Swell is dissipating fast. Bondi has a weak 1-2 footer that will have dissappeared by the time you read this email. Not worth surfing unless you’re a beginner. The weekend looks…well…flat…yawn…pass the crumpets.
kelly is just not human.
Kelly Slater just defeated Mick Fanning (current World Champ) to win the JBay Billabong Pro in South Afirca. He’s making it look all too easy as Slater combos Mick in the opening minutes of the final. Kelly barely surfed before this event in Bali – yet he’s in fine form. Looks like 9 world titles for the man. Watch the final where Mick had trouble finding any form boggin’ rails all over the place.
dreamland – bali.
Last weekend I visited a little beautiful beach called ‘Dreamland‘ in Bali. In my opinion its one of the biggest attractions on Bali. I am not talking the best waves on Bali – as its probably one of the worst breaks up there – usually crowded with 1st timers – fat – slow – then turns in a torturous neck breaking shorey. Hell – it barely breaks on the high tide unless it’s a big swell.
But the beach at Dreamland is quite incredible – magical. A small hill coated in traditional Warungs (huts) is crowded with friendly locals. The place has a casual vibe, things are slow, the sand is clean and white, the water is so blue it looks like a postcard and any given Sunday in August you’ll think you’re on Ibiza with half of Europe.
Our daily routine was surf the reefs, rock on down to Dreamland for a spot of lunch, swim, and well just hang out until sunset whilst sipping a few ‘Tangs.
Well, sadly, it looks like those days are coming to an end. Bali is in full development mode. Everyone is building something and there is a MASSIVE slab of concrete (kinda resembling a resort) being built right on Dreamland. All the warungs are gone, the hill has been shaved in half to make more room for the resort, carparks, walkways, signs, regulations – eeck.
Anyway, it is one of the saddest developments on the island (also called ‘New Kuta’ just to confuse you with ‘Kuta’) – soon this little beach gem will be for resort guests only and the Bintangs will be $10US instead of 80 cents. If you’re going to Bali this season – soak up that Dreamland whilst they’re still building the resort.
zee aquabumps gallery
The aquabumps gallery is open ALL weekend 10am to 4pm. Since there is no surf, come see some waves. 98 Brighton Boulevard North Bondi right behind the North Bondi RSL. map
those photos of the building really piss me off. Its a real shame they are building that
Uge – it makes me weep…!
I’m up there next week, on route to Sumba. What with the leaking wreck at PP and this down the reef, the Bukit is under siege !
The state of Dreamland is heartbreaking – it was unarguably one of the best things about Bali.
Its worth thinking about mentioning who/what is driving this change – its a good opportunity to raise awareness of such issues in Indonesia with some of the more white-bread eating, ravesi’s frequenting, financial sector working, Sam debrito reading, self obsessed subscribers.
Such a shame in a country where 16% of the population live below the povery line.
Totally understand if you don’t think that this is your role – as I’m sure you make enough people’s day on a regular basis with your posts
This is probably the most depressing email I have had from you in the last 3 years.
Those Indo’s surely know how to wreck a beautiful place in one swoop; they really have no idea.
I was planning to go to Bali in Sept and hang out at Dreamlands for a week, might have to re-think that one now!
Thanks for the heads up anyway.
Oh My God!!!
I remember surfing here in 97/98 and there were no warungs!
I’ve been getting your mails for quite a few years now and am a mate of Coops from Epics.
Normally don’t respond to automails but just had to say something about Dreamland.
I totally understand your thoughts on the place – hey it was the best little hideyhole on the Bukit and a great place to just kick back and watch the world go by. Fun little waves at times and great views from the top of the hill. Although getting up and down it was a bit of work but just added to the place. That and Belangun are some of my favorite areas to be at.
Seeing your photos on what they’ve done to the hill there really saddens me not only for Bali – but for the fact of what’s sacred anymore?
I can imagine that the locals in the area have probably got b*gger all out of just like when they carved up the land on the way in to the area a couple of years ago and they probably just figure there gonna make the big $$$ out of it.
As surfers I think we really understand how good the place is – the water, the locals, the natural beauty of the place. I just hope that it doesn’t change the magic of it forever…..
Know progress is inevitable but that is a sad day indeed. I know it’s the Balineses’ homeland but as a surfer it’s almost like descreating a sacred site. Once the developers have done their work, made their money and moved on it’ll just be another building with people that will never understand the simple beauty of the place.
Anyway that’s my rant.
Cheers for the mails
Eugene–thanks for the photo heads up on the destruction of Dreamland. What a shame.
After surfing Kuta for a while I had a few days stay there right before the Sari Club bombing in 02 and found it to be truly magical. It was just out of the way enough between Kuta and Ulu’s–while not the best of breaks (it did have a sweet little right in a land of lefts) it was just as nice being beached there as it was in the lineup and I had my fair share of fun. The warungs were just perfect–the concrete absolutely dispicable.
I hope the Balinese can figure out a way to keep some of the magic as the economy grows. Reponsible surf travelers are a part of that. Keep the brilliance coming–enjoy your trip and score some for the rest of us.
Cheers,
Aaron
But I eat wholegrain bread, Mel.
Jude said | 2 weeks agoOh My God!!!
I remember surfing here in 97/98 and there were no warungs!
We tramped in there in 1980 from the quarry up the back of the hill – thought we found Bingin (but probably didn’t; we were young & having fun!).
I’m going up tomorrow with wife and kids… 4 years ago my family thought it was great. Dunno what I’ll think now.
It’s sad, but Bali changes every time you go back, but we have to keep going back, because ‘Bali’ doesn’t really change.
You can’t go there and not have a good time!
Eug,
I’ve spend two holidays staying for 10 days at Dreamland in the warung at the top of the hill, in the centre of your photo, the one with the awsome views up the coast to Impossibles. When I was last there two years ago I could see where the development had been pegged out and it goes way bigger than what you show, almost all the way across the headland to Balangan. I wonder who owns this dedvelopment, the orginal bg dfevelopemnt at Dreamland was by Tommy Soeharto but that collapsed when he got banged up. No doubt these will be be very nice apartments and if I could afford to buy one I probably would. But personally I’d rather sit on my ropy wooden deck having fried chicken and cold Binmtang and listening to the Guns n Roses CD compilation of the house boy played again and again every night. And for the record the wave at Dreamland is not as bad as you make out, on decent swells this wave breaks a good 100m +. Agree about the vicious shorey though!
Beware. It’s not the Indo’s destroying Dreamland, it’s all those american capitalists. Best Western’s, etc allt hose international hotel chains…
What a shame! I feel like a large portion of Bali’s heart has been ripped out. This corporisation of beaches and special locations pisses me off.
…The worst is: they never actually finished building the shithole! Now we hava a ruin on Deramland and noone raises an Eybrow because of it’s owner (Tommy Soeharto, in case you didn’t know).
Check this out (bottom left paragraph) – IT’S A CLASSIC published in Garuda’s in-flight magazine:
http://susijohnston.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/page30.jpg
convicted murderer? oh my lol. So it is still sitting there? unfinished?