The damai bungalows show powers on

welcome back for the latest update on all the happenings here at damai bungalows, both in & out of the surf in south sumatra.

it is awesome when we have great guests, it makes it all worthwhile, we’ve been blessed so far this season to get to meet so many easy going crew who enjoy what we do here at damai bungalows, as well as the waves we have in this area.

lenny turned up in may by himself & soon got into the swing of things, some hilarious stories & opinions on things kept us & other guests laughing over a few beers. next up we had a group from newcastle, ben, todd, adam & matt, these guys hooked into everything here, the food, the beers, the waves, they also left a board for our resident grommie rendy ( see previous blog post ) well done guys, all welcome back anytime.

early june was awash with great surf. winds were good & swell direction perfecto, not as big as it gets but quality was up there with the best surf south sumatra has to offer. jorge was our first spanish guest here & mingled well with all the other guests, he said he came to relax & judging by the afternoon siesta’s he had we think his stress levels were waayyyy down. then there was zac & kirk from the states, what a crack up these guys were, besides taking on some of the bigger waves here, these guys loved to party. zac narrowly missed the “damai 1 week bintang challenge” with a healthy 80 longnecks chalked up. these guys understood aussies ” taking the piss ” to a tee & gave as good as they got, gooooddddd times. mr fanci from sth afrika found out the front a little beyond him but we got him into some smaller waves nearby, so between many bintangs & waves we’re sure he went home happy. at the same time we hosted rob, reece & brad from w.a. cool crew, cant say the same about some of the haircuts the guys were sporting for the trip home, hahaha, rob had his birthday here & a bonfire on the beach & one of ayu’s buffets was a night to remember, these guys revelled in the bigger stuff which was good to see.

return guests dave & karen was with us in late june, lucky we got your missing bag for you karen, we know the importance of a hair straightener on a surf trip hahahaha, may of lucked out wave wise this trip but thats surfing. we just couldn’t organise a big enough swell for dave to unleash his power turns. how strong was that vodka dave?? hahaha

adam from sydney arrived alone & that was lucky for the kitchen staff, geez he could eat, hoeing down 3 meals plus snacks plus any leftovers from other guests, & was skinny as a rake to boot. big thanks for the photo’s as well adam, much appreciated. raymond j & tom j was a father & son team that had a ball with us, poor ol tom didn’t want to leave for bali. tom ended up hooking into the waves with rendy & a teary send off by rendy pulled the heart strings a bit. i’ll leave out details of tom & the centipede incident for his own reputation hahaha . both were a pleasure to have & are already planning a return trip, we’ll see ya’s again soon guys. gareth & simon hooked into all the waves south sumatra has to offer, simon got stitched up by the staff for his birthday & both guys pulled in a healthy catch of spanish mack & tuna on there fishing trip, well done guys.

then there was the moore group from dudley, bahahaha, what a great bunch of guys. with youthful enthusiasm these boys made sure everyday & night was filled to the brim with action. chasing waves everywhere, chasing everything around on the moto’s, playing ( and beating ) the locals in friendly soccer of an afternoon, annoying the bejesus out of poor ol richard & anthony. heath, luke & justin also were the first to complete the ‘ damai 6 longnecks in an hour challenge ‘ . poor ol justineee JUST got there on his second try. well done lads, it was an exciting week or so here at damai, but none of ya can sing for shit, thats for sure hahahaha

tom, crispy & dion were guys that surfed really well, they chased waves from one end of the coast to the other. crispy was the wave magnet of the group consistently pulling waves from nowhere, tom was mildly frustrated with changing conditions here & there but on the whole we think the guys scored some memorable waves for their trip.

dan, miranda, ben, greg & choc, melanie & shane all arrived seperately but soon formed a tight group who were all on the same progam, SURF SURF SURF!!!!! all were a pleasure to host here at damai bungalows. even though i did ride a 4 hour return trip only to disappoint 2 of you guys, sorry about that. shane clocked up more water time than most while greg & choc looked a picture playing pool in moto helmets……

very unfortunately the 24th of july bought damai bungalows its darkest hour. our guest mr daniel bobis had a surfing accident & went missing in the surf here. it was a solid day & his board washed in, but daniel didn’t. his body was recovered about 120km’s north of us 4 days later. of course all of us here at damai bungalows, guests & staff were in shock. however i’d like to use this blog to emphasise the strength that was shown by people involved. firstly, to daniels wife rachel & his great mate brian, the strength, courage & calmness you both displayed throughout the incident was amazing. it helped us to help you locate daniel as soon as was possible. deepest condolences to you both & your family & friends. we wish you all the best with the future & hope with time the pain will subside & daniel is remembered as someone who was doing something that he loved, surfing…….. r.i.p mate…… i’d also like to thank all the indonesian’s involved with the rescue effort, in particular pak andri, everybody & everything that arrived to help locate daniel came from “team sar” , an indonesian rescue department, we thank you for your time, effort & organising the search helicopter, boats etc. finally i’d like to thank my wife ‘ayu’, darlin the way you handled all that was thrust upon you over those 4 days was nothing short of amazing, handling all the departments on your own & also interpreting for rachel clear information made a difficult situation easier for those of us that dont understand the indonesian way. WE’RE ALL VERY PROUD OF YOU CHOOK, LOVE YOU HEAPS…….

ok, as always the show goes on & after a couple of ‘quiet’ days we ushered in a new crew, again from w.a, these guys surfed hard, partied hard & generally had a rocking good time, except for having to sit through bloody afl with ya’s it was awesome again to have a group of mates enjoy what we do here, we thank ya’s all for coming, dinga, soulo, willow, olman, miller ( keep off the bikes mate..), ethan, mark & biggsy. unreal fun hosting you all…

right now we’ve still got a full house, a mixture of saffa’s, aussies & 1 canadian. the good times roll on and as i write the biggest west swell of the season has arrived. hitting the top of the point at a very solid 8ft+ . most punters have headed into krui as my info tells me the mythical krui right is doing it’s thing.

i’ll upload a heap of photo’s showing some of the good times the punters have had at damai over the last couple of months on our facebook page as its just much quicker. if any guests have photo’s of their trip they want to pass on, please email them to me & i’ll post them

damai bungalows is powering ahead here in 2011, showing guests a good time & all the good waves the surf in south sumatra has to offer. we’ve opened the books for next year so for those looking to come in 2012, get in early to ensure you secure your dates. thanks everyone for coming & we’ll be in touch again soon.

peace peoples ayu, jas & all the staff here at damai bungalows…………