Tuesday, September 27, 2016

From Krui with Love // PART 1


Krui has occupied space in my mind for the last 5 years after first hearing about it from a friend. Coming from a bodyboard riding history, this place really caught my attention with its abundance of shallow ledges and perfect beach breaks. This wave rich coast of South Sumatra has been my base for the last 4 weeks.


Moments of glory

After Bali, William and I had not scheduled our next stop. We had a few neighbouring islands in mind, each with their own pros and cons, but it was with news of my homeboys JJ and Chandre choosing to visit Krui that my mind was sold. After travelling for 2 months at this point the prospect having some familiar souls around seemed like a worthy treat. It is really unique to be able to enjoy the spoils of a distant land with friends from home. Especially a place like this which has been a childhood dream for all of us and a topic of major desire on all of the coastal drives in search of waves back home.

"Happiness real only when shared" - C.J McCandless

Mr Bodenstein AKA King Pharaoh AKA Koning/Brother/Rasta in command

Krui is not nearly the isolated surf town I had in mind. The town is quite developed and highly populated. Unfortunately in Indonesia, population and pollution go hand in hand and that takes quite bit of the perfection away from this tropical paradise. 

There are many surf camps along this wave rich coast and as a result the popular spots are often crowded. Keywords in that phrase being "popular spots" as there are many spots along the coast here that are unsurfed and on absolute offer for those that dare.

I have been blessed with some great surfs on this leg of the journey, and the surf has been consistent, but perfect it is not. Moments of perfection, sure, I have seen some of the best waves this journey in my visit to Krui. The beauty of this coastline is not the pure perfection one might expect of a destination in Indonesia but rather the consistency and the variety of spots to suit the ever changing conditions that come along with the tropics.

Postcard perfection or tropical wasteland?

As of September 13, I have been trotting this neck of the woods as the dodo does AKA on my ace. My travelling partner Will left back to South Africa and my good friends Chandre and JJ went to sea in search of bluer barrels and greener pastures. 



It has been an interesting last 2 weeks to say the least. Travelling has always been a serious interest of mine, having travelled up and down the coasts almost as a ritual on the regular. Travelling alone is something I always dreamed of, to the extent that I put it up on a pedestal where it seemed flawless. This is untrue and something I am still in the process of learning. Like all situations there are definite pros and cons. What I understand to be the pro of this approach to travel would be the absolute flexibility of the schedule, own pace and own space! Unfortunately the cons to this schedule are the moments where just feel lonely and out of place. Having a travel partner definitely helps in situations where you just need something to relate to. Having someone around to rejoice with when you are absolutely stoked or just got the wave of the day is also an added bonus.

Definitely out of place here

Alienated

That being said, I am a firm believer that growth is only achievable when you leave your comfort zone and it is safe to say that this first solo stint has been out of my comfort zone. I have already and am continuously learning heaps about myself and this all translates into positive progression of the being.

Captain Kyle over and out




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