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Bungaya Library Update - September

1/10/2017

Hello Everyone,

If you have been interested in keeping up to date with my project with Bali teenager Tyas to build a library in Bali then here is an update.
Firstly though I would like to thank everyone who has helped fundraise and donate towards it. Recently we have finally raised the full $20000 needed for the construction of the library, including the kitchen and toilet block. However, I still need to raise another $10000 to stock the library with books and $3500 for the internal fit out which includes books shelves. There are already many english books in the library and I have some here in Australia however no airlines are prepared to help me get those books to Bali so I take a few each time I go.

There is also some other significant news that has occurred recently which is the fact that Mountain Agung, Bali’s largest volcano, has become active in the last few days. Whilst the library is in the Karangasem district, where Mt Agung is located, it is not in the danger zone. Over 140,000 people have been evacuated from the area as they are at risk in the danger zone. Sadly though, many disabled people, especially those who are paralysed, were left behind as families had no way of moving them out of the danger area. As these people have been found and moved to safety by Puspadi Bali, the NGO my mum worked with, they are being taken to and housed in our library. The library is brilliant for this because it is 1 of the few buildings in Bali that is fully accessible for persons with disabilities. It also has a kitchen so meals can be prepared there.

Many activities will be held in the library. School groups will be visiting weekly and poetry reading and spelling bee competitions will be held there. All aimed at helping to improve the reading skills of local children so they can get a better education and go on to get better jobs. Then they can help to lift their families out of poverty.

These photos were taken by the librarys architect Nicole Thompson when she was in Bali in July this year, just before the library was finished.

Building a Library in Bali

3/12/2016

On a previous blog I told the story about how I’m working with 15 year old, Bali teenager, Tyas to build a library in her village Bunagya.

Now that I am back in Australia I’m working very hard with a team of students from my school and Immanuel Lutheran College to fundraise the $20000 we need to build and stock the library.

We’ve had some recent fantastic new. Our library project now has Australian Government support as we have been given a $5000 grant by the Australian Consulate General in Bali.

The library will definitely be constructed by myself and other Australian teenagers with Tyas and Balinese teenagers from her school, from my friends at my old school in Bali as well as members of the Sunshine Coast Rotaract group.

To see the story and video of our project and to meet Tyas and I, go to: https://www.gofundme.com/balilibrary?ssid=729035411&pos=1
If you would like to be involved in this project please contact me.

sammiwelbourne@gmail.com

The library design: Designed by Journeyman International

Black Magic in Bali

3/12/2016

As an Australian teenager the whole idea of black magic being a very serious part of daily life is something that is very hard to understand.

But in Bali, it is taken VERY seriously and believed by most Bali Hindu’s and their Hindu priests.
If a Balinese is sick and they go to a medically trained Dr and the Dr doesn’t know what is wrong with them or don’t get better after taking prescribed medications, then they go to a Bali traditional doctor. The traditional doctor is trained to recognise if the person has had a black magic spell put on them. The fact that they haven’t recovered from their illness despite the Dr’s best treatment and drugs, means that it is most likely that a black magic spell has been placed on them.

People that practise black magic are called leyak. They learn about black magic from others who are trained in this and from books that are not available to the general population. Leyak have the ability to transform themselves into animals at night time and hence can enter the homes of their victims. Black magic spells are done by entering the victims home and putting something into their food or water or by buying a talisman and using that to create the spell.

With the help of a Hindu priest, a Balinese that has had a black magic spell put on them, can fight it. But to fight it requires the victim to have a very positive and strong belief in themselves.
And where is the centre of black magic in Bali? In Sanur, where I live.

Dokar Driver- Horse and Driver Update

30/11/2016

In a previous article that I wrote, I talked about a dokar driver and his horse. The old man wasn't getting enough money to feed and look after his horse and was going to sell the horse. This was because of the new motor bike taxi service Go Jek that is taking business away from the traditional taxi's the horse drawn dokar carriages. To help, I decided I wanted to fundraise money by using my business to make sure this man could keep his horse, that he loves very much.

The man has kept his horse well and happy over the last few months however, yesterday, I was very sad and shocked to be sent an article by Jack Daniels about the horse and the man.

The story follows.

Bali Update 30 November 2016
The Continuing Sad Saga of Pak Purna and his Horse in Downtown Denpasar
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A sad and tragic sequel to past coverage in Bali Update that appeared in early 2016 played out on the streets of Denpasar on Tuesday afternoon, November 29, 2016, when a dokar driven by an 80-year-old man and pulled by an aging horse caused injuries and panic when the horse ran amok.

