Jimmy's Brother

I personally discovered this beach back when Mailei and I had the 'Yoga Moms' group a couple years ago. Balangan Beach is located to the north of Padang Padang Beach and takes about 35 minutes by car from Padang. On the way to the beach, the cd in the radio played this full version song of an old Coca Cola commercial. The genius behind the song should be making millions. As soon as I was able to order a Coca Cola, I did! Okay, now back to the story.

The view from Jimmy's Brother's Warung.

This is the beach where I take groups of surfers or bodyboarders for the first time. It's a great wave to get an idea of the skill level of the crew. But what I found out with the Yoga Moms is that it's also a great beach to just lounge and explore. But I have to say... for me to 'just lounge' on a beach is really really tough to do. If I'm on the beach, I have to be doing something. Building sand castles, playing soccer, something! I start twitching after 10 minutes of 'just lounging.' Apparently, some people love to just chill on the beach with a cold drink in hand. Balangan is perfect for that!

Stephanie and Gina lounging with a cold Bintang besar.

Mailei in recovery mode.

Before we headed down the beach, the girls got a one hour full body massage for about $15 at the La Joya Bungalows hotel/resort. Yes, the massages are that cheap everywhere on Bali. I know... insane! Now, time to get to the beach.

La Joya massage si vouz ple.

There are about 10 or so warungs (restaurants) on the beach. We found Jimmy's Brother's Warung to be our favorite. It's located down near the cliffs. The food is awesome and Koman (she's your host, chef and masseuse) takes great care of you. The nasi goreng is awesome but my favorite is the chicken burger. Chowing down on the grub overlooking the beach was epic. Luna is the dog that hangs out at Jimmy's Brother warung and will eat anything you don't. I mean anything! She'll love you for it.

Chicken Burger. Yum.

The girls decided to spend the sunset exploring the cliff side of the beach while I passed out on the lounge chairs. The tide was low enough for them to walk around the rocks and explore the tide pools. I woke to the sun just setting and their return from the cliff.

Paradise. Lowtide Balangan Beach.

Gina.

Stephanie.

Stephanie found the swing at the end of the reef.

Back to the hotel for sushi and pizza. Oh, I think I forgot to mention, LBS Surf House now has free wifi for those that stay or eat there. Awesomeness!

Mr. Gede your LBS Surf House sushi chef.

Decompression in Bali

Fourteen hours to your connection in Asia then another four hours to Indo... the amount air travel takes a toll on your body. So today, we take some time and decompress on the white beaches of Balangan.

Mailei and I have been here for the past couple days and I'm still jet lagged waking up 3am. But soon enough, we'll all be on the same time zone.

I was able to get out into the water yesterday morning but holy shit... jelly fish took over Padang Padang. Everyone that went out without a long sleeve got munched on. But it was worth it.

We're off to the beach. More photos soon.

Gina and Steph enjoying their first sunset on Padang Padang.

New addition to the LBS Surf House... Sushi! Avocado hand roll... yum!

California Roll... Mailei's favorite.

Grill Master Made. Anything off this grill is amazing! LBSSurfHouse.com

Padang Padang yesterday morning.

From Bali... but first this.

I just got into Bali yesterday afternoon. So I have yet to take any photos but they will come. I'm going to use my blog to keep you updated on the happenings from Indo. 

But first, I want to say thanks again to the awesome production crew that is working hard behind the scenes on all the IBA World Tour GSS events. Pete, Pat and the boys are killing it. They are a cool ass production crew from Australia that go by the name: www.snakesandladders.tv. Pete snapped this pic of me in Chile. Love it. He's one of the few that still shoot film as well as digital. Thanks for the photo. Pete has another gig that his moonlights with... check it: www.goonforhire.com.

Stand by for updates from Bali.

Small World

Imagine traveling to the other side of earth and seeing someone that you haven't seen in ages. That's what happened back in December while I was out in the Canary Islands. I didn't expect to see Jen Miskov. I remember her from waaaaay back when BIM (Bodyboarder International Magazine) was around! She was cool then and she was happy and smiling as usual when I saw her on the island.

Turns out she was taking a break from her studies in England and just happen to be in the Canary Islands while one of the best bodyboarding events was going down. Oh, I forgot to mention... she loves bodyboarding and she's a writer. Definitely a cool chick to know! Check out her account of her trip. Pretty cool:

http://asleepinthedaylight.blogspot.com/2011/05/getting-drunk-in-canary-islands.html