G-Land: Surf and spirits

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. If there was a big red button that would just demolish the internet, I would smash that button with my forehead. From the BBC, this is The Interface, the show that explores how tech is rewiring your week and your world. This isn't about quarterly earnings or about tech reviews. It's about what technology is actually doing to your work, your politics, your everyday life. And all the bizarre ways people are using the internet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:46It's Bali in the late 1960s. And Bobby Radiasa is with friends on the beach outside his village of Kuta. And my grandpa, my father used to be a fisherman. And then I loved the oceans. Well, I love the beach, I love the sea. So he spends a lot of time here, playing in the white sand. But his mum has told him never to go swimming. The way she told us is, other mothers would say, they call us a black demon. At the time, the early days, they tell us they believe in the black and white magic. So they're never going deep. No one in his village goes swimming. But on this day, they see people far out in the water.

1:37We thought it was like white people. For us, this is white magic. We see them swimming and we go, wow. And as they look closer, it's clear these foreigners are not just swimming. All the kids just come in just to watch. And we were like blowing our mind. We go, wow, these people can fly. or for us it's like, wow, we've never seen things like this before. They're flying just above the waves. They're surfing.

2:13Seems like, wow, this is interesting. So this is something new. And for us, as being a kid with a children, it's new toys, even though just being watched to watch them, it just amaze our mind. And after watching for a while, they wanted to do it too. We don't have serpoo, we don't know what it is, and we just use anything that we can... At the time, it's also no foam, it's just wood we have, no plastic even, so we just do it, it's whatever we have. And well, we said, yeah, it was fun. What did your mum think when you started doing that? Our mums, when we... Well, of course we were naughty, we didn't tell our mum that we'd gone to the beach because we're not allowed to.

2:59But we spend a lot of time when we get home and she gets so mad and just, I mean, sorry, it says it's smacking. You know, mothers, you know, they want to protect. They say, well, I love the mother. And then so it was, but then we continue doing it again. Again and again. Surfing would change Bobby's life and change Kuta and Bali forever.

3:32This is Surf and Spirits for the documentary on the BBC World Service. I'm Rebecca Henschke.

3:47In the early 1970s, the village of Kuta still had dirt laneways and limited electricity. but this beautiful white sand beach and some consistently good waves. And as word of this spread, more surfers started turning up. I think Surfer Magazine published the first surf photos of Bali, which was actually Padang, I think. And I was looking at the photos going, wow, look at these waves, they look incredible. And the guy that I was shaping with had been to Bali. And I was like, oh, let's go. This is renowned Australian surfer Jim Banks. The year before, I had been involved in a head-on car accident and crushed three vertebrae in my neck, which meant I couldn't go to the Australian titles at the time, which was a real bummer.

4:37But my mother managed to get a massive payout from an insurance company of$700. And it was enough for a ticket to party. So aged 17, he arrived in Cooter alone in 1977. and completely fell in love with it you know just the energy of the place the feeling of adventure the powerful waves you know kind of connected me with a part of myself that i didn't really even understand that i had you know that there was a part of my soul that really liked the feeling of remote nature adventure challenge you know exploration discovery that that barley they really ticked a lot of those boxes for me, you know.

5:24Well, at the time, there was no hotels, not even lost men, but they lived in one of the local houses. So we come and visit, and we're starting from maybe 20, there's more people, more kids, and until, you know, like I said, more people, more tourists come, and we're getting used to seeing more people. So we thought, oh, then we realised, this is human.

5:54At some level, the energy and the frequency of Bali, you know, triggered something in me that got me, you know, becoming aware that there's something else going on than not just what we see. There's something else going on here, you know. And it took me years to realise, possibly even decades, to realise that what was happening here it was that the people were holding a frequency, you know, with their prayers and their offerings and their ceremonies and just their daily life, just the way they did things with so much care and kind of like everything was sacred, you know. And back in those days, you'd go into a restaurant, you'd wait for hours for your food because the guy at the back is just going, chop, chop.

