As promised, I am attempting to catch up on my story telling, now that I find myself with a heckuva lot of hours to kill while I negotiate the trans-pacific airways. Where did I left off?. Oh right.. Australia's East Coast. Go for the diving in the Great Barrier Reef. Unforgettable. I would like to check out the West Coast one day, on a windsurfing stint. Who knows?. Gotta keep an open mind.

So, after finding Nemo, we bought ourselves some tickets to jump off to Darwin, or , as I call it, Australia's answer to Nunavut, and from there, skipped the Australian continent (is it actually a continent or not?) and headed off to Indonesia.

Bali. The stuff of dreams. Don't know about you, but whenever I think "exotic island destination with pristine waters, breathtaking views, idillic sunsets and footsteps on the sand, well.. Bali is definitely up top in that short list. So, straight to the point. Is it truly the lost paradise on Earth that folk lore would have you believe?.

Well, it depends.. are you a single minded laser focused surfer?. Then yes. Bali delivers. My first session in Uluwatu, I came out of the water with a Cheshire cat grin. Peeling 4 to 6 ft. perfection.. just right for my intermediate sweet spot. Not too fast, not too slow.. just right. Pure easiness. The water.. crystal clear. You can see the swimming aquatic life just under the board as you gloriously glide on that glassy curvy surface. You even forget the razor sharp super shallow reef under you.. who gives a rats ass?. This is what I have been bleeding for...

But.. (isn`t there always a but?.. hey I wouldn't be Cranky if there wasn't one!), well.. if you have such meaty deliciousness on tropical waters with a paradisiac setting, on a place where a western style restaurant dish will set you back rarely more than US$3 ... yes.. that is just three bucks... and you can stay on some Mediterranean style bungalows overlooking the sunset for hmm... US$20 a night.. well, guess what is going to happen?. It ain't going to be just you there buddy. Anybody with a credit card and 1 inch of brain will be booking in a flight and getting in on the action. Which is exactly why, even though it was still low season, well.. it was crowded. To the tits. I don't even want to think what it is going to be like in full high season. So unfortunately, it might be too late for Bali. But fret not surfer friends.. there is hope in Indonesia. But you will have to quite likely get off Bali after you land. Since it is a tourist friendly bubble, many will probably hesitate about jumping off to the more hardcore destinations. So I think that armed with an Indonesian phrasebook, some water purifiers and a lot of guts, the other islands should definitely be checked out. 

The other thing?.. well, if you are not a surfer, you will hate Bali I think. The girlfriend will probably not be that happy, unless partying in Kuta is all she wants. The beaches are simply not that sunbather or swimmer friendly to be honest. Kuta was dirty, Uluwatu is a reef with a rocky shoreline, Padang Padang is actually a tiny tiny strand and Dreamland is.. well.. a poster child for how to screw up a perfectly good spot with raw sewage and a monstrous resort still under construction.

So, to summarize. Indonesia: go for the surfing, check out Bali, but plan on going forth to other spots in the archipielago. I am keen perhaps on another trip to check out Java and Sumatra.. but I think I would prefer to do it when my surfing skills have really earned such a trip. I am still kooking out too often I think.

As most people know, I have been doing quite a bit of windsurfing and surfing related traveling in the last 3 years.. Airlines have a reputation for being particularly... err.. let us say "careless" with surf equipment. Boards are fragile. The lighter and sweeter they are, the more delicate . So, I guess it is not much of a surprise, that undergoing the harsh treatment of indifferent baggage handlers results all too often in damages to your favourite stick.

However, to be honest, I had been lulled by a sense of invulnerability. Hawaii, Brazil, Costa Rica, Europe, Australia, Indo.. Big airlines, budget airlines.. Windsurfing gear, surfboards.. and I had never had a single incident. That is, until I flew with Continental Airlines.

I guess I am lucky that this happened at the end of my trip. And it is not like my favourite shortboard doesn't have a few nasty bumps on it already.. he he.. but somehow, the dings that you inflict to your board during the course of surfing.. well, they are just part of surfing life. But that an airline so needlessly destroys your beloved board.. and particularly cause there is truly no need for that. It is in a board bag.. it is well protected.. you don't even have to be that careful. You just have to avoid putting the 500 Kg metallic cargo box on top of the fragile fiberglass 2kg board. Seriously, is it that hard Continental?.

Anyhow, rants aside, as you can infer from this post.. well.. I am back to civilization!. Some big changes here and there, but always dreaming of the next stint. When?.. where.. anything is possible. However, for the moment, it does seem that the order of the day is to organize things a bit and bring back a bit of stability to my life. Hey, you didn't think I was some sort of trust fund kid , now did you?. Eventually, everyone has got to go to Loblaws :-)  (Für meine deutsche Leser, das heißt, man muss eventuell seinen Pflichten nachkommen :-) . So, for the time being, it looks like I will be setting camp for a while in one of my favourite cities in the world: Hamburg!. Even when it has some the most aggressive cyclists I have seen anywhere!!