Padang Padang is one of Bali’s most famous and best-loved beaches. Located on the Bukit peninsula just north of Uluwatu, Padang Padang beach is reached by passing through a narrow cave that winds beneath a dramatic Balinese temple that faces the setting sun on the horizon of the Indian Ocean. The beach itself is white sand with a dramatic backdrop of jagged cliffs surrounding it on three sides. The surfing wave at Padang Padang beach is one of the most famous and dangerous in the world, a hollow, left-handed tube that breaks over a shallow section of reef. When the conditions are perfect at Padang (which happens only a few times each year), top surfers from around the world head south of Kuta Beach and jockey for their turn to spend some time in the Bukit ‘Green Room’. Padang Padang beach is the site of the Rip Curl Cup, an invitational tournament that is held in Bali each year. Many of the photos from this gallery were taken during the huge swell that hit Bali in the middle of September 2009. I swam out with my camera to get some shots of some of the best surfing I’ve ever seen in my life, up close and personal.