But where did a Canadian surfing enthusiast (from Calgary – a landlocked city some 1,000km from the cold coastal waters of Canada’s West Coast) go to build a dream villa with his wife? Bali, if you couldn’t guess.

From the Jakarta Globe:

They soon acquired a piece of land just a couple of steps away from Canggu Beach, a popular surfing spot. According to Mike, who himself likes to surf, they found a spot that was the best of all worlds.

OK, I cheated. They are Canadian, but live in Hong Kong, where the Commonwealth lives on it seems.

But check out this blurb about an Australian surf family, whose members have been inspired by Bali, especially the waves of Uluwatu.

From The Australian:

photo by rapidacid (Flickr CC)

It was the start of a new era, and not just for the Wright boys. In the 1990s, the kids of the first Australian generation of lifelong surfers were old enough to surf decent waves themselves. At breaks from Margaret River to Victoria, the Gold Coast and Indonesia, it became more common to see two generations of the same family paddling out together. In the case of the Wrights, the familial passion blossomed into something much bigger. Thirteen years on from his first trip to Bali, Owen, 22, is about to embark on his third year on the World Tour. In 2010, his first year, he finished Rookie of the Year. Last year, he finished third overall and made the final of three contests (all of them against eventual world champion Kelly Slater), losing two and winning one, the Quiksilver Pro in New York, the richest pro event in history.

Not bad, huh?

I’ve personally studied via distance at several Swedish institutions while living in both the UK and Portugal. There were sometime glitches with the web-based platforms (for those classes requiring ‘live’ lessons with voice and webcam features) but things generally went smoothly and my experience with net-based learning was overall very positive.

Some Swedish students, however, have taken things to the next level. They’ve decided to use their study grants and loans to live in luxury villas in Bali and surf every day on some of the world’s most highly regarded waves – sometimes twice a day.

From an article in Uppsala University’s student magazine, Ergo (my translation):

Most of our life here revolves around surfing and studying. We usually surf in the morning or evening in order to avoid the middle of the day, when temperatures are at their hottest. When we surf two times during a day we try to relax for the remainder of the day in order to be able to study. To have a surfing session during sunset is amazing!

–Zakarias Challis, Swedish university student/surfer in Bali

photo by Tom Booth (tboothhk on Flickr CC)

Zakarias shares a modern luxury villa, complete with chef and cleaner, with five fellow university students who also share a love of surfing and the understandable desire to avoid Sweden’s cold winters and make the most of their student years.

Of course everyone can’t live off generous student loans and surf Bali in luxury for an entire semester, but they aren’t the only Swedes in Bali doing just that. It’s almost sickening, but you can hardly blame them now, can you?

Now CNNGo has published another article, by surfer Jade Bremmer, on the ‘World’s 50 best surf spots’.

Two of Bali’s surf breaks, Uluwatu and Kuta, took the number 3 spot on the CNNGo list, just after Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii, USA and Supertubes, Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa (first and second in the ranking, respectively).

photo by t-bet (Flickr CC)

Here is what Bremmer had to say on Bali’s top surf spots:

Bali has to be in the top three, but it’s a hard task deciding which break on this paradise island takes the crown. The island attracts the gnarliest surfers from Australia and Hawaii plus beginners from across the globe; all of whom can enjoy these perfect glassy faces.
With fewer waves than there are surfers, time-wasters may feel the brunt of aggressive locals at Uluwatu. But on the other hand, beginners at nearby bay Kuta are often cheered on by the more jovial locals while in the water.

An interesting combination: Uluwatu’s big waves and Kuta’s calm and friendly atmosphere joining to make the number 3 spot.

For some visuals on how great Bali surfing can be, check out this video from Brazilian surfer Marco Fernandez, who was in Bali back in October of last year for the second stage of the World Pro Junior ASP.

Click on this link to see the video.

At number one, I am pleased to say, is Balangan Beach, one of Rapturecamps premier spots for surfing. The CNNGo editor recommends Balangan for swimming, lying in hammocks, building sandcastles, surfing and watching other surf. It’s also a great place to learn the art of surfing.

The long stretch of white sand is flanked by rocky cliffs while the shore is lined by an assortment of warungs (local cafes) serving plates of indo mee and ice-cold Bintangs, and cheap non-air conditioned huts.

–CNNGo

photo by Bryan nys (Flickr CC)

In other Bali surf news, 22-year old Bali native Raditya Rondi won the 2-day surfing competition Monsoon Mayhem International Surf Challenge at Desaru Beach in Malaysia on Sunday. Rondi beat out Mohd Nazrin of Malaysia and Abdullah Areef of the Maldives, who finished 2^nd and 3^rd, respectively.

