Surfing going up market

A recent article in World Hum, talks about how the stock has risen in the surfing industry. Years ago surfing was reserved for beach bums and guys with too much time on their hands. With the advent of companies such as Billabong, Quiksilver and so forth, people who have never surfed, now wear surf clothing. You can find surf shops in London!

All this attention has in turn attracted professional people, who plan breaks in their work-life around surfing trips. These people are catered for, and as the World Hum article reports, luxury and waves go hand in hand.

Here in Bali you can find surf tour companies on Jl. Benesari and Poppies II offering trips to Sumbawa and G-Land in Java. You can also rent a zodiak to get you over to Desert Point in Lombok for the day. A surfer was telling me just the other day, that Japanese surfers hire a boat to take them to Ship Wrecks in Nusa Lembongan, and the biggest Balinese locals around, to scare off the other surfers. For a groups of guys with money, arranging fast transport plus local ‘guides’ might ensure you get what you’re looking for.

Trips to the Mentawais all use live-aboard boats, which is what these people operating Indies Marine Trader Adventures are doing. Its a great idea and a variation of the live-aboard dive boat scene in Eastern Indonesia. One day I’ll have the money to check out some of the stuff Lawrence Blair saw on his latest trip out east.

In Bali you can really have your cake and eat it. Staying at a world class resort in Nusa Dua or Jimbaran, you can access the western and eastern Bukit all within 25 minutes. With shopping, nightlife, restaurants and health care all close by, you’ve got it made. If your local guides aren’t doing their job, you only have to hop on a plane and visit another island. Paradise lives!