Garut Widiarta, Thailand

“It was an interesting trip, to say the least,” says photog Nate Lawrence of his recent Thailand sojourn with Balinese Garut Widiarta (pictured here). “We were staying right on the beach in the real touristy area. There were hundreds of Russians and people from other Eastern European countries. A bunch of Igors. A bunch of blonde babes. All these people that probably go to the beach once a year – it was hilarious how many sunburns there were on the beach. They were wading in the shorebreak, riding jetskis through the break. If it weren’t for the Thai food we were eating, we would have forgotten we were in Thailand.” But, they were in Thailand. And, they happened to score the best day the place had seen in months. One gentleman from Cali even made a ‘day of the year’ call, though Nate wasn’t entirely sure how long the man’d been there (or how reliable he was, for that matter.) “Garut was definitely in his element out there,” says Nate of this day. “The wave was similar to his home break of Kuta Beach, minus all the surfers. Warm weather, fun waves and spicy food. Garut was in heaven.”