My girlfriend, Eloise and I cooked up an epic surf trip in our heads for almost a full year before we had the chance to go to Indonesia. We considered Nicaragua, Australia, and Morocco, but decided on Indonesia because of its tropical climate and interesting culture. We had to push our trip back twice before our schedules permitted a long trip, so it felt like a dream come true when we finally got there.
We flew into Bali to brush up on our surfing skills and acclimate to Indonesia while still having access to the comforts of the western world. We had a nice time there and got in a couple of awesome tow foiling sessions at Uluwatu. The only hiccup occurred when I came down with a case of strep throat and the doctor at the clinic told me I might have Dengue fever. For several hours, I thought our Indonesian adventure was toast.
It takes another two days from the time you leave Bali to your arrival in the Mentawai Islands. I had pretty much recovered from my case of strep throat by that point and soaked in the sunshine on the three hour ferry ride from mainland Sumatra.
The Mentawais are what a postcard of a tropical vacation should look like.
The water is gin clear with beautiful, undamaged coral reefs. White sand beaches. Palm trees. Coconuts. And to top it all off, uncrowded waves.
We stayed at Kandui Resort, which is located on a small island that you can circumnavigate on foot within a couple hours. The interior of the island consists of mangroves, with a round band of white sand beach around the exterior. The guests stay in small wood cabins called Umas , and they take you surfing nonstop.
There were great spots for both Eloise and I to surf at Kandui. We got plenty of waves, and enjoyed getting to know the other guests from around the world staying with us. I felt my surfing start to improve at Kandui, and Eloise found her stride as well.
My favorite part about Kandui was the last night of our stay, when the Sikherei came to do a traditional ceremony for us western folk. The Sikherei are native tribesman from the biggest island in the Mentawais, Siberut. Up until thirty years ago, they lived undisturbed in the jungle. At the ceremony, they heated their snakeskin drums over a fire and did some traditional dances. We joined in for the last dance, and then sat on the floor as they fed us live worms from the hardwood trees on their island. These worms were no nightcrawlers. These things were meaty, about the same dimensions of your thumb. They have black heads and yellow bodies. I ate two. Eloise ate zero.
A year ago, I learned about some small islands off the coast of North Sumatra called the Hinako. I didn’t know anything about them other than these islands have good waves and are off the beaten path, the perfect ingredients for a surf spot. Eloise and I decided to check it out.
It took two days to get from the Mentawais to the Hinakos, but when we got there, we were warmly greeted by Steve and Alana, the owners of Puri Asu Surf Resort. We were the only guests so we got to know them quite well. After our stay at Puri Asu, they felt like a crazy aunt and uncle or something along those lines.
Compared to the Mentawais, Asu is in deeper water, and more exposed to wind and swell. The surf around Asu is heavy, and the elements feel more powerful.
Eloise got some good waves during our first three days surfing a wave called Bawa, which Steve proclaimed to be the #1 swell magnet in all of Indonesia. On the rare occasion when the waves go flat in Indo, there is always something to surf at Bawa.
Asu has no power during daylight hours, so it became easy to have slow paced days. We swam around the reefs, read our books, and went on walks.
Steve took us fishing one morning about 20 miles offshore. We caught some mahi, skipjack tuna, and Eloise hauled in a yellowfin. Sashimi for dinner.
The seasons in Indonesia began to change. We had a couple days of howling wind and driving rain, which Steve refers to as “surf jail.” After the storm, the wind blew gently from the south and a swell pushed in, perfect for the wave called “Asu” at the tip of the island.
Asu is a nice left that ran for a good 200-300 meters while we were there. Due to an earthquake in 2004, the island rose 8 feet in the span of 20 minutes, bringing the coral reef and lava rock out of the water all around the island. The wave broke about 40 yards off the exposed lava rock, so you had to be careful to avoid getting stuck on the inside.
Asu has 50 local inhabitants, and due to it being the very end of the Indo surf season, there weren’t any people in the lineup while I surfed there. Eloise and Steve surfed with me some, but other than that I had it all to myself. A surfers dream.
I got my first barrel at Asu, and broke my first surfboard there. Asu made me feel like a real surfer.
Some days I surfed for so long that I could barely keep paddling, so Steve would give me a ride back to the top of the point in his dinghy.
Between the Mentawai and Hinako Islands, Eloise and I had a great opportunity to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It’s a hard transition to make at first, but all of the sudden the days start flying by. It’s nice to experience the relatively simple life that most people in coastal Indonesia live.
One day, Steve, Eloise, and I were riding on the fishing boat about a mile from the nearest island when we passed a small, wooden dugout canoe. The canoe had no motor, a tiny bit of shade, and the person in the canoe was handlining for fish. I remarked how it seems nice to live on a small island, catch your own fish, and live simply.
Steve adamantly replied, “I guarantee you that person would much prefer sitting on their laptop in an internet cafe doing remote work than floating offshore and hand lining Wahoo for 8 hours at a time!”
For a second I thought Steve was being sarcastic, and then he added, “Daydreaming about living a simple life is something that people with a simple life do not have the luxury to do.”
Steve’s comment resonated with me, and I think he is right. Although we have to pay taxes and our lives can get completely overwhelming at times, we are very fortunate to live where we do. Despite some of my urges to live out the rest of my life a surf bum in Indonesia, I’m back home, planning out our next season on Lake Austin.