6:46You know, it's like in this total zen zone, you know. so it didn't work out if he was hungry but just you know so they were always holding this kind of this frequency of sacredness you know and it did it permeated the whole island and created kind of a frequency soup that we were all immersed in and that was something I had never experienced before you know and it took me a long time to realise what it was and what was going on and why it was like that

7:26While Bali's unique Hindu culture, the daily offerings, dances and ceremonies and way of life were changing how Jim Banks saw the world Surfing culture was changing Bobby's outlook on life In particular, it was one American surfer called Mike Boyum who had a big impact on him. And he was the one, he's always amazing. At the time, he was very friendly with people, with children, with the kids. And he helps a lot of people. Helps by meaning is he teaches the boys how to swim, how to enjoy life, I would say. I mean, we have fun. He'll lend us the board. Hey, go, enjoy. Well, then we start to try to speak, not speak, but try to learn the language.

8:19And they were trying to learn our language, yeah. So we get communicated, but I do respect very much of him. And then, yeah, and, well, I wish I can say thanks a lot. I thanks him very much. Mike, who died in the 1980s in the Philippines was in Bobby's words, a hardcore surfer he lived to find new waves to surf and one day when he was flying back to Bali from the capital Jakarta over the eastern tip of Java past volcanoes and a sea of green jungle he spotted from the window of the plane an almost impossibly long, smooth, left-breaking wave. Well, that's one version of the story of how the legendary surfing spot G-Land was found.

9:13And I heard this story, that William was telling us, this is another place you can surf, which is at the time we don't have any clue what he was talking about, so we just want to, I like the story, I want to, you know. What was the story that he told you? It's just a new place and it's beautiful. It's a good way, blah, blah, blah. I just was interested to come and visit. I just want to go. But then Bobby worked out that this perfect left-hand break he was raving about was a very sacred place. Alice Porwall, the ancient forest or first forest, the last home of the Javan tiger, was one of the most mystical sites in Java.

10:02Well, nobody would come here at the time. No, no, no. Just hearing the names of it, you would not ever dare to even talk about it. If I tell my parents that I'm here, it's a shock. So I did say nothing. Not to my parents, not to my family, no. But he was determined to go, So he made the journey by boat with a couple of friends. When I got here the first time, I just fell in love with the place, which is my other mates, they hate it. They don't want, they just move, they walk out. And I stay because I, man, I love it. There was nothing here, not even the water. We sleep on a sleeping bag on a beach and I just love it.

10:50I don't know how to... What did you fall in love with? Just the mother nature. the mother nature and of course the surf itself, yes, but the beaches. I just feel so peaceful here, yeah? And I just loved it. I went there in first time, would have been 1981. At that time I was a shoestring traveller living on a dollar a day or whatever. That was my budget for Indonesian survival. and uh and of course you know a trip to g land was like three or four hundred dollars which was like for me was like not even i wouldn't even consider it but i won the barley on contest and i won five thousand dollars and i had five thousand dollars in my hand and boyam was doing a trip to g land and i went okay i'll i'll go and so i went to g land with uh with my boyam and we just slept on the platforms.

11:49There was platforms up in the trees. And at that time, there was the big apes. There was apes, same size as us, you know, hanging around up in the trees. And I look at them and go, man, if they want to mess with us, it's like they're probably 10 times stronger than us, you know. But they were happy just to hang up in the tops of the trees and not mess with us. So that was good. But, you know, you go down the beach and you'd see, you know, tiger prints on the sand. And it was the real deal. Their treehouse base is often cited as one of the world's first surf camps. Jim Banks says he definitely felt the sacredness of the place.

12:28It was like, I remember just sitting on the beach one day and I was watching it and I'd surfed it a lot by myself because I was kind of the young grommie. So I would paddle out hours before the other guys would paddle out. They would wait for the perfect tide. so I ended up surfing a lot by myself and had no idea you know which break was which and which was speedies and which was money trees it was all just this big long wave to me and um but I remember sitting on the beach one day and it was almost like I could feel or even hear the vibration of the earth you know there was just like the forest just had a hum and I remember just sitting there and just, yeah, I was like, wow, this is, you know, it was quite a sort of deep, profound experience of, like, I felt like I was hearing the vibration of the earth, you know, which I'd never experienced anywhere else before.

