July 22, 2005 - Road Trip To Medewi, Bali

Note: Because internet connections in Bali are so slow, I have to limit the amount of photos I post. I also have to compress the photos so much that the quality is not the greatest.

Ended up taking a road trip north the past couple of days to a surf spot called Medewi. I have a friend name Tim who has been living in Bali the past four years. Tim publishes a local surf magazine here called the Magic Wave which focuses on the local surf talents. Tim also had a friend (Naomi) visiting from California who came along.

Because Tim publishes the Magic Wave, he is well connected with many of the locals at the majority of the surf breaks. We ended up staying at Muslim Guest House that was owned by the grandmother of one of the local 15 year old rippers named Muklis. Muklis had recently won the Quiksilver "King Of The Grom" contests in Bali and is being sent to France in a few weeks with all expenses paid to compete in the World Grom contest. He is definitely a gifted surfer among many of the other young locals in this area.

Muklis was aware that we were on our way up and Tim had mentioned that he was bringing a Photographer (me). The word quickly spread and before you knew it they were all over at our place hanging out. They all ended up ditching school the next two days just so that they could get their picture taken surfing. I personally can remember how cool it was being young and getting a good surf pic of yourself. Most of these kids come from nothing so I felt pretty good seeing how stoked they were on all of the photos I took. Tim as also taken on one of the local kids named Herman by sponsoring him.

It was definitely a great couple of days hanging with all of these kids. We took their photos, went to dinner, and even took them out to the local arcade and billiards. They were all very appreciative and thankful! It’s the small things like this that really make a difference! The journey continues...

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