UBUD NEWS


SAFE SCHOOL AMBASSADORS

Indonesian youth workers are invited to become part of a training team to bring the Safe School Ambassadors (SSA) Program to Indonesia.

US leadership trainer, Ubud expat Mario Cossa from Motivational Arts Unlimited, has led Safe School Ambassadors training programs in American schools for more than 25 years, making a real difference in districts where crime rates are high and local teenagers have too many of the wrong kind of role model living around them.

Now he has approval to bring the program to Indonesia, where he’ll run train-the-trainer programs across the country to set up a similar system, which will eventually be taught in bahasa.

Safe School Ambassadors (SSA) is an evidence-based, youth empowerment program for building positive school climate and countering the ways youth and adults mistreat each other on campus.

Motivation Arts Unlimited will need 25 trainers and coordinators for the Indonesian program, and are calling on teachers, counsellors, community program leaders and youth workers to take part. Much of the initial training will be conducted in English with an Indonesian translator.

Register – and explain – your interest in an email to mario@dramario.net. W: www.safeschoolambassadors.org.

 

FINDING GOOD DOCTORS

Keeping healthy and safe in Bali includes making sure you know where to find professional medical treatment when you need it. Sure there are international standard hospitals down south, but more important is the right diagnosis and treatment here in Ubud.

Toya Clinic on the southern edge of town has been my “go to” for medical advice for some years now, but if you live north and north east of Ubud, there’s a second group of excellent doctors with two locations that are easier to get to through our infuriating traffic.

Ubud Care Clinic’s growing reputation is summed up by the advice of one expat, who’s had more than her fair share of medical challenges: “If they can’t treat the problem they will refer you immediately to the correct specialist. I also used to go elsewhere but find Dr Krisna at Ubud Care Clinic to be more thorough, more professional, and more caring.”

Ubud Care has two clinics. The clinic at Jalan Sukma No.37, in Tebasaya, is open 9am-10pm, 7 days a week – phone 0821 8888 CARE (2273). At Jl. Raya Teges No.8, in Peliatan, they’re round the clock, 24/7 – 0811 3977 911.

 

IBU LELA’S BOOK CLUB!

Here’s a great way to start learning some wisdom, in the company of other soul travelers. Taksu Spa’s afternoon Book Club sessions, hosted by Ubud-based healer Lela Thomas, focus on a new self-development text each month.

In November, it’s Prosperity Consciousness: Leading yourself to money with Conscious Awareness, by Churisa and Steven Bowman.

With guidance from Lela – generous-hearted Reiki Master teacher, Eternal Breath facilitator, Access Consciousness facilitator – and surrounded by “wellness wonderland” of Taksu Spa, you will begin an expedition to challenge your way of thinking and expand your possibilities for prosperity. Too many of us are unaware that we attract money – and everything else – not by what we do or have, but through our consciousness. That’s what determines whether we struggle in frustration or live an extraordinary life of abundance.

Check session dates with Taksu; 0361 479 2525 or info @TaksuSpa.com.

Lela has chosen Your Body and the Creation of Consciousness by Patty Alfonso as December’s Book Club focus.

 

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM?

Minimising negative impacts and maximising positive impacts, while preserving the local culture – that’s the essence of sustainable tourism.

Bali’s travel and tourism industry professionals joined NGOs and certification bodies last month to work on sustainability best practices for tourism businesses and destinations at a the three-day Sustainable Tourism Training program in Sanur.

Co-hosted by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and the innovative MarkPlus Centre for Tourism and Hospitality, with input from members of the BGreener network, the workshop challenged those attending to see tourism as a tool for sustainable development.

Participants came from all over Indonesia, plus Singapore, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, to look at global examples of sustainability best practices in the industry, as well as sustainable tourism product development and management.

Bali’s new Vice-Governor, Cok Ace, is determined to bring all players together under his theme of “New Bali: One Island – One Management” to find a long term plan for the island’s tourism industry.

Events like this training program help guide the island’s path to that successful future. For more info on the BGreener, the community of change makers in Bali tourism go to www.bgreener.org.

 

HEALING BEGINS IN BALI

One of Ubud’s most respected gurus of yoga, Linda Mandani, says healing of all our physical and emotional wounds is an essential process in the evolution of any individual.

Linda says she trusts Yoga Pranala as a “beautiful way to heal”. Her seven-day retreat this December uses yoga and Balinese healing techniques to enable students to become conscious and aware of the powerful energy that lies inside them.

In the morning and afternoon in an open-air shala, students will practice: Hatha yoga, Vinyasa, Pranayama, Mudra Pranala, Meditation and Yoga Nidra.

The retreat includes airport transfers, six nights accommodation, free access to the resorts three swimming pools, delicious breakfasts and dinners, morning and evening yoga sessions, a batik workshop, a visit to the healing waters of Tirta Empul temple, purification ritual at Gunung Kawi, a fire ritual and Kirtan session (devotional singing, mantra chanting).

The live-in workshop runs from December 9-15. Only a few spots left: email contact@intuitiveflow.com.

 

WINNING STREAK!

Go Bridges! Our most romantic dining spot has claimed the spotlight yet again, honoured with the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2018 – the fifth year in a row!

Bridges is among a very few restaurants in Indonesia to receive this prestigious award; it’s not surprising, given their focus on finding and storing good wines properly, to pair with their delicious food menu.