The Situation in Indonesia The waves have been firing in Indonesia the past few days. Nias was 8-foot+ and all time, with virtually no one there, and hundreds of other waves in the world’s best surf zone have been firing too. And that’s just the warm-up. The main event is forecasted to hit late this month, with crazy numbers topping out at around 15 feet at 18 seconds—a potentially historic swell for the Indonesian archipelago. The problem, of course, is that Indonesia has been officially closed to tourism for the past year due to COVID-19. You might be wondering, then, how people keep finding ways to go to Indo and score epic barrels, then release edits of the emptiest Nias and HTs and Kandui since the 1980s? For those who know the right people, there is a backdoor into Indonesia. By paying off government officials, it’s possible for surfers to get resident or investor visas that allow them into the country. These can be pretty expensive (between $600 and $1000), and they aren’t a free pass into Indo. You still have to quarantine in a hotel in Jakarta for five days (on  your own dime), plus pass multiple COVID-19 tests....