Story Time By Jeff. Sumatran Tales.

Here is a little fond memory I would like to share with you all.

I was born and raised on the South West coast of the UK and the beautiful beaches of the west and east coast Peninsular were a short distance from my home.
So when I was I was growing up many days were spent at the beach either surfing, swimming or playing around.
Waves and water were a big part of my life and when I moved to Cambodia on 2016 I was thinking of how close I was to all the luxurious surf breaks I had been watching on films and YouTube many years ago.

Especially Sumatra in Indonesia

I was keen to go as soon as I could but spending a month alone in a new country with dangerous wave conditions ( reef breaks) could be potentially lethal, I asked my friend Daniel from the UK if he wanted to join me.
Dan eventually agreed and we set a date in our diaries.
So after spending 6 months living and working in the city the time finally arrived to get some waves and explore a new part of this magical world.

Let's go

We arrived in Bandar Lampung in early February, Our accommodation was located in a small town called Krui in Bengkulu,7 hours north-west of Bandar Lampung.
It was low season for the area so we got a very good deal on accommodation. We paid $5 a night each for a lovely bungalow at a surf lodge plonked right next to the ocean.
Providing we bought and cooked our own food we could have that price all month!
Daily trips to the market ensued and adventures on the motorbikes were a common daily activity.

It felt good to be so free.

Daniel sizing up his find

$5 a night surf lodge

Trying to find some fresh eggs was a bladdy nightmare.

Bliss

After a couple of weeks settling in, Krui turned out to be a super sweet place with Beautiful weather, scenery, nature and waves.
We were spoilt for choice where to surf each day as there were wave spots either side of us and for nearly the whole trip we met maybe 5 other surfers !

Myself, French Louic and Dan.

Yes really !
.
Nobody out :)

Bananna Island. 30 mins boat ride away from camp.

First smartphone experience.

I would love a music studio here ;)

After surfing Mandiri beach some local truck drivers came up to say hello. This dude said he was on crystal Meth as he had a long shift ahead of him. lol

Highlight

So after 3 weeks of heaven, ( This is why I wanted to re visit this memory ) Dan decided he wanted to spend a few days back in Bandar Lampung and asked if I would like to join.
I politely declined as there was a great bit of swell forecast for the next few days and wanted to see more barrels.
So eventually he set off and were due to meet at the airport in 5 days time.

Now, all good, except that I have the only USD left for currency.
I only had 1 day at the surf camp remaining and I didn't worry about paying for the next few nights because I thought I could pay with USD.
Wrong. Turned out that the nearest place I could change it was 5 hours away in another place.
I tried and tried to change some smaller bills but nobody was having it.

I tried to reason with the lodge owner but he wasn't having any foreign bills pass his fingers.

Bollocks To It

I am not one to fuss so after my time expired at the lodge I took my things and camped 20 yards away, hidden in the foliage of the beach vegetation.
I had brought a hammock with me and the lodge owner said I could use his facilities.
Happy days.
This was one of the highlights of the trip being stranded under the stars in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

4 days I managed and I bladdy lovd it :)

Back in Bandar after a month of solitary confinement lol

Final Thought

So it's a shame the lodge owner didnt offer me a free stay, there was nobody else at the camp and I had stayed there for nearly a month chatting with him etc.. It'strange how people are with money eh..
But in retrospect, those memories and experiences of staying on the beach alone for those days and nights were worth more than 20 bucks to me any day.

I have to thank him for being a tight ass.. lol

Cheers people.
Hope you enjoyed my little story.
Peace.