In early 2016, Bali Update carried the story of Pak Purna and his horse, telling of the difficult life the two eked out with their carriage navigating the busy streets of downtown Denpasar. In a follow-up article, we shared the happy story of how a teenage girl from Australia mounted a fund-raising campaign for Pak Purna and his horse. (See article links below.)

The most recent news from NusaBali of Pak Purna and his horse, however, is less cheerful. On Tuesday afternoon at about 4:00 pm Pak Purna was driving two female "satay" traders down Jalan Kartini when the horse suddenly panicked and ran amok, crashing into a car and motorbike before the carriage broke down and the horse collapsed into a heap.

Two people were hurt in the incident and sent to the Wangaya Hospital in West Denpasar.

Pak Purna had just picked up two ladies from Pasar Badung and was delivering them to their homes in Kampung Java when the accident took place. Suddenly, the horse panicked and could no longer be controlled by the aged driver. The two female passengers also panicked and jumped to safety from the moving carriage while Pak Purna held on, trying to bring the horse under control. Purna eventually fell from the moving carriage and was dragged down the road for 5-meters.

The driverless carriage continued down the road continued down the road for a further 200-meters, crashing into a pickup parked on the side of the road and a motorcycle traveling down the Jalan Kartini. The wheel fell off the carriage and the horse collapse in the middle of the road.

The driver of the motorcycle, Ketut Panjul, required four stitches for a leg wound while and Pak Purna suffered a head wound treated at the nearby hospital.

Before being escorted to the hospital, the old driver managed to coax his horse laying in the middle of the road into a standing position.
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The horse was injured but he is OK so I'm very thankful to know that. I have contacted BAWA (Bali Animal Welfare Association) to ask if they can help the horse in anyway possible.
This man loves his horse so much and I would hate to see him lose him after the work that has been done to keep them both happy and healthy so if any one is interested in helping this horse, then please contact BAWA.

http://bawabali.com/contact/

Sanur Cycle Tours

3/7/2016

We did this tour yesterday and it was really great. My mum wrote a review for Trip Advisor so I thought I would share it with you.

This was 1 of the most enjoyable, interesting tours I have done in Bali and I've lived in Sanur for 2 years! I did this tour because it advertised things I had never seen in Sanur in my 2 years here having lived my life along the main street and 5 star hotels and restaurants. The things I hadn't seen included rice paddies, the Man Shed (a bar/restaurant with old cars and bikes from the 1950's), the Blanjong Stone (this was a special request as I had read about this 12th Century holy relic, 1 of the oldest in Bali) & the abandoned theme Park. What I loved most was seeing traditional Sanur come alive in the morning, the locals setting up their warungs, the dogs waking up, scratching & starting to forage for food, the calves with their mums, villagers arriving at the cremation site & fisherman setting up their boats to head out. The breakfast at Hot Chilli, on the beach was also really good. The tour does venture into parts of Sanur most of we expats would never go and I loved the small tracks and roads we rode our bikes down. In my opinion this is a definite must do. Do yourself a favour and spend an enjoyable 3 hours seeing the real Bali. Cost was $30 per person.

Utama Spice in Ubud

29/5/2016

Yesterday was a really fun day for me. My cousin is over in Bali, visiting from Australia so we decided to do something different and make our own beauty products. To do this we went into Ubud, the heart of Bali, and did a class with Utama spice. Utama spice is an amazing brand who home make essential oils and other beauty products with all natural ingredients. They have many shops all over Bali and there classes are in a good price range, much cheaper than Australia.

It only took 40 minutes to travel to Ubud from Sanur and it is a truly amazing drive. Once you start getting close to Ubud you get to see the real Bali, rice fields, Bali dogs on the sides of the road, and you pass many great shops.

When we arrived at the Utama Spice factory we were given a quick tour of the place. Although we couldn’t go into the factory which was under ground, we got to see all of the Utama Spice products and the surrounding houses that are located in the same facility. Once we had the tour we went upstairs to begin making our own products. Our private instructor showed us how to make a body scrub, hair oil and body oil, all made from fully natural ingredients and are very good for keeping your skin healthy. She showed us the ingredients we would be using first and explained to us why they were good for your skin, they all smelt amazing.

