Sometimes i totally forget where i came from. I forget why I’m here and how I got here. Them I remember that every single friend I have in this world played some part of my dream life. I am who I am because of the friends I have in this world. And from now on, I promise I will never forget that! Going to Bali woke me back up and made me realize how important my friends are. It was like somebody slapped me in the face and said “wake up!”
This is Wayan “Ganti” Gantiasa. Ganti was my first Balinese friend who I met on a boat trip to the Mentawai’s. We met on that trip, and became good friends ever since. I use to go to Bali and Ganti took care of me. He’s a legend surfer that gave me more waves than anybody else. At Padang Padang, he use to say “Go Kirby” and nobody would even paddle for that wave. I got big barrel after barrel because of him. Haven’t seen him for a while so was stoked to see him and catch up on this trip to Bali. I miss those BBQ days eating suckling pig in back of his surf shop on the main street in Kuta. What great memories.
Made Adi Putra or better known as Bol is like my little brother. I met this kid on my first trip to Bali at Padang Padang from Ganti. He was 12 years old at that time, didn’t speak English, and didn’t speak Japanese. Since then, this kid climbed to the top in Bali. A champion surfer, fluent in English and Japanese. We use to hang out in Bali 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Had some great surf sessions in Bali, Japan, and Hawaii with this kid. I haven’t seen or talked to him in a long time either so bumping into him was cool.
I’ve known Garut Widiarta since he was 7 years old. He’s Ganti’s cousin and I remember him swimming with his friends on the shore break every evening as we surfed Kuta Beach. The cutest kid how loved the ocean with the cutest smile. I always told Ganti back than, “This kid’s going to be a ripper!” I took him a surfboard to Bali when he was 10 years old and ever since then, this kid climbed to the top faster than anybody else in Bali.
Ganti, Bol, and Garut are like family to me. Since 1992, we had so many great memories and know each other very well. Thousands of priceless memories in the water and out. Just to see the three of them in Bali was well worth my trip. I gave them all big hugs and it felt so good to be connected again with my family in Bali. The only bummer was I didn’t see my Balinese brother Budin. But I know we will meet sometime soon.
One week ago I was stuck at the Airport in Honolulu trying to get a flight to Central America. When that didn’t work out, I decided to go somewhere in Asia. I called Kimura-san that night because I knew I had a stopover in Kansai. When I called, Kimura-san happened to be in Bali. I had no idea! He said “come!” I “went!” And the rest is history. Thank you Kimura-san for inviting me to Bali. This past week will go down in my history of one of the best weeks in my life. Surfing and hanging out was just what I wanted to do. Now I’m totally satisfied! I surfed great waves, I met my friends, and made many more memories that will last a lifetime. Terima Kasih from the bottom of my heart!
