MataBoolanPhotography-0257

This is the active volcano Mount Agung, which is so much talked about these days. On September 22 of this year, it has been declared prone for "imminent eruption". We are now 3 weeks later, and we are still "waiting" ... We, as in the local community of Balinese families and expats such as myself, who all live here in East Bali, in a small coastal town called Amed. The view is taken from the famous "Sunset Point" where many tourists gather each evening to witness the most stunning sunsets over Agung. Sadly, since the Government has declared the volcano "imminent to erupt", 90% of the tourists have fled, leaving this our community very helpless and pretty much looking like a ghost town. Whereas in fact, our area has been declared "safe" by the Government, based on how Her Majesty Agung as I like to call this impressive mountain,"behaved" during the last eruption in 1963. Life here in Amed is still so very lovely and just .. well, very very enjoyable and peaceful! I have been living here since 4 years and I am not leaving.

Check out the campaign called "IAmInBaliNOW" on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The campaign is a collaboration between travel agents, resorts, shops, restaurants, yoga centres and suppliers all located in Bali.

What we all have in common, is that we are showing care for our island with the support of tourism experts, both national and international. It invites tourists and travellers who are still on the island now, to take selfies with the "I Am In Bali NOW" sign, and spread them on social media, using the hashtag #IAmInBaliNOW", to help encourage other travellers and tourists to visit Bali.

As you can guess, tourism is one of the key economic activities which generates much needed jobs and injects much-needed currency into the local economy - especially critical in this time of need.

PS In my humble opinion, Amed is Bali’s best-kept secret. This place is an inimitable blend of culture and nature, surrounded by the friendly and ever smiling Balinese people. It has the quality that still offers a sense of tranquility and authenticity of just how Bali used to be. It is an ideal escape from the noisy and overcrowded mass tourism locations such as Kuta or Legian. The pace of life here is very slow which makes Amed the perfect spot to disconnect, to chill and to relax.So do come and see me here, I'll take you to great places where we can do some great "shooting" together!
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