In Reply to: Xmas Eve Bali posted by Smudge UK on Friday, 30. December 2005 at 11:16 Bali Time:
Your a gem!!! A great little insight too, a great read too.
I have been to a very high up the mountain remote village in Tianya, about 11 years ago, we actually had to leave motorbikes at bottom of a mountain & walk 4 hours in the dry sweltering heat to reach my friends village. She had told me it would be cold in the mountains so to wear long sleeves & pants... which I did with runners on for walking, by the time we reached her village I was seriously dehydrated & exhausted & could only wonder how I would make it back down!!! Her brother was sent to climb a Coconut tree for a drink, her Father showed me the cliff at the rear of their mud shanty or a house & told me 3 of their sons had died whilst fetching water, they had to walk to the bottom of the mountain to get water & then carrying it on their head vback up & had slipped fallen & obviously died!
I had taken a few bits & pieces with me that I could carry & give to them, but she had said they were not wealthy, but they were happy. I had never imagined (I was onoly 20) that someone could be happy in such a situation, having lost 3 sons, living in a mud shanty shack, with a fire on the ground to cook from, but they had 2 pigs & a cow, they had a roof over their heads & food to eat (not much, but enough!)
From meeting those people my perspective of life & happiness changed! Sure I still have lot's of wasted things that I want not need...
I just thought I'd share that... Not really sure why!?
I had a thought, for those persons wanting to help, that might not having clothes to give, I have on occasions bought a number of T-shirts & shorts from matahari in Denpasar, as they are only a $ or 2 per item & then given these out, they are then getting new clothes, it is a relatively small cost & your also helping those sales people in bali... You could buy a few tops or shorts from the markets to help out the sellers??
Just more food for thought!