On Earth

Do you have a place that you can call your favorite place on earth? I do. Well actually, if I'm with my wife, anywhere is all good. But this place, this small stretch of coast, is my favorite place on earth. It's part of Hu'u village on the southern coast of Sumbawa island. I'll leave it at that as far as the location is concerned.

Below are just a few photos why I love this place so much. I will be adding more photos as soon as I get a better internet connection. The photos that I'll upload later will include the people that make it that much more enriching. But these photos are just a glimpse of the waves and surroundings that make it almost surreal.

I mean, how many of us have seen kelp eating horses cruising on the reefs at low tide? Or able to stay on a tower just yards away from one of the best waves on the planet? Or have options on what type and direction of barrels you want?!

Welcome to my favorite place On Earth.

Periscopes right hander. Perfer inside section.

My favorite view from Lakey Peak right.

WTF? Kelp eating horses.

Up front and center. The Lakey Tower.

The Gene Tour

Coming back to Indonesia every year for the past five years has been, not only endless epic surf sessions, but a great opportunity to meet cool ass people. Case in point, Gene Kreyd. I met Gene a few year's back and been in contact with him since. This Russian born ripper has been living on Bali for over ten years and has become a cool added addition to the entire vibe on the island.

Not only does Gene have Uluwatu, Padang Padang and many other waves wired, he is also a very successful and very creative artist.

We had the opportunity to visit Gene at his humble abode. He rents out a small area in a westerner's massive home just steps from Bingin, another awesome break near Uluwatu. We showed up with Bintangs (local beer) and after he gave us a tour of the house, he displayed many of his art pieces. Gene would show us pieces that are on his wall and talk about the inspiration or thoughts that went into his work.

He went on and talked about how a big time Russian club owner flew him over back to Russia to showcase his artwork in the club for the grand opening. Needless to say, Gene was stoked. He hasn't been back home in years!

We gathered in the living room and he showed off his newest collection of freshly printed work. Believe me, I was tempted to pick up a piece but my budget wasn't allowing it. Great news for Gene though, two of our guys were so pumped on Gene and his work that they funded Gene's partying for the nights to come. Yes, Gene likes to get out and enjoy himself whenever he can. Wouldn't you?

Seeing the stoke and hearing the cool ass stories, I think we may just add 'The Gene Tour' onto our future Indo Experience trips! To see more of Gene's work peep, www.genekreyd.com

Gene at home at Ulu's.

Gene and Brett hold up one of Gene's new prints.

Mark (second from left) took the sunset print on canvas. Definitely a keeper.

The Push

Funny thing happened the other day. All of my guys on the trip have been on the Cabo Freak Fest trip and one of them on the Costa Freak Fest. And they all know that I don’t push them past their limits. In fact, I don’t push them at all. But what I saw them do in scary low tide four to six foot Padang Padang, reminded me of what I went through when I first came to Indo back in 1996.

The guys were stoked to have waves for the first couple days of their Indo trip. But they really didn’t know what they were getting into that morning as the sounds of waves crashing crept through the darkness of our super dawn patrol. As we all waiting on Padang beach for some sort of light to come out, they stretched and I prepped my camera in the flashlight beam.

I could tell that they were a little worried and excited at the same time. We all knew that the tide was going to be too low to ride but we were going to be out there when it turned on. As we reached the line up in the wee hours of the morning, the waves surged onto an almost dry reef. I was able to stand on the reef as a wave came in and sucked the water down to my shins.

The boys played it safe for the first few waves and as the confidence grew, they kept pushing each other deeper and deeper. Eventually, as the tide filled in, they were in the right spot to handle the perfect inside corner.

Everyone got at least one solid ride and everyone hit the reef in one way or another. They are all okay and now they have a lasting memory of an epic session. 

The Push. The boys doing their thang.

2010 crew. Early sunlight. Padang Padang.

Wake Up Call

Another jet-lag morning. Got up at 3:30am again but was able to go back to sleep for another hour and a half. I thought I was going to pull through the night after taking an Ambient pill that Jay hooked up. I did sleep sound 'til 3:30am and I wasn't groggy. Which is kinda scary. No wonder people get hooked on this little white pill.

I got all my stuff ready and went over to room number nine to wake up Jay and Mark... two of my four customers. Actually, they are more friends than just customers. As I walked up to their door I noticed that they were up cuz the light was on. But then I saw the patio area of their neighbor and it was covered with empty beer bottles and cigarette butts.

Mark, who didn't take an Ambient, told me that his neighbors was hammered and were partying 'til 3am! Not good when your walls are paper thin. He said another person came by around 3:00am and broke their mini speakers that were spitting out Jack Johnson tunes all night. After more drama story telling, we were off to the beach. Note to all would be travelers... bring ear plugs that work!

It was pitch black at 5:45-ish as we walked down the road to Padang. We got the the beach after bobbin' and weaving through the walls of the Padang stairs. The boys chilled at the water's edge as I prepped my camera. As the light started to come out, we started our paddle to the break.

