Field Trip to Bali

Overseas Field Trip Magazine

CCSC GEOGRAPHIC

5-10 July 2016

Bali A volcano

adventure Organized by Geography and Biology Panels

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3 p.

Introduction Know about the geographical settings of Bali area

4 p.

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Mount Batur Hiking to an active volcano on Bali is an amazing experience.

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7 p.

Coffee Plantation A lucrative business in Bali as coffee is a cash crop.

11 p.

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Terraced Rice Fields A fascinating place to grow rice on terraced fields in Bali

All articles are written by participants of the field trip.

Formation of caldera

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Introduction

Bali The physical settings

Tam Kwan Hei Justin 4D

Formation of volcanic island arc Bali is located in Indonesia, which is the meeting point of several tectonic plates. Indo-Australian Plate collide with the Eurasian Plate due to the converging convection cells of magma in the asthenosphere. The edge of the Indo-Australian Plate partly sinks beneath the edge of the Eurasian Plate in the process of subduction. When the edge of the Indo-Australian Plate subducts into the asthenosphere, it melts and results in slab pull, which further strengthens the plate movement and collision. The subduction process causes earthquake and produces lines of weakness.

There is a release of pressure and magma rises up following the lines of weakness. On reaching the surface, lava piles up around the vent, cools and solidifies to form submarine volcanoes. After repeated eruptions, some submarine volcanoes may rise above sea level to become volcanic islands. They finally develop into a chain of volcanic islands called a volcanic island arc. This chain of active volcanoes formed Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara islands.

Batur is an active volcano located at the centre of two concentric calderas lying at the northwest Mount Agung. It height is 1,717 m (5,633 ft.). During the past centuries, Batur had a number of small eruptions every few years. A caldera is usually a large volcanic crater that form by extremely violent explosive volcanic eruption. A large magma chamber is emptied by a volcanic eruption or buy surface magma movement. As magma is erupted, cracks open up around the summit, which begin to collapse. The unsupported rock that forms the roof of the magma chamber. A caldera is formed.

When the dust has settled, water fills the new caldera to form a lake. It is called crater lake. Referring to the caldera of Mount Batur, The south east side of the larger 10×13 km caldera contains a caldera lake while the inner caldera is 7.5kilometer-wide. Basaltic lava flow from this volcano.

Rock Type As Bali is volcanic island, its major rock type is igneous rocks. When the two plates collide, cracks develop in the crust.

Pressure of magma is released. Magma rises along the cracks to the earth’s surface. It cools and solidifies underground or lava cools and solidifies on the land surface. Crystallization takes place in magma or lava. Minerals are formed and they aggregate to form igneous rocks. As volcanic rocks are more resistant to weathering, they can often form steep and high hills, like the sea cliffs in Pura Luhar Ulu Watu. At the route of Mount Batur, we can obviously see that the ground was full of volcanic ash and many volcanic rocks are found. They are made up of fine crystals embedded in the dark groundmass as the cooling rate of lava on land surface is fast. There is less time for crystallization. They are acidic rock with dark colour as ash and rock fragments are mixed together. These volcanic ash provides fertile soil which is favourable for farming in volcanic areas, e.g. the foothill of Mount Batur. We observed that there are farming activities there like planting tomatoes and chili pepper.

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Batur Volcano, Bali

Jacqueline , Chan Yuen Wing, 4D

Formation of Mount Batur, Bali

Indonesia is located between the Eurasian Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. The sima of the Eurasian Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate collide because of the converging convection cells of magma in the asthenosphere. The Indo-Australian Plate sink beneath the edge of the Eurasian Plate because it is denser. This process is known as subduction.

Slab pull due to the melting of subducted plate will further strengthen the plate collision. The Mount Batur is a volcano with its peak 1717m above sea level. Under the compressional force, rocks undergo faulting, reverse faults are found. Volcanic activities thus very common as the plates collide, there is a release of pressure, magma rise up following the line of weakness. On reaching the surface, lava piles up around the vent, cools and solidifies to form volcano.

