Bali // Day 6 - Surfing + Baby Turtle + La Plancha

Gosh, was today a tiring one! We all got up at 630AM and decided to first have breakfast with my grandparents before heading out to surf till lunch time.

It was the first time for all of us and as much as I kept trying to convince myself that it was just skating on water, it wasn’t just. Balancing was a whole lot tougher because you have no idea which way the waves will push you but I must say that the water works as a perfect cushion for falling. I first started off pretty alright and managed to properly surf to shore a couple of times but by noon when the tides started getting higher and the waves started getting so strong and fast, I could barely balance despite thinking that I got the hang of it before. I kept getting hit by the oncoming wave after successfully balancing on my board!

Learning how to surf from the instructor

Nevertheless, it was a fun and tiring experience I would definitely come back for. Did I mention that it was only IDR 20k/person?! In that 20k, you’ll get an instructor and the board for the entire day. Even though I didn’t have the time to utilize the board for the entire day, it was so worth it.

Lunch was SURFed (pun intended) at Surf Café a 5-minute walk from our hotel. We ordered Mee Goreng Seafood, Chicken Basil Pasta and a coconut to share.

The fish in my Mee Goreng was really tasty and I loved how generous they were with the seafood.

Pasta was handmade and although it could use a little more salt to enhance the taste, we still enjoyed it.

Turtle Conservation & Education Centre at Serangan was our next stop and we spent about 85k on the Blue Bird Taxi we flagged along Jl. Legian. When we first alighted from the cab, I was quite fazed by how run down the place looked. I’m not sure why but I kind of expected an air-conditioned museum-style building instead.

Upon entry, someone brought us around and first showed us turtle eggs, followed by the biggest sea turtle they have with them.

Horrible photo but ISN'T IT JUST HUUUUGE?!!?

Next, they brought us to see the baby sea turtles and the other medium-sized ones. There were sea turtles of all sizes and they allowed us to adopt the 2-week old baby. It cost us IDR 150k but the experience of letting a sea turtle out to sea was priceless (aha cliche). 

I was allowed to pick my own little baby to release

One of the almost-extinct turtle breeds. It was super fierce!

Hadicap turtle :'(

We rode on a motorcycle each to get to the seaside just minutes away from the TCEC. When we first placed the little one on the sand, it kept getting pushed by the waves and I swear my heart broke seeing it struggle. But when it finally got into the water and started swimming, I felt so contented. He’s just so tiny in the big big ocean but I really hope I did the right thing and that this little one will find his way to the EAC (think: Finding Nemo).

This choker was given along with the price of adopting a turtle

We made our way to La Plancha still thinking of the little one and got there at about 5:30pm. Reviews said to be there early to secure a seat but little did I know that 5:30pm wasn’t early enough for dinner.

Taris Bali Bar & Grill was another place that looked pretty good too, featuring a stage for a live band, so we decided to grab a seat here instead. Turns out, Le forgot to bring my card out and we were both out of cash so we only ordered a drink each and watched the sunset with the voice of a wonderful singer in the background.

Every day I ask myself how such a skinny guy can have double chin

Thankfully, there was a BMC nearby so we changed the only SGD we had – $18 – to tide us through dinner after a long walk back to Jl. Legian. Famished, we had the cheapest dinner we could find and quickly headed back.

It was a long tiring day but I’m glad it ended well.

xx.