Last Minute Indo Advice!

Boarding a plane for Indo in 4 days. I humbly ask the experienced travelers and surfers of Lifeinfo for last minute advice! Please do chime in if you're in the know.

Checking out Java before flying to Bali for about 3 weeks. So-

Travel insurance- what do you guys use? I need a good one.

Board(s)- What's best? I'm gonna buy instead of bring. It's cheaper and I don't have a good Indo board anyway. My usual is a local copy of a 5'9 V3 Rocket.

So what's best to look for? 6' round tail as an all-rounder? Or would I be better off with a 5'9 and a 6'2? Not charging DOH Ulu's/Desert so maybe I should just stick with a good-wave shortboard?

Waves

-What are some solid hollow waves that aren't total meat grinders? Looking to maximize tubeage and minimize risk. I'm comfortable pulling in for a beating on head + days at home, but I never make it out. So I'm wary of getting sliced up and prematurely ending my trip. Hoping to really improve my barrel-exiting here.

-Rights? One of the reasons I'm thinking about Lombok. Love surfing on my backhand (fluidly linking up turns when going backside is one of my favorite feelings in surfing), but a quality right would be nice for a change.

Crowd- Tips on how avoid the viruses? Another reason I'm really thinking about Lombok. I'm a slashdog, not a shredder dog, and I'll be absolutely outmatched on the marquee waves/tight takeoff spots. Less competition=more surfing. Eastside Bukit on low-wind days? Lesser quality breaks off the Bukit?

Hindus- Bali is a Hindu island. It's where Shredmachine acquired his taste for exotic women. So ... how hard is it to resist the hordes of Hindu hotties? I'll be with my GF. Should I just break up with her now?

Muslims- Indo has more Muslims than any nation on the planet. How many 'Make America Great Again' hats should I bring?

Packing- Anything you guys forgot but wish you brought? First aid specialty? Liquor? More wax/leashes/rashguards? I'm trying to go with only a carry-on of necessities, and purchase some stuff there if need be.

Thanks in advance and enjoy your weekends guys! There was a nice little wave out there early- I skipped it to nurse my shoulder, but I hope you all scored, and I hope a Cat-4 parks itself safely out at sea for ya'll while I'm gone.

 

Definitely gonna get a used board. Just wondering what to look for .... don't wanna be outgunned, don't wanna murder my already painful shoulder.

Haha... thankfully my girlfriend is German and is a far more productive person than I. If anything I'm the fleecer... cha-ching!

I hate badgering for cash ... It's one reason I hightailed it outta CR for Nica. Thanks for the tips, O Bagus, you da man!

After a decade plus of of excessive alcohol consumption I still don't understood the value of these little bottles. I guess it's easier to bring a few of 'em at a time, as opposed to carrying a fifth with you everywhere. Good call Scobes!

25 hours on a plane sucks, but it pales in comparison to the weeks of my life I had to give, doing stupid sh*t for money, so that I can leave it all behind for a bit. As long as I stay in once piece, I'll consider it scoring. Despite the career sacrifice and sickness/scares I've had, every cent I've spent traveling has been well worth it.

Antoine, if I see Shred I will try to get a picture of him. At the very least I want to surf Keramas KFC, maybe that's where his 'KFC turn' magic came from

 

I've never been too into contests, but I was just checking out the lineup for this one, and it's pretty sick!

Tom Curren, Mason Ho, Clay Marzo, and Jack Robinson. Watching any of those dudes surf Padang would be sick... especially Clay.

Negative Towelie, I actually haven't surfed since 4th of July weekend, when I hurt my shoulder. Swimming at the gym every day + overexerted paddling for tiny waves = overuse injury. It still aches a bit, so I'm giving it all the rest I can before Indo.

Glad to hear you had fun early though. I checked the cam again later and crowds were as bad as I've ever seen 'em ... and it was onshore and smaller by then.

 

Thanks Barry. I'm not sure what it is- at first I thought it was the bicep tendons, because overhead motion like didn't bother it as much as riding a bike. But there's a bit of occasional pain around the back & side of the shoulder also, which would, in my uneducated guess, indicate rotator cuff. Maybe it's some sort of impingement thats messing with all of it?

The pain is pretty light, so after 2 weeks I went for the swim/bikeride, only to find it still aching afterward. Doctor told me 'take it easy' as he always does, that's all. How about a f*cking orthopedic exam doc!

I wanted to get into some rehab motions but I figured it might be dangerous without knowing precisely what's jacked up. Hence the resting. The reality of age is truly setting in now that I have some sort of legit injury from surfing/skating every year... finding myself sidelined each summer.