hey slim hows things i was readin your story about lakeys and would like to tell u and others of my ordeal there.
it was xmas day me and a few bules decided to throw a bit of a party and went to town bought sum fish for the evening dinner. that night we cooked it up at one of the restaurants shoutin the locals fish and bintangs after everyone ate the locals decided to have an all in brawl against each other no bules involved as bottles and chairs any thing not bolted down were thrown one local was knocked out we were scurryed out the back thru the kitchen not wanting anything to do with it the locals then persued us out the bak a few of them carrying knifes then turned on us blamin us for everything then another brawl erupted and a polisi turned up very angry took his gun of his bak thru it amounngst the locals and joind in on the brawl as there was a fire arm on the ground and drunk angry locals all about we went back thru the kitchen and press on bak to our accom 20mtrs down the road another gang was walkin up the path we run into another restaurant were they sat at the front with bottles and knifes ready to thro at any givin moment. the guy who was knocked out started pointin at sum of my friends say they had knocked him out then another local backed us and was kicked to the head by one of these guys. after they
left we stayed together in one of the hotels fearin our lifes that night after death threats were mentioned.
the next morn we decided to get out of there headin back to the airport we passed one of the trouble makers who waved seeming to forget wat happened last nite we were 20mins up the road and were pulled over by the cops he stuk his head in the car and asked me to hope out of the car and come into the station. there were 4 of the trouble makers there [who call themselves the lakey bra boys] pointin at me saying i started the whole thing and knocked this guy out i told polisi of my innoscence which meant nuthin. i offered to pay for the guys cut on his face to which the polisi said that makes me guilty throwin his helmet around and pullin his gun out. i then had to make a statement tellin of me and my friends innoscence. i walked out the front were the guy with the cut was sittin and said to him it wasnt me i had nuthin to do with it to which he replied in front of polisi i no it wasnt u but who was it. as i hadnt been there long didnt no anyones names or did i no who did it.i then turned to polisi and said hes told u im innoscent can i go bak to my wife in bali to which he replied ur not goin anywhere. this went on for two hours in the sweltering heat with guards not lettin me out the front to fresh air. then polisi said u must pay now askin how much he said up 2 u as i was guilty i said 100 thousand was all i was guna pay. i was let out the front to the car were my wallet was as i heard one of the cops phn rang talkin in indonesian as i walked up the stairs the polisi stoped me and said ur free to go without payin obviously this was sum one from the restaurant calling to tell of our innoscence i looked up to the guys lp bra boys to which all there heads dropped no appalagies here. no pay day today.
we broke the land speed record to the airport made the plane luckily it was running late and back to bali i went.never to return to those waves there are sum real good people over there but it seemed the bad far outwayed the good. so if ur headin there stay clear of these guys especially if there drinkin.
cheers slim keep up the good work see u back there in a few weeks
Dan. W.
The Lakey story was a good one, I stayed in Village Hu and surfed Periscopes about 25 years ago with a few mates. It was great, not sure if Id be getting on the piss with those boys. I remember watching a game of soccer in the village, it was brutal, orang gelah. At low tide up from the village theres a spring that comes out into the sea, great place to fill up ya water bottles. Show humility and generosity youll be rewarded, good spot just dont get em pissed.
Gotta agree with this one, (except about that pure mountain spring water…) Great place but don’t get the locals too drunk, 1 or 2 cold beers is a good way to make friends.
