Bali Kuta Beach

Kuta Beach hasn't really changed that much since I last visited 8 years or so ago. Still beautiful, packed with Balinese and other Asians in the early a.m. before the sun gets going and then populated by the more western crowd once the sun is up and heating things up. Surf was descent, plenty of size but very dependent on the tide as far as the wave breaking.

I opted to get the girls surf lessons so I could go out and surf a bit on my own, but also because I learned a valuable lesson the first time I took Emmerson skiing. In the morning, I tried to get across the fundamentals and teach her the basics. I was horrible at it and it was frustrating as I am not a professional ski instructor! Fortunately, the ticket I bought included an hour group lesson in the afternoon with Bob the professional ski instructor and he did a wonderful job. She had a great time with Bob, learned to ski, and we had a stress free, fun time skiing together for a bit at the end of the day. So I hired Made the professional surf instructor to teach them the basics. They had a wonderful time and were up and riding the shore break after the first few times. 

Ada with Made. She did great, really quick transition from laying down to standing up and good riding form.

Emmerson has a bit more trouble getting it down but had some great rides as well.

Ada and Emmerson venturing out into the surf.

Girls just goofing around in the shore break. Nice wave breaking in the background ... 

Pool side at the hotel we stayed at in Kuta. A bit of a walk to the beach, 5 minutes and 10 to Kuta, but in a good location, nice rooms, descent pool and newspapers for beer cozies. Emmerson refueling before getting back into the water. 

Newspaper rubberband cozy.

Hotel pool where Emmerson and Ada hooked up with some other traveler kids and played Marco Polar (thats what one of the other kids kept saying, much to Ada's and Emmerson's amusement.

Floral design in a water decorative bowl - very common in Bali.

Dinner at the Thai place next to the hotel.

Remains of my fish dinner .... 

Street Cred - Impact of Advertising and Marketing On Product Cost

My LDC's bike.

Bali Kuta

Lone Surfer Duell. Surprised there is actually no one else in this frame as the beach and line up were well populated! I got a few quick rides as the waves were dumping so not much of a wall. If I had moved down the beach a bit there were better breaks but they were crowded and I did not want to deal with that.

Riding in on the shore break - Alicia was trying to get s photo of me surfing but it is very difficult to do if you don't understand wave sets and when a surfer might take off and such and the rideable sets were not all the that frequent.

Sitting on my board ... looks like my space is about to be invaded.

Girls getting their Bali braids. Quite the process, especially for Emmerson as her hair is quite thick and curly.

Emmerson trying to force a smile amidst the pain.

Stylin.

Emmerson soldiering on .... almost done - after the lady finished Ada, they tag teamed Emmerson.

Oh my - yes, that is what i look like surfing these days.

This "bar", of which there are now many, line the sand up in the shady palm trees at the edge of the beach. Most consist basically of a couple plastic chairs with a beach umbrella and a guy with a cooler and most rent out boards and give lessons. They identify their location by what they match up with on Kuta Road.

Almost done - at the Froggy Bar across from Pizza Hut.

Any guesses? And there was a curious elephant motif going on at this, our hotel pool.

Towel "origami". The girls did not want to dry off after showers as it would ruin their surrogate stuffed animals.

Bali Jimbaran Bay

Jimbaran Bay is a popular place to go for seafood on the beach. You choose raw items from any number of vendors on the street how you would like it prepared. They have dining areas set up on the beach where you can eat, relax and enjoy the ocean setting. Jimbaran is rather quiet and a bit of a drive from Kuta but worth the visit.

A sunkist Emmerson with a fist full of sand - at least she wasn't playing in the sand while eating - one of those things that makes my skin crawl ... 

The scene.

This has been added since I was here last, 8 years ago. Now they have Balinese dance performances after the sun sets.

And now for something totally different .... I guess this was a lone photo from our day a the water park.