Kuta, Bali

8-18 and 8-19
Yesterday I had my second day of surfing lessons. It seemed more difficult than the first somehow, but then I was on a smaller board. The smaller the board the more difficult to ride. I saw one of the same guys that had been at my lesson the previous day. Turns out he was born in China but grew up in Canada. I was excited because he knew Guiyang, and not even Chinese people will know Guiyang. We were both doing the 3 day set of lessons together, and he had traveled around Bali for a while so he could offer me some tips. After the lesson I walked down the beach. The beach is incredibly long. I stopped for swimming and body surfing along the way. I got a massage before bed.

This morning I went to an early surfing lesson at 8 am. It was actually really nice to be up early. Breakfast was quiet at my hotel, and when I was walking I didn't get hassled by touts or guys offering me "transport?" Also, in Bali the women leave little baskets of offerings to the gods, and these are fresh in the morning. Plus the beach was less crowded with beginning surfers all crashing into one another. I'm starting to think waking up early is the way to go, if I can manage it. I think it's safer as a solo female traveler, plus I get to see all the cool stuff that happens before everyone else gets up.

I had fun and I think I improved today. I think I need to work on my fitness (though surfing is helping already). I might continue to rent boards other places that have good beginner's surf.

When I went body-surfing later the other body-surfer's were this really old man and middle-aged women. And they were way better at it than me. Rock on. I want to be a cool old person like that, throwing myself into really strong powerful waves.

I love the beach, as you probably know, but I'm ready to move on from Kuta. It's so busy and crowded and frantic. I'm going to go to Sanur, another beach area in South Bali, tomorrow. It's only 30 minutes away. Then I'm going to decide where to go from there. Luckily Bali is pretty small so getting between places isn't that big of an ordeal. Definitely on to Ubud later and maybe do some central and North Bali after that.

Kuta Travel Tips:
-Only swim between the red and yellow flags on the beach. Only surf everywhere else. Don't surf in the swimming area. It's pretty safe with lifeguards everywhere (and a crowded beach). But it's probably not good if you are not a strong swimmer. There are lots of rips and waves are powerful.
-People basically hassle you all day long. My method is to ignore everyone and not make eye contact. It seems harsh but I think it's the best way to get people to leave you alone. Everyone calls me "darling" (men and women). In China it was "mei nu" (beautiful woman in Chinese). Of course they want you to buy something.
-I went shopping in Matahari in Kuta Square which is a souvenir shopping place with all the Bali stuff and marked prices. So unless you love bargaining (I'm not a fan), shopping here is a nice alternative.
-I did surfing lessons at Bali Learn to Surf in the Hard Rock. I think they were pretty good and I basically got 2-1 student-teacher which was nice. The lesson times change due to the tides. If you get to choose between two times I would go for the morning generally- less crowded.