Dan , you bought half of this crap upon yourself in my opinion , maybe more … Sumbawa is still a strict muslim community and most want to keep it that way , its just at lakeys where they try to tolerate tourists who might drink piss , go around shirtless , and who might have big mouths etc etc . Thier trade off is they can make a liitle business out of it . Most of everyone else in sumbawa /lombok /jawa /sumba /sumatera etc etc …, including the lakeys fishermen and locals who are not making money from tourism are mainly conservative muslims , who frown upon bules getting on the piss and disrespecting local family muslim values etc . As for those locals who you helped to get pissed , every area ( worldwide ) has its ” Local Yokels ” thier behavior would have also be frowned upon by the many many respectable people of the village who would have looked upon them as hoons ,ratbags and troublemakers ( just like the dickheads at home who smash bottles , vandalise ,and disrespect elders etc )
My advise is to keep a low profile in these places , dont draw attention to yourself by …, – ” getting on the piss ” – try keeping it to few quiet beers is ok – also try to keep your shirt on when walking the streets or when at warungs etc , smile alot and address elders as Bapak or Pak ( Sir ) and Ibu or Bu ( Mamme ), which is a good way to show respect and is very welcomed , even better learn these Pak/Bu words in the local language of the island you are visiting ……., and dont get too involved with the local hoon element , just maybe say gday etc , then be on your way , usually the underlying intention is to sponge what they can from you ( like anywhere in the world )
– If you must talk more , keep the conversation light , and dont engage into the topic of politics or religion unless you know the person really really well.
*** Save ” getting on the piss “, for Kuta in Bali … It will still be there when you finish your mission to the other islands. Better to look for waves and not trouble . PS , as far as the thievery goes everyone listen – … it happens everywhere around the world , … dont try to act so surprised when it ” occasionly ” happens in developing countries . Shit happens .
Take care , Salamat Jalan
make ur own conclosions davo im married to an indonesian and respect every culture as for the wearing of shirts i had one on every minute of the day and nite.we just thought it was a good gesture to feed these guys we werent drunk or been hoons.my wife wouldnt of married me if i carried on like that in her country.
Alcohol makes me into an arsehole too! Anywhere in the world hanging out with drunk random people can be bad news. Thank god gun laws in Indonesia are so strict or we would see some stuff like in Africa or South America! I also like corned beef and cheese rolls.
fair enough then dan , then sorry to hear about your experience . sounds like you just got mixed in with the town deadshits who dont appreciate a good gesture , sponges never do .
A better gesture at a place you intend to surf at for a while , and is probably less than the cost of buying beers .., is to buy 1 or 2 boxes of “Indo Mie ( 2 minute noodles )” , and drop them off to the imam ( priest ) at the local mosque , and ask him to give the packets of noodles the poor people from the village . This is a favorite of mine , it makes you feel good , and it also brings you great karma (true -try it out ). Every little bit helps and good words also gets around the village fast , and hopefully helps restore some of the bad taste that some surfers have been known to bring to some of these more quieter areas outside of bali where poverty is a lot more prevalent . My advise in the previous comment still holds true for any traveller to indo though .
Now this is the best advice anyone could have possibly given on the subject, well done Davo and I hope people use it as an example for passing on good will !!
The cons will eventually outweigh the pros in the not so distant future. Paradise found ……paradise lost. Plenty other good waves in this world.
“man kind eventually destroys everything he loves”
Yes, shit does happen all over. Wrong place, wrong time just like anywhere. Be aware of your surroundings, always be polite even if you have to fake it. But if someone tries to rip you off..Fuck him up 2 times. A thief should be punished into the pavement.
I last went to Lakey in ’96 and it only had conservative folks except the frenchies on last warung. They deliberately limited the available beer in our place to balance their values and our holiday. Back then it only had worldly surfers from oz, brazil and a few french. Sounds like we westerners have taught the locals some bad “hero” habits.
I had a hard time following dans writing. what language is that he writes in? Maybe take a class at the English First school in Kuta so as not to make a mockery of the English language.
sorry dan ,I had to have a along with laugh with gdoggie , and I think it is explained like this ….,
” ol da new skool dooods rite lyke dis . I fink its bcorz dey pull dere undy daks up 2 hi and cutn off da sirkulashon ov blud to da brayne, an den dey pull da pants down 2 low until dey tripn ova an hittn dere head givn dem self con cushin .Dats y dey hav da bayce ball hat on bakwads.
lol – the old fart.