Nick's prices for restaurants sadly are well out of date here in Bali.
Rains are in full effect now.....island is washed out and garbage rolling in on the west coast.
Heard some chat about Lakeys in Sumbawa.....also heard it's a little dicey over there but that they get some swell in the wet months. Not exactly a wave to cut your reef teeth on even on average days however judging from photos and videos I've seen (have read that it is "world class" on it's days, so take that as you will). Never been there but would like to go.
Board sizes? All kinds of waves here and all kinds of swell.....can even surf on and offshore in the same day going from one side of the island to the next. People here surf whatever....surf what you are comfortable with and I'd further that by saying surf what you can win waves with. I don't know how crowded it is where you are from but it can REALLY get crowded here.
During the rainy season, East is the place. Not giving away any secrets here. Of the point on the East, that is where I leave you to search out which is the best fit for you.....just be careful as some spots (Nusa Dua, Green Bowl) get really big and have killer (literally) currents and rips....that and they are relatively isolated spots (nusa well offshore, green bowl at the bottom of 300+ steps with rips heading to China), no one will (or can) help if you get in trouble.
Look for Kosts (single room closet sized apartments) inland from the beaches....can get some dirt cheap depending on your standard (or lack thereof) of living. Don't go for the 1k/month Kosts....they are cheap for a reason and have doors that barely lock, no AC, no screens, shared squat toilets that have a big bucket in the corner with a bucket inside that you use to wash your bum after a poo OR pour over your head to bathe......communal living means a certainty of heavy amount of fecal matter in that fetid tub. A bit more will get you locking doors, a toilet in your room, minimal furnishing and AC. Having someone nego in Bahasa will get you a discount.
Can eat indo mie from street vendors and homemade tuna fish sandwiches every day and be under 50k/day, but realistically you don't have (or me, even after nearly 13 years) the intestinal fortitude to eat exclusively in the streets, regardless of price. Motorcycles can be rented for around 600k/month.....stories all the time about the bodycount on the roads (so many road deaths in Bali....looking for the exact figure but I remember hearing and can't find it but it was huge for this year , almost exclusively from motorcycle accidents I read as of the end of September this year....I have personally seen 7 dead bodies in the streets this year alone and 4 persons from my job have passed away in accidents. Numbers are unbelievable until you experience the traffic here then you wonder why it isn't higher). Do not rent a motorcycle if you have never ridden one before, and even if you have, reconsider if you have not lived and driven in similar conditions. Here is a link to an article with the unbelievable numbers from a few years ago......much more traffic now than there was then.
http://jakartaglobe.id/archive/758-die- ... accidents/...and from 2015...
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016 ... gners.htmlThe volcano here started to finally erupt this past Tuesday.....nothing overly dramatic but there is the threat of it increasing in strength and potential evacuations more widespread than have been evacuated already.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 69966.html
Thanks in advance!
