Most surfers experience Indonesia by boat, plane or moped. Think Ments boat trips, resort stays in Sumatra or moped rides through Lombok. Scrap those, how about a Shein edition of Pimp My Ride – renovate an old bus, stuff it with your best mates and travel across Java looking for waves.
Inspired by the slower pace of classic Indo surf films, Island Brewing bought a second-hand bus from Facebook Marketplace, stripped it back, rebuilt the interior and drove it across Java. Six weeks later, the result was The Odyssey Through The Valley of Roro, a rolling surf trip with a rotating crew of eclectic free surfing personalities squeezed into a bus that, according to producer Pierre Zylstra, had already ‘seen better days’.
“It was pretty loose from the beginning,” he said. “We bought a bus, put together somewhat of a schedule, called a bunch of friends and headed to Java. People joined for different stretches of the trip, the plan changed almost daily and the film became a way of capturing everything that happened in between.”
Before leaving Bali, the crew enlisted a pair of Kuta-based airbrush artists to give the bus its final coat of personality. The seats were ripped out, the interior rebuilt by hand, a surfboard rack welded onto the roof and an air conditioner installed -although that lasted just one day before the generator proved incapable of powering it.
“We only really finished the build at the last minute,” said Pierre. “We had one night to load surfboards, camera gear, luggage, beanbags, cool boxes, a karaoke machine and a bus full of people before setting off the next morning.”
Six weeks stuffed in a renovated bus with a crew of contrasting characters driving Eastward across Java. What could possibly go wrong?
“One running joke was Google Maps. It was always incredibly optimistic about how quickly our bus could get anywhere. The other constants were a karaoke machine and a guitar. They kept us sane on the long drives yet slowly drove us insane at the same time,” said Pierre.
“We also spent nights in some pretty unexpected places. A few times we’d pull up at a roadside warung, ask if we could stay the night, cook our own meals, roll out sleeping mats and wake up there the next morning before hitting the road again.”
The cast included included Noah Collins, Jaleesa Vincent, Luka Raubenheimer, Jarred Mell, Alex Knost, Kai Hing, Wil Reid, Juliette Lacome, Karina Rozunko, Daniella Murphy and a host of other surfers, artists, musicians and friends who joined for different sections of the journey.
For French surfer Juliette Lacome, joining the trip happened almost by accident.
After crossing paths with members of the crew at Bali’s Black Sand Bar, she was invited aboard and quickly signed on.
“It was probably one of the funniest surf trips I’ve ever done,” she said. “Of course there were moments when everyone got tired or frustrated because we’d been living together for so long, but that’s part of any proper road trip.”
The girls occasionally escaped the chaos by commandeering the karaoke machine for their own nights away from the boys.
“Those nights were hilarious,” said Juliette. “Looking back, I honestly don’t think I’ve laughed that much on a surf trip before.”
The chaotic nature of the trip was only enhanced by Java’s infrastructure which made navigating a bus pretty difficult.
“Java’s roads can be chaotic, especially when you’re driving a large bus through small towns, mountain roads and crowded cities. There were definitely moments where we questioned our decisions, especially in the hills or driving through the night,” said Pierre.
“At the same time, travelling by road gives you access to a side of the island you’d never experience from an airport or a hotel. Some of our favourite memories came from places we never intended to stop. The drives were long, but the views were incredible and the company made it all worthwhile.”
Despite the film’s focus on the road, there was still plenty of surfing along the way.
The crew scored everything from playful longboard waves around Batukaras to fun, uncrowded point breaks further along the coast.
“Travelling by bus definitely changed the pace. Sometimes we’d score great waves, other days we’d drive for hours and find nothing worth surfing at all,” said Pierre. “Pretty quickly we realised that wasn’t really the point.”
As for the bus, retirement isn’t on the cards yet. Since filming wrapped its continued rolling around Bali, including appearances at local events and surf gatherings.
“It still has plenty of miles left in it and there are a lot of roads we haven’t explored yet. Plenty more time well spent ahead.”
In the meantime, check out the The Odyssey Through The Valley of Roro above.