The competition in Malaysia was the opener for the second season of the Asian Surfing Championships Tour, which includes 9 events in Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand during 2012.

Rondi already holds the championship title for the first ASC tour and hopes to retain it in 2012.

Raditya clinched the ASC inaugural title last season by winning the Billabong Cherating Pro in Malaysia on Dec. 13, his second victory in the tour after the Rip Curl Surf and Music Festival in Bali on October.

–Jakarta Globe

Read more about Bali native Raditya Rondi’s victory in Malaysia and the ASC Tour in the Jakarta Globe.

Though surfing has been going on in Bali since the 1930s (according to surfingbali.com) it was Aussies who popularized the sport on the island, bringing proper boards and equipment in1967 to take advantage of the amazing waves Bali has to offer.

From The Hindu: Business Line

Bali is dominated by tourists from Australia, which is just two hours away by flight. They have brought with them their love for surfing, which has become a popular local sport.

photo by Ryan McFarland (zieak on Flickr CC)

There is even a 6’5” (1.95m) Australian lifeguard, Kieran Pascoe, who works on Bali’s famous Kuta Beach.

From Australia’s Coffs Coast Advocate:

Day-to-day life for Mr Pascoe involves running a series of bronze medallion courses for current and prospective Kuta lifeguards as well as pool, hotel and water amusement park lifeguards and surfing instructors around Bali and in neighbouring Java.

The latest Aussie-Bali surfing connection is Australian Surfing Life’s Board Bible 2012.

From surfinglife.com.au:

The veteran Board Test photog was sick of doing this the easy way. He wanted a challenge. And so it was written that we would take delivery of 26 of the best surfboards in Australia, chuck ’em in five Rip Curl mega board bags, and take this show on the road to Australia’s favourite surfing home away from home: BALI. Where the surf’s always pretty good, the wetsuits are unnecessary and you can always find a wave to yourself. At least for long enough to give this quiver the most sustained thrashing it’ll ever get…z

The Asian Surfing Championship (ASC) recently honored Asia’s top surfers in Singapore, giving out awards in the Open, Longboard, Women’s and Master’s divisions, as well as saluting Thailand’s first surfing champion and Singapore’s women’s champion.

From a press release from the Asian Surfing Championship:

22-year-old Made Raditya Rondi from Bali Indonesia took top honors as the champion in the Open Division, having won the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition in Phuket last September, the Rip Curl Surf & Music Festival in Bali in October, and just last week the Billabong Cherating Pro in Malaysia. He is also the runner up on the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship tour for 2011.

As surfing grows in Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and other Asian countries, Bali continues to be the most popular and respected of Asia’s surf destinations.

photo by Marc oh! (Flickr CC)

And it is a truly international Mecca for surfers as this blog post about a German surfer who makes wooden longboards in Bali attests.

Here is a small excerpt from and interview with surfer and surfboard maker Marcus Gneist:

So, you got into fins to find out what was going on?

Yeah. And also I was pissed at the price. I thought I could do it better and cheaper by myself.

With wood?

Yes. All wood fins. Wood has properties you can’t beat. It’s lightweight. It’s flexible. Not damaged by water. It’s even ecological.

Read the entire interview in Surfing Magazine.

If your tastes are less on the side of luxurious resorts and throbbing nightlife and more geared toward nature, quaint villages and experiencing the authentic Balinese way of life you may prefer to spend your time off of Bali’s established tourist track.

photo credit: Matthew Hine (xmatt on Flickr CC)

Bali’s interior and coastal villages are where the real Bali exists: relaxed farming and fishing communities, where local life is not driven by tourism, but other industries like harvesting and drying seaweed for use in cosmetic products or growing coffee.

There is also currently a ‘bamboo boom’ taking place in Bali. Seen as a green and sustainable building material, bamboo structures, such as a 3-story chocolate factory or ‘bamboo cathedral’ are the result of an innovative and environmentally minded trend in Balinese architecture.

From a report by the Associated Press:

Bali is leading the charge, attracting carpenters, architects and designers from across the globe to use bamboo in building everything from a school and luxury villas to exclusive resorts.

Of course Bali’s nature is what draws most people away from the beach resorts and nightclubs of Kuta. Scuba diving in coastal waters, trekking through lush jungles, bathing in waterfalls and of course surfing Bali’s world-famous waves… And it is in the Balinese countryside where travellers can witness the unique and rich ecology this tropical island has to offer – on land and in the air and sea.