Bude’s Reubyn Ash first surfed Indo a long time before he had pubes. And he still likes to visit!

Indo safaris: 15-20
Indo time clocked: First went when I was 9, my shortest trip was 3 weeks, longest 3 ½ months, all up probably spent 2 years over there.
Preferred Indo raft: 5’5” when it’s small, 6’4” when it’s pumping.
Best Indo vision: Just completely perfect, almost unbelievably perfect waves.
Worst Indo vision: Horrific traffic accidents, like, people cut in half and dragged down the street under a lorry.
Who’s rad? Pretty much anyone and everyone. But lately, that Peterson Crisanto kid from Brazil who was on the Billabong trip to West Sumbawa, he went mental.
Indo tip: If you rent a motorbike, take it easy, and wear shoes. Coz if you cut your feet, they aren’t healing until you get home.

You’ve spent as much time in Indo as any Euro pro, how do you see it these days?
It’s still just an amazing place, the spot for scoring and surfing perfect waves. That side of it will never change. But I guess your view changes a bit when you’ve spent some time there compared with your first trip. You can kind of see a bigger picture after a while.

How so?
Well, first time you go it seems like some kind of dream, it’s like being in a big sweet shop. And it is. But the thing is, it’s another world too, there’s all kinds of things going on that you notice after a while. I suppose like everywhere, it’s real different by day than by night. You’ve got your daytime scene and your night scene, and the night scene is fun but you need to be a bit wary. I know people that have gone out in Bali, got drugged up off their faces by the bar staff and then robbed by their mates. There’s a dark side, too. I guess just go and have your fun but don’t get stupid, it’s not all fun and games all the time. You have to be a bit aware that you’re a long way from home.

Lakeys in Sumbawa has been your chief stomping ground down the years?
Yeah I’ve always gone and spent loads of time over there, I love it. There’s plenty of Aussies, Euros, quite a lot of English… good crew and always fun waves to surf. The thing with Lakeys is there’s not too many distractions, it’s pretty basic – 5 hotels, nowhere to go out, so you really just surf. I like just going and switching off, no distractions. Go to bed when it’s dark, wake up early, paddle across the lagoon and surf your brains out. The thing with surfing is, even in the best spots around the world, it can be hard to score. You might go in prime season and still not really get it in your two week surf trip. But the thing with Indo is, if you go for two weeks you can pretty much guarantee you’ll get it perfect half the time. Not big maybe, but still perfect little waves.

Having started pretty early over there, you feel at home, a long way from Cornwall?
Yeah I suppose it’s like a home from home for me. You kind of get to know what to expect and everything seems way less foreign or strange, even though it’s like the total opposite, in terms of surfing, than where I come from. I just think it’s a great place to spend time, get fit and healthy. In the west eating healthy is kind of a luxury and pretty expensive, whereas in Asia it’s basic. Rices, curries, juices, all that stuff is cheap and easy to get. You live well, you surf well.

What about a favourite spot?
This is kind of an untrendy one, but I’m gonna say Ulu’s. Everyone disses it, but I reckon it’s sick. It’s a left, obviously, but there’s something for everyone. Temples has rad tubes. The middle section is a perfect peak and then Racetracks pretty much barrels the whole way, but still has turn sections. Sometimes reef breaks can get a bit ‘boring’ if you know what I mean, but Ulu’s has always got something different, it’s got that beachbreak feel in a way, but at the same time, it’s a full-on sick Indo reefbreak.