Bali, the right place to learn to surf

Prodita Sabarini, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Drizzling rain beach failed to stop first-time surfer Oxana Federova from catching a ride at a beach break in Seminyak.

Anticipating a particular wave, Russian national Federova climbed atop her surf board, lying on her stomach, and began paddling toward the shore. Quickly, she lifted up her head and popped up into to a squatting position.

She slowly stood up on the board, stretching out an arm and bending a knee for balance. Smiling broadly, she just kept standing there.

In Bali, the rain has just started to pour. However, those eager to learn to surf plan on getting wet anyway.

"It's really fun. This is the first time for me," Russian Farid Galeev said.

Learning to surf is one of the most popular activities in Bali. The island's long soft beaches, such as Kuta, Legian and Seminyak, have long been favorite spots for people trying to stand up on a surf board for the first time.

Further down the southern part of the island the beaches are famous for their challenging reef breaks.

There are a number of surf schools in Bali, with prices ranging from US$30 to US$60 per class.

For those wanting to pay less, there are "beach boys" in Kuta who offer discount gear and know-how.

"Kuta, Legian and Seminyak are very good places to learn to surf as they have soft beaches, where the waves break on the beach," Rip Curl School of Surf surfing instructor Dian Cudiansah said.

"Uluwatu and the beaches in Bukit, however, are for advanced surfers, because the wave breaks out on the reef, which means a high level of difficulty."

On that particular morning, with cloudy skies, strong wind, and eventually, a downpour, almost all 13 students in Rip Curl's beginner class were able to stand up on the board.

"I salute the people in this class. They picked up really quickly and were able to stand on the board despite the weather," said Dian.

He ended the class, when the light drizzle became a torrent.

Dian said that surfing had really caught on in Bali. People from around the world of all ages come to Bali to try to surf.

"We once had a 76-year-old from Italy learning to surf for the first time," he said. At the young end, Rip Curl even has a class for five-year-olds.

During peak season, from June to August, the school gets 30 people per class and runs three classes per day.

That day, the class consisted of people from around the world. Besides Russians Federova and Galeev there were tourists from Japan and Australia.

Dian explained the basics of surfing in English, trying to keep it as clear and simple as possible. Once in a while, he threw in a joke.

"Surfing is about fun. We don't want the students to be nervous and not enjoy themselves."

While Dian explained the basics of surfing, Galeev translated them into Russian for Federova.

At another spot along the beach separate classes were being conducted. The water was filled with beginning surfers wearing helmets trying to catch a wave.

Bali makes for good surfing because the water is warm. Also, competition for waves is relatively light, compared to Australia for instance.

In all, Bali offers over 20 top-quality breaks on the southwest and southeast coasts of the island and around the Bukit Peninsula. Some, like the barrel reef breaks at Padang Padang and Uluwatu, are world-famous.

During the wet season from November to March, the tides and winds favor the eastern coast, including the eastern Bukit breaks such as Nusa Dua.

From April to October, the southeast trade winds favor surfing Bali's western side, including the breaks on the western Bukit, including Uluwatu and Bingin.

However, Dian said, the best time to surf is when there is no wind at all.

"Surfing is a great stress reliever. Once you've mastered the trick, you'll be addicted to it."