First we made the body oil and to do that we mixed some beautiful smelling flowers and coconut oil then put it on a low heat in a saucepan. I’m glad we made the body oil first because it made the area smell great. After getting started with the boy oil we moved on to making the body scrub. To make the body scrub there was a lot of mixing involved so your arm hurts a little after. We each had our own mortar and pestle. After making the body scrub we took a quick break and made a special Balinese drink thats meant to benefit peoples health tremendously. We saw all the ingredients put in to it. Theres coconut sugar to make it sweet and also tamarind to make it sour, it’s a good combination. I liked it the most out of everyone, and I assure you it’s safe to drink. I felt great after having my serving, my mums and my cousins. After drinking this health juice we got back to work and made the hair oil. You get to keep everything you make on the day and the staff give you little containers to put your mixes in.

After leaving the Utama Spice factory we decided to go to our favourite restaurant in Ubud, The Little Elephant. It’s a vegetarian and vegan restaurant so if you like alcohol and meat this isn’t the place for you. However if you're in to healthy, delicious food and a chilled vibe this place is great. It’s located on a hill side overlooking rice fields and the jungle and if you go for an early dinner the sunsets are gorgeous. If your feeling like something sweet but healthy I highly recommend the chocolate pie, it’s like heaven on Earth.

Overall I really enjoyed this little trip into Ubud and defiantly recommend doing the same thing if you're feeling like a little get away to the heart of Bali and want to make some unique, natural products.

Lembongan Island

27/5/2016

On new years eve my family decided to travel to Lembongan island to celebrate. Lembongan is a beautiful little island just 30 minutes away from Bali by a fast boat. In my previous posts I’ve talk about all the other islands I’ve visited but Lembongan is now my favourite island and destination since living in Bali.

It’s very much like Nusa Penida but it has more developed hotels as well as big, luxurious private villas. The island is located right next to Nusa Penida and you have the freedom of going between the two islands easily.

Lembongan island has pristine snorkelling areas, beautiful sunsets, hotels right on the beach, healthy food cafes and much more. My family went on a one day snorkelling trip that took us all around the island and then onto Nusa Penida island for only $30. The best part of the trip was getting the chance to swim with manta rays. We went to a nice restaurant on a cliff side looking over the ocean for our new years eve dinner, which was very delicious. The night was perfect, we watched the red sun go down with Bali in the background (great photo opportunity)

On our last day on the island we went to a health food shop called Bali Eco Deli who have amazing, tasty but healthy food. Theres also a bunch of nice seafood restaurants with fresh catches and theres many western dining areas.

While on Lembongan it’s a good idea to hire a motor bike to get around on the small roads, that are usually made of dirt. It’s very cheap to hire bikes in Lembongan, only $5 a day. Or if your like my mum and dad and are to old to be on a motor bike then you also have the option of hiring your vey own golf cart. These are $80 but they are defiantly worth it, we had lots of fun exploring the island and all taking turns driving it.

Sadly my family only had time to stay at Lembongan for 1 night but we will defiantly be back because there is a connecting island to Lembongan called Nusa Ceningan. They’re both connected buy a small bridge that you can walk across or drive a bike across. This island was smaller but very beautiful. The beaches are like something out of a movie and I can not wait to travel back. If your ever in Bali make sure to check out the beautiful, Lembongan island.

Drive a Fin Car With Munduk Wilderness - By guest blogger Jayden

27/5/2016

If you're looking for something to do while you're up in the Kintamani area, I highly recommend driving a fin car. That is what Sam and I did with her parents and a few others. We started off at a beautiful restaurant, their base camp, where you had the amazing view of valleys and the big lake that's located in Munduk. After coffee we left our belongings at the restaurant for safe-keeping & went straight to the fin cars. They are small, like dune buggies.The engines are very loud when driving off & took just a bit to get used to. We followed a guide all the way to a rough road, I was a bit nervous but continued. After a while up the mountain following this guide, the road became insane. There were boulders everywhere and the trail was really muddy and uneven. I just copied what the guide did and drove full speed over the boulders. It was very rocky and bumpy, but was so enjoyable. We got stuck between some of the boulders a couple of times and needed two people to help push the car out of the mess. At one point the guide's car got stuck and they had to push reverse their own car out of it. About half an hour of that rollercoaster ride, we stopped off at a house in a very rural area up in the mountains. We had some water and avocados to snack on and then continued our journey. Sam had the next drive and we drove for another half hour. The road was pretty smooth from then on. We ended up on a main road surrounded by a few rural houses and loads of rice paddies. We ended up stopping on the side of the road to have our lunch and enjoy the beautiful rice fields. We certainly saw rural Bali, areas tourists would never venture into. And we also stopped and went down to a waterfall in a hidden valley. Sam and I loved the whole adventure and can’t wait to do it again, it was so thrilling and completing different to anything we've ever done before. Make sure to do it when you're here in Bali!