13:24I spent lots of time up in the desert in Western Australia. I spent lots of time in isolated places, but I think it was only really there that I really just had that moment of, like, you know, feeling the vibration and even just kind of hearing the vibration of the earth, you know.

13:48You're listening to Surf and Spirits for the documentary on the BBC World Service.

13:57If there was a big red button that would just demolish the internet, I would smash that button with my forehead. From the BBC, this is The Interface, the show that explores how tech is rewiring your week and your world. This isn't about quarterly earnings or about tech reviews. It's about what technology is actually doing to your work, your politics, your everyday life, and all the bizarre ways people are using the internet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

14:35in my 15 years of living in indonesia i've often heard about g land and the sacred forest of alice paul wall but it's only now with my producer dave arnold a mad surfer who's also never been that i'm heading there i'm super excited um you know just existed as this magical place and yeah I'm going to be the only surfer around apparently so the camp's closed for the off season but they're going to be waves I think it's going to be that windy for G land itself but pretty cool to be the only surfer around so I'm going to try and take advantage of that and it's very isolated like we've been driving now for about 40 minutes through thick jungle on either side.

15:23There's no villages or communities around here. It's clear blue sky and very strong sun that's creating dappled sunlight that's coming through as we drive through. And when we first entered the forest, it felt like you were entering into a cathedral of trees. Oh, and there's some waves. Rubbish. Too small. We're still on the way to G land. Yeah, it's small. I'm on the ride, but apparently some beginners can start surfing there. It's just cool to see the ocean. It's clean, very clean. After another hour or so on the dirt road, we pull in to what is now called Bobby's Surf Camp. That's the wave.

16:13That's G-Lan, man. Yes, please welcome G-Lan, Rebecca and Dave. A group of monkeys come to welcome us as well. Yeah, I'm locking up. Well, the monkey used to be very friendly, you know, but they learn so fast, so quick. And, you know, you're not supposed to feed them, but many of our friends, surfers, they're trying to feed the monkeys and then they're getting more aggressive. And they start taking food and then they get naughty sometimes. So they have a trick to keep them away, stuffed toy tigers. Stuffed tigers have been put on our cars. They're right across the front window. And this is to stop the monkeys from coming into the car.

17:07They think there's still Java tigers here. We head up to the camp to meet the rest of the team. Hello, I'm Rebecca. Anton, nice to meet you. Thanks for having us in your quiet time. Yes. The off-season. All this stuff tigers everywhere. Bobby's camp now is set back from the beach. It got moved after the tsunami in the 1990s. There's a very big Joblo house, sort of open Javanese house that's got a family of monkeys on it right now playing. And then around a quite manicured garden and different huts for people to stay in. But they've kept a lot of the original jungle trees, so some of them tower over you and the vines are winding around their trunks.

18:02You can't really see it now, yeah? Dave is desperate to surf, so Bobby takes us down to check out the waves. Jilan's reef has many different spots, each with its own character, challenges and name. We call it Speedy, and the last section was Cobra, and then the chicken, and then they go on and on. It's Mother of the Price, and the bay, which is, I have to show you, this is what, the chicken. So on a good day, does they link all up, all the different peaks? No. One day, it's very rare if you could get one wave right through. It's very rare, but once you have, there's one guy who done that, that I know, it's Gary Ellington.

18:47that's that and then Kong, yeah, Kong's done that one, Peter and Gary's done that one. One wave is like along there and one wave is enough for the whole trip. Just one ride and you stay cool and enjoying the cold beer, relax and respect. During peak season, hordes of surfers come in boats from Bali and when international surfing competitions take place here, the superstars of the surfing world descend on this remote place. But now there's no one in the water. The waves aren't good this time of year, so that's why the camp is closed. And we're pretty much alone. Walking along the beach this morning, there's not another soul on it.

19:37In front of me, beyond the waves, This is thick jungle on one side as the land curves around, forming a bay. The island of Java is one of the most highly populated islands in the world, so it's very rare that you get a whole beach all to yourself. This area remains protected because of the spiritual power this place still holds over people, like Agung Setia Putro, a follower of the Javanese spiritual practice Kejawan.

