Sorry, but surfing is cooler than birding...

Quite a good looking bird, Pink-necked Green Pigeon. Yeah, exotic and I only put the photo onto Birdguides this afternoon and I've already had a couple of thumbs ups. Wow! That means people think it's good. People think the bird is cool and my photograph rocks. I'm on a crest of a wave. Admiration from fellow birders. Nice people saying that the fruits of my labour have been appreciated. Well, that's what a lot of people seem to want when they post their photos all over the web.

Pink-necked Green Pigeon - a cool photo of a cool bird?

While I've been away in Indonesia, the biggest annual birding event has taken place in a smeggy, stinky set of marquees in the middle of England. All birders and their sidekicks get dressed up for the day - in their khaki uniforms, wanting to blend in with nature and show off their latest Rohan or Country Innovation attire. When, essentially, there are no birds around there and all you need is your credit card and an unbelievable tolerance for sales bullsh*t. You could go there wearing those stupid Bermuda shorts that Timmy Mallet used to wear, and you'd still see just as many bloody birds. Not cool. The whole event really is unfortunately, let's be honest, not cool. Our tribe sucks.

Last week though, I visited Padang Padang beach on Bali's southern peninsula of Ulu Watu. Just the names sound cool don't they? Better than Rutland Water or Egleton anyway. These guys are really cool - and people who say they're not jealous of their tanned bodies, 'coolness' and pulling power are just bullsh*tting themselves. Surfing really is cooler than birding. What I admire is their sole purpose in life; they literally live to surf. They've shunned everyday conventions and live their dream.

I wanted to butt into their conversation and tell them that I use Magic Seaweed too. Tell them how cool birding is. But then, sensibly, I thought it best to keep my mouth shut. Birding really isn't, and never will be, cool!

Ask the macaque - is surfing cooler than birding? He thinks so.