Surfing in Bali
Explore Series by Lane Oliveri for Branwyn, : A Travel Friendly Wool Performance Underlayer
As part of an Active Lifestyle Travel series with Branwyn, photographer Lane Oliveri hit an outdoor jungle gym and the volcanic surf of Keramas in Bali. Explore behind the scenes with us on this shoot.
Lane: “Bali is the only Hindu island in predominantly Muslim Indonesia. As locals explained it to me, this means that people “live with Karma”. People act honestly and generously because the whole population of the island believes that what you dish out will come back to you. Of course, kindness breeds more kindness, people who were raised in a very safe, honest place are open and trusting, and it’s a cycle.
What that looks like in practice is food cart vendors leaving a clear, open jar of all their petty cash just sitting out on the counter while they make a run for something, or me leaving my card at an ATM in the middle of a busy city and being able to come back 20 minutes later to find they have it waiting safely for me. When a PMT machine isn’t working (which is frequent here), I get “Aw, come back and pay later”, they just trust that I will indeed come back and pay later.
There’s a level of trust and goodwill that I haven’t seen on this scale. I found myself almost distrusting it at first. The big smiles, prevalent laugh lines, easygoing attitude, and friendly spirit seem almost too good to be true. It can’t really be this safe, people can’t really be this nice, there must be some scam or dangerous area… But the more I wait for the surface to crack and to see the flaws, the more I start to adjust myself to it, easing into the Bali way of life.
The balinese are deeply spiritual, families have a temple area built into their home compound, altars at the pillars that guard every entry to a home, in addition to the many Temples that dot the island. I spot them on the beach giving offerings every day before our morning surf sessions. At a temple I visited, it was interesting to see the area where people would take new cars or motorbikes to do a blessing for them, for safety. Little colorful offerings of rice and flowers and fruit or eggs, placed in woven leaf bowls are put out daily, every where; on every street, in front of every business or home, you step over them in the sidewalk, on the beach, etc… Black and white checkered sarongs wrap large trees, (where spirits reside) to guard against evil spirits and every home has at least one dog, also to guard against evil spirits. This thorough attentiveness to spiritualism connects with an easy-going, low stress mentality where mindfulness and wellness are maintained as a way of life. Against this backdrop, a vast international population has made the island their permanent or temporary home, adopting the; surf, yoga, massage, meditate, eat, sleep, repeat life.
Our model; Susa launched a company that coordinates wellness retreats, she is a yogi and surfer and a guided meditation specialist and this is what brought her to Bali. She has a very refreshing energy that she brought to the shoot and we really had a ton of fun.
