Sometime during our New Year Holiday 2016, my husband set up a meeting with his long-time no-see cousin. Apparently, the last time he saw him was about 10 years ago prior to leave Surabaya to work in Jakarta. Then, somewhere in the razzle dazzle of Kuta, the two brothers (and me) had a little rendezvous for the old time sake.
"P, howdieeee?" shouted a well-built sun tanned exotic looking man to my husband. My husband stopped sipping on his red strawberry juice, looked back, stood up and flung out his arms in welcome. "Jolly good. How's yourself. It's been a long time", said my husband to the man. Then he offered him a seat.
His name is B, a passionate surfer who currently is running his own surfing school in South Bali. Feeling excited, he enthusiastly shared his tales of life to us. Starting from how he arrived in this island of the Gods, his work, his passion, his friends and that special someone. We smiled, cringed, confused, but laughed together at the end. Before we embarked back to our hotel, he invited us to drop a visit at his surfing school for the next day.
We felt beyond ecstatic to say the least. Of course this invitation was totally unexpected. But, it made us curious about how the venture looked like and what kind of adventure that may possibly take place. The following day we headed off to a place called Pantai Kelan.
As the name suggests, Pantai Kelan, lies in front of the village of Kelan. This village is not the touristic type of village that typically boasts a range of swanky dinings. In fact, Pantai Kelan is very modest in its appearance. Small traditional Balinese houses and a few humble sea side restaurants sit nicely on its seashore. There are hardly any tourists around. It is rather a quiet place where you can see the fishermen setting off their jukungs (traditional boats) to catch fish in the ocean and local children running around and jumping straight to the ocean from the nearby jetty.
We sat down underneath a shady green just in front of B's surfing school. The wonderful natural vista of bright blue sky, clear turquoise water, and white-powdered sandy beach, instantly mesmerized us. We, somehow, forgot about everything else until B came out from his office and offerred us two cans of cold Bintang beers.
His office was a small rented room with a folding door and attached with a toillet. Some surfing boards were tied up together neatly stuck on its walls. In that room he kept a small desk with a laptop and some other office equipments to serve his students and/or clients.
The weather was so nice that day. Not too hot nor too humid. Only one problem, I had run out of extra clothes (it was our last day in Bali). So I did not take the chance to swim around. Bummer!
We had little knowledge on the agenda for the day. But so far, we had meet B's friends and super sweet girlfriend. Naturally friendly, chatty, and welcoming bunch of folks, it was so easy to mingle with them. Conversations flew out through and through.
I thought to myself - how wonderful was their life. Enjoying the beach life, they made a good living out of their passion with the sea. They do not need to wear office outfit like those city corporation slaves (including me), or experience notorious traffic jams on streets or worse - deal with the highly polluted air (not to mention other type of pollutions). Perhaps, it is true what they say out there: the grass is always greener on the neighbour's side.
In the middle of our chat, B offered us to ride with him in his small boat that he named as the "Toro Toro". It is a small 3-4 meter length, modern machine boat made of wood and painted in white. In the middle of this boat there is a waterproof cover to avoid the stinging hot Bali rays. Trust me, it can be as boiling as you can never imagine.
Jumping in the boat, I almost fell myself over. Wobbly boat I must say. As I gripped my balance I sat down on the bench inside the boat and waited for the boat to sail. Then I heard the rumbling voice of the machine.
"Off we go", said B and the Toro Toro started gliding out South Bali coastline riding wave in full swing. It was a calm day at the ocean and I could feel the soft blow of the wind switfly tingled my skin. I went to the front deck to check what was around. Soaking up the sunshine I dipped in and out my feet in the rolling waves.
In awe with the view of my surroundings I took lots and lots of pictures. I even took tons of selfies with victory signed fingers poses and big smile. Oblivious to how messy my hair could be.
Pantai Kelan is very close to Jimbaran beach and Uluwatu coastline. From the boat, we saw the seashore restaurants on the beach of Jimbaran. This is the famous street food style seafood restaurants where tourists usually come to dine, enjoy the sunset and listen to street musicians songs.
Along the journey we bumped into some local fishermen boats which were fully loaded with their catch of the day. Some of them waved at us and smiled. Their children shouted "hello" and laughed.
Not far from Pantai Kelan, there lies the complex of the Four Seasons hotel. We saw a number of luxury villas beautifully perched on the hills. Their private beach looked so pretty and clean. Following this, there was the famous Ayana Resort's Rock Bar. It still looked magnificent even seen from the boat. However, we noticed that their inclinator did not work out. Perhaps it was being under renovation. The guests climbed down the stairs on foot to reach the bar. I bet it will require them a lot of hard work to get back to the hotel. Their Kubu beach was still stunning as ever.
In the middle of the amazement, something changed. The wind suddenly got stronger than before and so did the wave. We felt the water was rushing under our boat. The sunshine heat did not feel the same again. B told us that due to the weather changes it was best for us to head back to Pantai Kelan.
Yes, in the vast blue ocean nothing calm stay calm forever. Then it made me thinking: so does things or situations in life. Changes happen and they can lead to something good or vice versa. Whatever the direction is we often forget to enjoy the moments. We worry too much at the end result. Ignorant of the way and process to get there.
I know I am not Ishmael. I was not chasing Moby Dick either. But, one thing I can confirm to say is that never a single second throughout the journey with the Toro Toro was a dull moment. Simply relaxing - rest assured. And it reminds me to enjoy beautiful things while those beautiful things exist (regardless of the weather changes). A good lesson learned.
Twenty minutes later we arrived at Pantai Kelan. Smelling something so nice, we rushed in into B's office. Just at the right moment, a delicious hot fish soup was ready on the table. So without further a do, we dived into the bowl and devoured. Whilst enjoying our food a range of fruity flavoured bubbles were served to wash it all down.
With stomach full, we saw the changing colours of the skyline. The sunset finally arrived. We witnessed the sky to slowly turned black and into a complete darkness.
What an experience. I cannot wait for my next sailing trip. *wink.
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