I have never done a JBR report before so I'm sorry if If it's a bit boring.
We (my husband and I) left for Bali on 8th December on Jetstars first Bali flight. We were very impressed with Jetstar and all the freebies we got for being on the first flight. The cabin crew had a lot of fun on the flight too. We both had rented a DVD player and bought a comfort pack each. I only watched one movie but I thought they had a good choice of movies and music variety.
We got to our hotel at 10:20pm and checked in. We stayed at the Secret Garden Inn in Poppies 1. I was soooo impressed with this hotel for the price. It is only a small hotel with a deep pool surrounded by a garden. Most of the time when we used the pool we were the only ones in it. It is very private and quiet. Because of the deep pool there weren't many children staying at the hotel, there were mainly just couples. In fact I only saw two children the whole time and they were in the same family and were only there for two days. The breakfast was simple; fruit salad, toast and jam, eggs and a pot of tea or coffee. But if you wished to add in bacon, tomatoes, baked beans, sausages or jaffles you could for a few thousand rupiah. The owners also get the meat imported from perth which I was happy about because I don't noprmally like the bacon in Bali.
We stayed in a normal double room but had a look at the family suites which were huge, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, large loungeroom and one has a laundry. Everything is clean because this hotel is only 18 months old. Our bed in the standard room was a king size bed.
My Mum and sister arrived on 10th December and stayed at the same hotel in a twin share room. The beds are more like 3/4 double than single.
On the 13th December we all went to Lovina with a guide from the Helen Flavel Foundation to meet our sponsor children and see the learning centre. Can I just say what a great job Helen is doing up there. The learning centre is such a wonderful place and has learning rooms for children of all age groups from a preschool room to a computer room. The staff are all so friemdly and loove their jobs helping underpriveledged children.
After having a look around the centre we set of to meet my sponsor child Agus. We drove for about 45 mins along a bitumen road then stopped at a small dirt track. We were told by the driver we were waiting for a four wheel drive to take us along the dirt track. I thought he was joking because the dirt track was like one you would see on a four wheel drive movie. All dug up and pot holed. A few minutes later a van arrived. The driver said, "the four wheel drive is here" and we all got out and hoped into it. About ten minutes later after bouncing along the dirt track track we arrived at a small wooden hut. We were greeted by Agus, his sister, Mum and Dad and about 8 family members and neighbours.
It was a shock to see how he lived. I have been to Bali many times and travelled around the Island but I have never seen a family so poor. They had a small hut made out of sticks and a cocnut branch roof. It was just one room inside with the kitchen area in the corner of the room and they slept on a woven mat all together.
They had a small Bale out the front were we sat and drank coconut juice with the family. I asked the guide were they showered and he said they had to walk 2 kilometres to the beach to bath. They had a small well closer to their house but that water was shared for the whole village for drinking and cooking.
We gave Agus some presents, his favouite being a toy truck carrying two cars. His eyes lit up when he saw it.
We went and visited my Mum's sponsor child too. Her name is Ayu and she is 15yrs old. She came first in her kids school but wouldn't have continued to high school if she hadn't have been sponsored. She spoke english very well and was so polite and shy. We visited her at school and met her and some of her friends. She has to walk one hour to school and back everyday.
It was an eye opening day. I would recommend sponsoring through Helen Flavel. It is obvious all the staff love their jobs and are glad to be helping these children. The guide said, "we are hoping by educating the children that when they get older they will be able to help their whole family"
Most of the time we just stayed around Kuta, Ubud and Denpasar. We didn't really do anything else.
We ate where we always eat and love. Warung Enhay in Jl Benesari near Ahdi Dharma Hotel. I love this restaurant, the food is so cheap and delicious. I recommend Chicken in the Basket ( chicken breast pieces breaded with herbs and bread crumbs) and Chicken pasta and Herb... YUM!!!!
We came home this morning. Boo Hoo!!! But we got another lot of cheap tickets with jetstar to go back at the end of January. Yeah!!!
Melanie