Picking up Brett and Chris today and if I know these two guys, they will be super pumped to be here on the IndoExperience.com trip! Okay, now check out the photos from this morning's wake up call:

Jay and Mark. Happy Friends. Padang.

Jay... deeeeeeeeeeep.

Good morning. From behind the inside bowl.

Day One ::: Padang

Arriving to my hotel room around 4pm and tired, I knew I had to stay awake as long as possible to get on the time schedule here quicker. So I stayed up until 8pm and I was out! But after a seemingly long night's sleep, I take a look at my watch and it's 3:03am. : (  I was able to get another hour in but I've been up since.

I made my way down to the beach around 6am. There was light out already but I know the sun has to get over the mountain first. So I took my time to get out there. It was about three feet or so and there was only a couple guys out!

I was so pumped to jump into the warm waters of Padang but not before saying hello to all my lifeguard and Warung friends. By the time I got out into the lineup at Padang, there was a lone South African bodyboarder that had it all to himself! So after about 30 minutes, a few more heads paddled out and the four foot sets kept coming in.

Going to pick up Mark and Mario from the airport today. Below are a few gems from this morning.

Hold up! My wife and I agreed... in 2011, we are going to organize a 'Couples Only' Indonesia trip. So if you've been wishing to come but didn't want to leave your loved one at home... this is it. The ladies, if they don't want to come surf with the boys, can relax poolside with drinks, get $10 hour-long massages or shop to their hearts' content! Surfers and bodyboarders... we're going to surf all day and drink Bintangs to relax the night away! Who's in?

Alex, the lone South African, prepares to sneak under the morning curtain.

Perfection. Good morning.

Home away from home. Padang Beach.

Pink shorts dude, slides under the lip on the inside bowl.

Traveling Abroad ::: Rookie Mistakes

Man, you'd think that I'd have a few things already nailed down when traveling abroad. Well, here a quick list of things to remember when you're traveling abroad and not to do.

1. Don't wear a belt. I've gone through a few security check points already and shit... I held up the line and wasted time taking off my belt then putting it back on. Rookie...

2. Pre-check in. I actually did this one but would like to share it with you. Whenever possible be sure to check in onlnie prior to arriving to the airport. I was stoked to be able to sit next to the window. Now, I can get a few photos/video clips when landing in Bali. And know that I'll be landing with Uluwatu on the right side of the plane I was sure to get that side of the plane's window seat.

3. Sandals. Now, that you have to take off your shoes at every check point as well, isn't easier to simply slide your feet out of your sandals and move on. Yup, I wore my Adiddas and now I have to untie and retie after every freakin' check point. Rookie...

4. Point and shoot camera. I have a 7D with a few lenses but when I want to take a quick snap shot of something, like me typing on this computer in the Taipei airport, it'd be easier to pull out a small point and shoot than pulling out my bag out of the over compartment and deciding what lens to use.. blah blah blah. Bring a point and shoot camera and have it charged and ready. Rookie...

For now, that's all I have for you. I'm excited to be that much closer to Bali but that much sad to be that further away from my wife.

Update from Bali soon... Wayan, Ketut, Made, Gede, Putu, Nyoman here I come!

Prepping for a surf trip

After having breaky with my moms, dad and brotha, I'll have a quick how to prepare for a trip. So tune in later!

Photo Of The Month Winner

Ken-Dawg walks with a massive discount for my photo services. He sent in his action shot of him ripping the WaveHouse B-Max in San Diego.

July's Photo Winner will walk with 50% Off from my Collections Gallery on www.mannyvphoto.com. If you've every wandered into that gallery... you'll know I'm hooking it up phat!

How to enter:

1. Follow my blog
2. Send in a jpeg image of you ripping (mannyvphoto@gmail.com)

And that's it! I'll choose the winner at the end of each month. Enter as much as you want! Just keep the images under 300kb.

Ken ripping...

SUP Mex is here!

Dates are being finalized but SUP Mex is otherwise READY TO GO! Prepare for a 4-day excursion to the empty line-ups of Northern Baja. We know the first question that comes to peoples' minds... is it safe? My answer, YES. We will take every precaution to ensure that we are safe and only have to worry about riding waves and relaxing. Plus, we'll have two guides with you the entire time!

The next question we usually get... how crowded are the line-ups? There are so many breaks that go unridden everyday. Sure, there are waves that can have a few people surfing. If that happens, we simply get in the car and drive to another spot where there's no one to be seen for miles!

On our recon mission, we rode waves the entire time with no one out!

And then there's the food! Oh man... when was the last time you visited Puerto Nuevo (Baja's Lobster Town)? Our final dinner at Vista Del Mar #2 is insane! Essentially, you eat until you can't eat any more! Deliciouso!

Watch the video then head over to the FFATtrips.com website for all the details. Remember, dates are being finalized so keep your eyes peeled!