CORY SCOTT

"While I was never born into an era of Indo pioneering, my first ever trip to Bali was in 1992. I had heard all these tales from the old guys and was shit scared upon landing. But as soon as I stepped out of the airport into these fields of coconut trees and began hustling for a cheap morning price ride into Kuta, a magical spell came over me and for the next 20 + years Indo became my home away from home. While Bali had obviously developed a lot since the 70's my first trips were still a journey of adventure, the mass development was years away and Kuta was still partly fields and coconut trees. There were no signs of where to go, sometimes no roads! Getting to Cangu was a maze of narrow pathways through villages and rice paddies and the access into Padang and Bingin were nothing more than an off-road dirt track, heck I couldn't even find a place to buy toilet paper in my first week. There was no such thing as cell phones, internet and if you actually HAD to call home, you had to go to the airport and call collect. There were no tide charts available and even maps were basically hand drawn and you set off and worked it out yourself. Sure, in that first trip we were initiated in the art of the Kuta scam, and were short changed and ripped off several times, but that first trip also kindled some relationships with locals which grew into great friendships and till this day I'd consider some of those like family. Back then surf camps and boat trips were in their infancy, but myself and the guys I travelled with were never cashed up, so we did things the hard way, and made our way up and down the archipelago of islands, at times living off the land and camping out, and hiring local fishing boats to access breaks, we were known as ferals! Basically a term for those that did things themselves and weren't guided or staying in fancy hotels back then. Through this feral network of likeminded surfers, whispers were passed down once your trust was gained of potential new discoveries up and down the island chain, so we'd head off on the public bus system, sometimes spending a week traveling before we eventually found what we were looking for, then sit back and wait for them to turn on. These times were hard, and we faced some life challenging situations, but those times are now also my most memorable. We earnt our waves, and we were experiencing places others hadn't yet arrived enmasse upon, we also had some of the best times and laughs you could ever imagine. Every year, sometimes twice a year, I would spend 45-60 days in Indo, and while it was no secret that we travelled there for the best waves on the planet, it became more than just a destination to score pumping waves for me. Returning to villages I'd spent a lot of time in, upon return the last thing I'd do was unpack my board bag and go surf, the first thing I did was go and visit all my friends and the local kids, share gifts and catch up on the year that had passed since I was last there. Even while I sit here and reminisce during a cold NZ winters day, I can smell the tropical air, taste the fresh marlin steak I'd probably have for lunch and see the smiles on my Indo brothers and sisters faces, and for me far beyond the waves, that is my Indo Connection.” - Cory Scott - Editor/ Indo addict.