Kuta beach on Friday April 7th 2006

Sunshine blazing and wind blowing. That was the scene at the beach today in Kuta. Actually the wind wasn’t too bad and there was quite a bit of activity under the trees. When I visited Kuta Beach in 1993, there were some trees, but not a complete line of them all along the beach. Now there is plenty of shade, which is a godsend. The rules on Kuta Beach is that vendors cannot sell their goods / services below the high tide mark, thus allowing tourists the freedom to enjoy the sun and surf. Fair enough, but if you are like me and can’t stay in the sun very long, you have to go underneath the trees, and that is where all the vendors are.

Today there were minimal foreign tourists, a few Asian tourists, and literally bus loads of domestic tourists from Java. Schools and colleges in Java do 3 day trips to Bali, where they try to cram in something like 30 points of interest. I know Ika told me. They hit Denpasar, Kintamani, Ubud, Gunung Kawi, Tanah Lot and Kuta beach all in the same day, with other places in between. Literally, the tour from hell. Today they were camped out on the beach wall, hanging out and buying rujak, the sour fruit salad that is served with chili, salt and caramel.

Taiwanese ladies were getting their hair braided and I watched one laughing hysterically at her friend. The funny thing to me is braiding is not a Balinese tradition, so you will never see a Balinese woman with braided hair. Ice cream sellers wandered their alloted section of beach offering the empty wrappers of popular ice cream bars, the real ones inside their cold bag. I snapped a bow and arrow seller as he stepped in front of me, though declined his pitch. Surf board renters approached me in a friendly way and asked if I wanted to go for a surf. “You’ve got to be kidding.” I said “I’d drown and I’ve heard there are some big sharks out there.” One drink vendor did pry some cash out me though. He offered me a Pocari Sweat for Dua Puluh Ribu rupiah (20,000rp). I laughed and told him what he already knew, they sell it in Circle K across the street for Lima Ribu rupiah (5,000rp). He um’d and ar’d and said “Okay boss I give you for Tugu Ribu rupiah 7,000rp, which I accepted.

Cyclone Glenda thrashed Bali with big waves, rain and wind. It also washed away more sand from Kuta Beach. The step that most Bali regulars will remember is now more pronounced. We could see a day 20 yeas from now when they start bringing in sand from WA to get the beach back in shape. That has been discussed for Candi Dasa. Wind conditions today were onshore and a surfer told me the other day that this surfing season will be late and short. Offshore winds are needed for the best surfing on the Bukit and they haven’t arrived yet. My friend told me the wet season will be early this year too. He said it goes in cycles, just like the El Nino condition.

Ah well, Kuta Beach is an interesting place where you can get a snack, a beer a surfboard and your hair braided. On a sunny day there are worse places to be.