gatwick to Dubai a 4 hr stopover then another 7Hr flight from Dubai to Jakarta. I was considering spending a week in Jakarta but its grey and raining here just like England except super hot and humid. My first Buddy
Ok In Jakarta and I am undecided what to do and In the corner of the airport I can see a surfer in shorts, longsleeve t shirt and no shoes with cuts on his feet and ankles curled up asleep on his surfboard bag,. I decide to wake him up hoping he has just arrived and might want to go surf somewhere together. I discover his name is Fabien Semini and we have a good chat and he tells me he spends most of his life as a French surfer and in between working he is surfing between Bali and Tahiti. Today, however he is leaving for France as the waves and swell have dropped off in Bali at the moment and the rain is coming.. I explain I am out here to learn to surf and he says the waves are small now so I have picked a good time. He shows me some photos of him surfing, so I show him some pictures of me skateboarding on a vert ramp that i have on my phone and then he shows me pictures of a huge vert ramp he skates in France near Paris, small world. We briefly share our thoughts on the pros and cons of skateboarding versus surfing and the danger and injury factors involved, I mention knee injuries, he mentions ankle injuries and as a warning to me, proceeds to show me the scars on his back from hitting the coral reefs whilst surfing here in Indonesia. He explains how important it is to remember its very dangerous here and tells me stories of him bottom turning on waves and actually getting his surfboard fins stuck in the coral reef as the waves suck all the water off the bottom of the wave to expose the coral reefs. Having seen his scars he told me how he recently watched his friends surfboard explode into 3 pieces on the coral reef when he fell off. He said “the waves here have the effect of grinding you backwards and forwards across the coral reef like cheese on a cheese grater.” So now, I feel a bit anxious and a bit fearful, Fabien then advised me of some good places to learn to surf more safely and that Kuta in Bali although a popular tourist resort would be a good place to head tonight. So on his advice because the waves are not pumping here at the moment I have booked a flight to Bali this evening leaving in an hour. Damn it’s Raining! Jakarta airport was hot and very, humid and feels very much like a locals only destination, outside in the taxi rank it is raining with all the force of a storm in the UK, I am hoping Bali will be dry and sunny. For you info booking a flight was simple and cost about £50, pretty much as easy as buying a train ticket in the uk. Two hours later I am on the plane operated by LION AIR and after a quick flight of 90 mins I arrive to find the downpour in Bali is even harsher. I jump in a taxi to Kuta and suggest to the driver to just take me to a cheap hotel (cost approx 90,000 rupees UK £7.50). Its 00.30 am and all I can see from the taxi windows are old buildings, lots of backlit neon signs with the lights switched off and huge puddles. The air is damp and there are no streetlights. I still feel absolutely dazed and confused from taking way too many sleeping tablets and have this anxious and gutted feeling about losing my camera and start panicking at the thought of losing my passport or wallet…