JBR
Four ladies set off on a girls only shopping trip.
Accommodation
We stayed at the Kuta Townhouses which is located between Poppies 1 and 2 and near the Secret Garden. It is less than a year old and its fittings are tasteful. We booked the two bedroom two bathroom apartment from their website for $60 US a night including breakfast for four. The apartment had a kitchen with a full size fridge, toaster, kettle and limited cutlery, a loungeroom with TV and DVD player. The rooms were spacious and the master bedroom had a room safe. There is restaurant and bar in the complex with footy coverage on a large screen TV. For the price, it represents good value for money especially when there are many places for around the $14 AU and for only a few dollars more, the accommodation is nicer. We stayed next to Baldie and were lucky enough to meet him and his wife.
Highlights
Meeting Smudge
We have heard so much about Smudge from the forum and had brought some donations last year but had never met him. For those who don't know Smudge, life would be tougher for many of the poor Balinese people in Munti Guning. Smudge left England for Bali for a sea change leaving behind a life where he had raised 3 children and 45 foster children. Circumstances brought him into contact with a girl who had been burnt in a restaurant cooking fire and the restaurant owner had not sought help for her, instead leaving her in a room for a few days with her burns festering. He helped this girl and then was asked to help a girl who had been given six weeks to live. She had been given the wrong medication by a local doctor which 'blew' her body size up causing distress to the organs and her body to turn yellow. Research and some help from Australian medical personnel reversed the effects and he was able to return her to her village. Upon arrival people came from nearby to meet this man who had saved one of the villagers. Many hugged him and some cried. This experience signified a new direction as he realised he wanted to help these people.
The people are very poor in this area. No other Yayasan (not for profit organisation) would help them as the area they live in is very dangerous to access and TB is common. They sleep on muddy floors and basics like a sheet or a towel are a luxury. Smudge tells us that every villager now owns a top/shirt as a result of the clothing donations given to him. Our hotel workers helped us bring the donations to Smudge's vehicle. Initially, they were curious about the donations but once they learned they were for the people of Munti Guning, they said, 'These people are the poorest of the poor. Thank you for the help.'
We brought four suitcases full of winter and summer clothing, linen and puzzles. Our clothing fitted into our hand luggage. I can highly recommend doing the same as it is very little effort and Smudge sends you an email on the Yayasan watermark to show customs if there is a problem. We left Smudge who was racing off to take a child to chemotherapy in Denpasar. What a man!
Care packages
We made 50 'care packages' to take to our driver's village. These consisted of a mixture of kilo bags of rice, soft toys, pencils, erasers, rulers, exercise books, toothpaste, toothbrush and soap. We also stopped by at Makro to buy some rice, pillow and powdered milk for his grandfather. These are the items he suggested as suitable. We set off for a day touring the East Coast. We drove through Candi Dasa and visited two water places. The king of the region built leisure palaces based around water pools as retreats for him, his three wives and many children. They are worth a visit. We then went to see his grandfather. Now I have read of many people doing this but you still get a shock at the living conditions. We walked on a short jungle path to a thatched hut no bigger than my bathroom. There is bamboo style stretcher and a chair with an outside exposed light bulb using electricity from his neighbour. Nearby is a small kitchen hut. We were offered his only chair and he was extremely grateful to receive the goods. He is over 80 and still works daily cutting grass for cows. At other times he makes satay sticks which he sells for 1000R for a bundle of about 100. The bag of rice we brought him represented the amount of work required to make about 7000 satay sticks.
We went to his village and as we approached the town meeting place we could hear children chattering expectantly. Unbeknown to us, our driver had met the village elder and had warned him we were coming. He had gathered the children together in anticipation of our arrival. Each child gratefully received their package. One boy would have liked a soft toy but his package contained rice and his family needed that more. We had included coloured pencils - new and used. That shoe box of leftover pencils you have in your cupboard can be put to good use.
We had some leftover packages to give as we were driving. This year we found the children suspicious and our driver explained to them what we were doing. Only then would they accept the packages. He said that some were worried that we wanted money and stranger danger had reached some of the villages.
We stopped in Candi Dasa for dinner at Vincents (a BTF recommendation) and had a lovely reasonably priced meal. Our day ended late but the experiences we had had were unforgettable.