Galaxy Lounge

Over the past few weeks I have been traveling around Sri Lanka and it has been amazing. Decent surf, nice people and good vibes make it a really relaxing place to for a holiday. Throughout the trip I have stayed in a few different places but The Galaxy Lounge ‘Galaxy’ in Arugam Bay definitely had to be the best.

Galaxy is one of the last places to stay furthest away from the heart of Arugam bay, on the beach. It is about a 10-minute walk to the middle of Arugam Bay and to some decent surf or a two-minute tuk tuk drive.

Basically the rooms are just privet little huts / cabanas on the beach which have comfortable beds and nice outside bathrooms. The food there is really yummy and at a pretty decent price. They have a good variety of western and Sri Lankan food, although if you go there I would suggest to order about 1 hour before you want to eat.

Galaxy offers a range of services such as taxis, tuk tuks and safaris. All you need to do is notify the manager the day before or a couple of hours before you want to go anywhere. 

If you are sick of surfing Arugam Point and want some different surf just jump in a tuk tuk for a 20 minute drive north or south to find some good fun breaks. Most of the spots need a reasonable amount of swell coming from the southeast for them to work. The wind doesn’t usually pick up till around lunchtime, which means you can get a good session in before it does.

The welcoming and friendly staff members make it an enjoyable place to stay.  Out of 10 I would rate it 9 and I would recommend it to anyone. 

In 5 Years...

In 5 years I’m not entirely sure where I will be but it shall start off like this. At the end of this year I’m moving back to Australia for year 11 and 12, so I can get my license and a job to save up some money. After I finish school I would love to travel the world with my friend Jacintha, and at some point get a university degree under my belt. I would like to study marketing and event management and hopefully (like my work experience) work with these qualifications in the surf industry.

My other option is after I move home to Australia and finish school I will move back to Bali and share a house with a few of my good friends Reo and Frances. They are two years below me so while I am waiting for them to finish school that’s when I will most likely go traveling. 5 years is a long time and looking forward to seeing where it will take me.  

How to Become a Mermaid

How many of you have ever wondered what it would be like to become a mermaid? Well now you can see for yourselves. With just these quick easy steps you can follow your dream and transform your life.

You will need: -

•        1 conch shell (you can hear the ocean in)
•        1 bucket of sea water
•        2 dead star fish
•        2 witnesses

Now all you need to do is wait until the next full moon. Go outside on your lawn and lay the two dead starfish on either side of you. Have your witnesses sit in front of you and put the conch shell to your ear. Keep your left index finger in the bucket of seawater and recite this spell.

I am clean and full of innocence.

I do understand the consequences.

All the barnacles, and all the beasts.

I know the immense heat.

But I wish to be one with the sea.

I will live to 3 hundred.

I will then become just sea foam.

For I have given my soul to the depths.

I am prone to the fisher’s nets.

I wish to be one of the sea.

Grant this wish, I wish I plead.

Let the sea come to me.

After this dunk the sea water onto the lawn and bury the dead starfishes in the yard. Take the conch shell and place it on your dresser and do not let your witnesses tell anybody, or else this will not work. In exactly 3 days your legs should feel painful, they should start to itch and soon enough you will notice scales on your legs. Immediately go to a place where there is salt water.

You chest should burn and it'll be hard to breathe, you'll go into a deep sleep and when you wake up you'll have your tail and you'll have become a mermaid.

Just Because

Surfing to me is one of the best things in my life at the moment. I surf because of the feeling you get when you are on that wave, that one wave that makes everything seem so unreal. I love how when you surf its just you and the wave, nothing else matters, no distraction from the outside world, just you and the wave. When I surf I think of nothing else but the joy and freedom of riding that one wave. It only takes one good wave to get hooked and thankfully I have had plenty of those waves.

I have been surfing since I was basically born and one of my first earliest memories is standing on a wave with my dad when I was almost 2. Though as a young grommet I only really surfed because that’s what everyone did. I have surfed on and off throughout my whole life but I only really got into surfing just under a year ago, before we moved to Bali. And now… now I surf for me, not because other people want me to, not because everyone else does, I just do it for me.

It’s an addiction, a lifestyle and the best part is its pretty much natural. The ocean is another reason why I surf. Having grown up on the beach I was always in the ocean. Its so free, so relaxed so calming... I don’t know if any of you get like this but when I spend more the a few days without seeing or being in touch with the ocean, I crave it. Nothing matters in the ocean; it just is what it is.

I surf because every wave is different and unique in its own way. No one wave is ever the same, unlike other sports like running around an oval or the same for a racing track. Basically I just surf there is no better feeling. 

Because of you...

The biggest influence and inspiration in my life at the moment other than my parents is Yolanda. Yolanda is my old acrobatics teacher, but to me she I basically like my older sister / mother. I have known her for the past 6 years (since I was 9) and we have been close for around the last 3 of them. She is one of those people who you can basically tell anything to and she will have something to say which will make you feel better. Yolanda honestly helped me through so much back when I was in Australia and even though we have moved to Bali we still keep in touch. Just recently, when I went back to Australia with the family, it was so good to see her and it was pretty much like I never left. She has always been there for me and I honestly don’t know what I would do without her. No matter how far away I am I know I can always turn to her for advice. She is the strongest, most amazing and talented person I know and I love her to pieces. 

Three Favorite Places

Gnaraloo

Gnaraloo is literally where the desert meets the sea. It is an amazing camp/surf/chill spot on the west coast of Western Australia about a 13-hour drive north of Perth. I can guarantee you if you take the time to go there you will have the best time. There isn’t much up there so you have to be prepared but it is honestly amazing. It has one of the best left hand waves in the world, white sand beaches and crystal clear water.

Stradbroke Island

      Stradbroke Island (Straddie) is the perfect holiday. It is an island just off Brisbane about a 45-minute ferry ride away. There are so many different campsites so you can choose what you prefer. With the right swell Straddie will go off. Straddie is one of my favorite spots because my parents used to always take me there for short camping trips as a kid and its just such a chill place to hang.

       Stent Road

Stent Road is a remote surf break on the coastline of Warewa, New Zealand. There is absolutely nothing there so it is a perfect place to relax, get some time to your self and surf. You basically just follow a few tiny dirt road and it lead to a paddock of grass, which is where you camp with one of the best right hand surf breaks out the front. It has the most beautiful views of Mt Taranaki (volcano) on a clear day and it is just a really nice place to be. 

Work Experience

This week has really been a massive eye opener for me. Maddison Brett and I did our work placement at Billabong with the Marketing Coordinator, Nadia Anderson. At the start of the week we read over a few proposals and fixed up some insurance and then we were asked to plan a promotion photo shoot to win a free trip to Bali, That afternoon we went to the Billabong store to choose some clothes for the shot and at 4:30 on Tuesday morning we set off to Nusa Dua to film for the day. A few of Billabongs sponsored surfers came with us and we ended up back at another beach called 'Halfway' because the surf was a lot better there.

Over the next few days I wrote an account about our film/photo shoot for the Billabong blog, went to a meeting at the Denpasar warehouse regarding a family day for the workers and got some sponsors for a few events like the City Squared Asia skating event.

Towards the end of the week Billabong sponsored a Javanese boy named Febri who is a really good little surfer. We took him to the shop to pick up his sponsorship package, which included clothing, surf wear and accessories and he was over the moon.

Working at Billabong in the Marketing department has been really fun. It has given me a sense of direction with where I want to go in life career wise and I would jump at the chance to do it again. 

Madii and I at Nusa Dua