It was almost 10am when Muhammad Zaini, 65, docked his wooden sampan at Meranti Bay, Pelalawan regency, Riau. He had rowed the little boat from his home in the Tanjung Mentangur kampung of Teluk Binjai village, about half an hour upstream from Meranti Bay. That day, the third Tuesday of November, Zaini was ready to compete in the 2013 Bekudo Bono Festival.

Zaini had made sure to bring a surfboard to the festival, an international-level event bei