Taking skateboarding to new heights in Legian Bali

I bumped into Peter Cox yesterday, the owner of SurfTravelOnline.com at the ice cream parlour on Poppies II and he told me about a group of skateboarders from Jakarta who were all doing a bungy jump today.

Peter’s company provide some great adventures for surfers looking to venture further afield than the Bukit, including the Mentawai islands close to Sumatra.

The interest in skateboarding here right now is because of the Bali Xtreme Week, which is loaded with surf and skate events.

This is all part of the Kuta Karnival so I wanted to see these guys in action. Riding down Jalan Double Six to the beach I stopped at the end and checked out the surf. There was some action but not the really huge waves you dream of.

Walking into AJ Hackett’s place right there next to Double Six nightclub I spotted Peter and took a few photos of the skateboarders getting ready for their jump. These guys had all the attitude you’d expect, doing their best to act and speak like Americans, I just wanted to see how they’d do with 20 storeys of thin air beneath them. More than a couple stood on the edge for a while before getting the nerve to jump. One guy stood up, then slowly sat backwards, his legs seemingly not having the energy to hold him up. Everyone down below was shouting and screaming at him to get it over with. Finally the 2 staff helped him stand and I saw them telling him to look forward and let them give him a little push on each arm. That did it and down he came.

Many of them had their skateboards tied to them and a couple actually tried to look like they were riding it, pretty hard though when you are catapulted up in the air.

The scene here at AJ Hackett’s is very relaxed, you can sit back and watch the other jumpers, have a drink and splash around in the pool it gets too hot.

I met one of the journalists from GoKuta.com the official Kuta Karnival site and tried to encourage her to take a jump, she said she was afraid of heights and after we got her on the scales to be weighed she said she was already dizzy.

A camera crew from MTV showed up and did some interviews. I hung around for a couple of hours total and when things seemed like they were winding down I took off.

Be sure to visit the food area at the Kuta Karnival, many local restaurants are doing the catering at reduced rates.

Side issue: My new digital camera uses 4 AAA batteries. Here in Bali the Duracel are the only ones that are even worthwhile. Ever Ready and Energiser last a day, so don’t buy them.

• Friday's adventures
• AJ Hackett’s 9th anniversary in Legian Bali
• Kuta Karnival skateboarding in Kuta Bali
• More photos from Ubud
• Pumping at Uluwatu Bali

Subscribe Bali RSS Feed

Print

Share

Comments