20:18It's very sacred because it's on the South Sea. We believe that is where the Queen of the South Sea lives, Ratukidu. And the forest itself is a very sacred place because it carries a certain spiritual energy. We believe humans need natural energy. Pag Agung comes here regularly to meditate. When I'm in Alaspurwo, I'm uniting with nature, seeking inner peace from that. If we're fortunate, doing this may give us a bonus. Some believe that this powerful natural energy can be harnessed, he says, so that you can become invincible in battle, control the rainfall or even heal sick people. For example, they might fast for 40 days and nights with no food or sleep or even water.

21:13By doing that, they might gain powers like being able to control the rain or being able to see or communicate with figures from the past. benda di kejauhan

21:29we've walked for about 40 minutes through the jungle on a path that winds through bamboo forests mainly with the sunlight kind of piercing through either side and then we've come to a cave that's known as Goa Istana or the palace cave and this is a place where people come to meditate. There's a monkey sitting outside watching us. He's very interested in the microphone. It's called the Palace Cave because some say the country's revered first president, Sakano, meditated here. Today, there's just one man at the cave smoking a fragrant clove cigarette. Sumbur Jambi says he comes here to feel refreshed.

22:24At home, my mind's so busy, he tells me, but when I come here and meditate, it clears my head, and I can return home and sleep easy.

22:39He invites me into the cave with him. When my eyes adjust to the darkness, I can see some offerings of food, and there's a strong smell of incense. We sat in the cave together for a while, just meditating. As we came out, he turned to me and said, what did you see? What did you feel? I tell him I did feel calm. It was very peaceful. What about you, I ask? He tells me he saw someone.

23:14Is Moyo Jati, a deity. who's believed to shelter, nurture and protect Java. Given how sacred this place is, I asked Pak Agung how he feels about the tourism infrastructure that's been built to allow surfers to come here and ride the waves. When we meditate on the beach, we usually move away from the surf spots. But when it comes to offerings and rituals, we coordinate a time to do them with the tourism office or hotels. So I don't think we disturb each other. For us the land and the forest is sacred so indeed it must be respected and remain protected. But we are not rigid about it. We allow anyone to come here as long as they behave respectfully as long as no harm is done.

24:15There are now a few other surf camps at G-Land set back off the beach. But Bobby Radiasa says he is trying to make sure that development here is limited and that any surfer who comes does respect the place. We're trying to keep it as slow as possible, the changing. This kind of, you know, like the jungle, I like to keep it as slow as possible. don't see, I've seen many places change, I mean, way crazy change, and I'm not too happy with it. As a child, he saw Kuta go from being this once quiet fishing village to a laid-back surfer and backpacker spot. And then as an adult, he's seen those guest houses give way to hotels, nightclubs and bars.

25:09And Kuta has become a hotspot of mass tourism. Yes, it's 180 % opposite. It's different. I call it my village, Kuta, when I was born. And absolutely beautiful. We had a very, very great memory. We had a very, very good time. And it's something that nowadays people would not know, kids would not know. I don't mind a change, but I don't mean that for some people it might be good, better in this way. You know, you have to infrastructure and all this building. Some people like it, but I don't. In the early days, we never had floods flooded before, never. But now it's like every rain, it's flooded and dirty.

25:58I mean, it's a mess now. I feel sorry for that. But I guess I can't, you know, I can't say nothing. We have to flow with it. The island's infrastructure and natural resources are now straining under the weight of more and more people visiting or moving to Bali. And there's this kind of massive invasion of people who, it's kind of like they don't know where they are. They don't realise the significance of this place, that this was a really incredible, remote, powerful, iconic surf location. And as surfers, we came here with great reverence, you know for this place you know and we held it in a very special you know we had a place in our hearts for this place you know and now these people come here and it's all about partying and whining and dining and and uh it just seems so disconnected from the you know the original energy of this place you know there's so many people coming out just to make money And I think that's probably what's getting diluted, is the number of people who have a heart connection and are feeling for this place.

27:11We're becoming diluted, you know, locals and Westerners. So Jim is moving on from Bali to another Indonesian island, chasing the next wave. Surf and Spirits was presented by me, Rebecca Hinshke. The producer was Dave Arnold, and the sound mix was by Gareth Jones. A special thanks to Aikaru Hariano for his wisdom and guidance always.

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