Gili Islands - Gili Air

6/8/2015

Gili Air Main road on Gili Air

Beyond Bali lies a beautiful group of islands called the Gilies. They are pretty special. Small, no cars or motor bikes, just horse drawn carriages and push bikes.

There are three islands, Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. They are all about 8 minutes away from each other by speed boat. My family has just spent four days going in between these islands but our accommodation was on Gili Air. They're a great little getaway for families, young kids, honeymooners, and even the elderly and really safe for teenagers like me to roam at all hours.

From Bali they're about 1/12 hrs away by a fast boat. Depending on the weather and which harbour you choose to go from. We went from Padang Bai but you can also go from Serangan. Serangan Island however will take around 1 hr longer. If you go from Padang Bai which is an hours drive from Sanur, and there's a really great restaurant that you can get good coffee and food at. It's part of a dive school & is right across from the jetty, called Colonial. There are a number of fast boats that can take you to the Gilis but my family chose Blue Water Express. They have a reputation of being the safest & the ride was smooth & fast. The cost is around $ 100 per person return.

While staying at the Gilis there are a number of things you can do. Gili Trawangan is more of the party island with parties every single night. The hotels take it in turns to have a party. Gili Meno is very undeveloped but it has an interesting lake in the middle of the island which is worth a look, and a well known eco resort. It's got amazing snorkelling around it and has a nice little warung right on the beach where the boats come in. Finally there is Gili Air and that's where we stayed, at the Smugglers hotel. Dad did not like it at first because it was a few minutes bicycle ride away from the beach. But it probably had the nicest rooms on Gili Air and it's associated with Scallywags restaurant down by the beach about 5 minutes bike ride from the hotel. We enjoyed our stay there, ate amazing food including fresh sea food every night at the Scallywags BBQ's and my mum's personal favourite "home made chocolate brownie" for dessert. But if we go again I'd like to check out the 7 Seas resort because they were in the best location right on the beach.

The islands are all very small, the biggest being the Gili Trawangan. To get around the islands you can either walk, bike ride or get the horse carriages. I would not recommend bike riding, as that's what my family did and we regretted it very quickly. It started of very nicely but about 10 minutes into the ride we were having to walk our bikes through soft sand in the blazing heat. So I definitely recommend getting the horse carriage, it costs about $ 5 to go around the whole island and it's lots of fun. But the bikes are great to get around the main areas where the sand is packed hard on the road. If you do ride it will take you about an hour to get around the smaller islands, the same time it will take you if you walk (do not ride).

My favourite thing to do at the Gilis was snorkelling. And I enjoyed hiring a private speed boat to take us around for a whole day. It was extremely cheap and the locals are good with negotiating prices. Our boat driver took us to some great snorkelling places. Another option is to go with him to a half-day tour to snorkel with turtles and look at different sites. It costs just $ 10 and you go to Turtle Bay and see turtles. Then followed by a lovely snorkel just before they take you to the cafe on Gill Meno for a nice lunch. Then one more snorkelling trip before returning to your island. Another great thing to do is to have dinner at one of the cafes on the beach while watching the sun set. The Gilis give you a beautiful look of the sun setting over the ocean and there are many spots, bars & restaurants that you can do this from.

Overall the Gilis are a great little paradise getaway for everyone. They're safe, fun and relaxing and I highly recommend going if you're ever in Bali. One last thing, they are only a few minutes boat ride from Lombok so it may be worth adding a few days on to your trip & seeing Lombok too.

Looking for help to build a library in Bungaya, Bali

18/7/2015

A Bali teenager named Tyas and I need help to raise money to build a library in one of Bali’s poorest villages.

If you love books, love your local library, love Bali or just like to help people then we need you!!!

I'm working with 13 year old Tyas, who is a student leader at her school in Bali to help raise $5000 so her village of 4000 people can have a library.

My library on the Sunshine Coast has already offered to donate some books so if you are travelling to Bali or know anyone who's coming here please contact the library and bring some with you. I can organise to pick them up from you in Bali.

My school on the Sunshine Coast, Mathew Flinders Anglican College, is also looking at how they can help and if you're reading this and think you could do something to help too, then please contact me.

Below I've copied a letter that I have started to send to all schools, Rotary clubs and library's based on the Sunshine Coast, that tells the full story of this project and why I wanted to help.

If you would like to help then you can email me (sammiwelbourne@gmail.com).

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