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Mount Batur is an active stratovolcano located at the center of the two concentric calderas north west of Mount Agung on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Mt. Batur was formed by an eruption in 1804 and since that time 22 eruptions of the volcano have occurred. The most recent eruption was in 2000. Around 23,000BC during the cataclysms that marked the fore last shift of the earth's pole, an explosion of incredible magnitude formed the gigantic Batur caldera which today has a diameter of 13km, it is one of the largest most impressive in the world.

We visited the Mount Batur Volcano on the third day of our Bali field trip. On that day, we wake up at 3:00a.m. and started our journey at 3:30a.m. We were all very excited because we haven't climbed up an active volcano before. At around 5:00a.m., our minibus arrived at a small base camp at the foot of Mount Batur.

Despite Bali is a tropical country, the nighttime temperature is low. It is because the rocks will be heated up during daytime and release heat in nighttime by radiation cooling and thus we felt cold after got off the minibus.

At the beginning, the roads were quite flat with lots of tiny ash, rock fragments or some eroded rocks which are in black colour. We found that there were lots of farmlands and they were mainly for growing of crops and flowers. As we know that volcanic ash provides fertile soil which is favourable for farming to the villages nearby. The locals mainly rely on agriculture and fishing for income but tourism has become increasingly popular because many people nowadays go there hiking and hire the mountain guides.

We arrived at the first depot after walking for one hour. We started again and prepared to experience a more difficult journey after having a rest. The road was getting more rugged and rough. Sometime, we needed to use both our hands and legs to climb up some steep rocks. The main rock type in Mount Batur are tuff which is an extrusive igneous rock formed by the cooling and solidification of ash. It is made up of three minerals, i.e. quartz, feldspar and mica with fine crystals embedded in the dark groundmass as the cooling rate of lava on land surface is fast.

There is little time for crystallization. It is an acidic rock with light colour as ash and rock fragments are mixed together.

Finally, we saw a beautiful and gigantic crater lake which is the Lake Batur. It is the largest lake in Bali and it lies down in the feet of the Mount Batur and Mount Abang. At first, I didn't that was the crater lake because it is as big as an ocean which is totally different from what I have seen in the textbook. The caldera is a large volcanic crater that form by an explosive volcanic eruption. A large magma chamber is emptied by a volcanic eruption or by surface magma movement. As magma is erupted, cracks open up around the summit, which begin to sink. The unsupported rock that forms the roof of the magma chamber. When the dust has settled, water fills the new caldera to form a lake. It is called Crater lake.

Is it rational for people to live in hazard-prone areas? Indonesia is an economic less developing country. People are too poor to move and they afraid they cannot find a job in the new areas. Also, they do not want to move because they have strong family and social ties. Most importantly, the volcanic areas is rich in volcanic soil which is favourable for farming. Besides, the beautiful crater lake and impressive volcano attract many foreign tourists in order to develop tourism there.

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Coffee plantation

Bali: Coffee Plantation

HUANG CHUN LUNG JOHN 5C

INTRODUCTION Coffee has been regarded as one of the most important agricultural products globally. Some might consider it as a daily necessity or some might regard it as a symbol of their lifestyle accordingly. The making of a cup of coffee could be a complex procedure, from the grinding of coffee beans to the presentation of it. But many of us might have neglected the very basics of the making of coffee, which is the plantation of it. In this field trip, we have visited a coffee farm located in the fourth most coffee exported country in order to study the plantation of coffee as well as the process and factors involved.

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Favourable Factors for the growing of coffee beans in BALI.

PHYSICAL FACTORS Due to the geological and climatic advantages of Bali, located in the tropical region with welldefined wet and dry season, provided just the right amount of heat, humidity and abundant source of rainfall. These favorable conditions benefit for the growing of this particular tropical plant. Its geological factor also contributed to the well-growing of coffee beans. With immense volcanic activities in the region, volcanic soil is fertile and suitable for most kind of farming, together with great sub-surface drainage, provided the most ideal condition for the growing of coffee.

HUMAN FACTORS Labour is one of the most crucial factors of any kinds of agricultural activities. Coffee farms in

Bali as described by the locals, are mainly family business. Therefore labour has never been an issue to the growing of coffee beans.

Living standard in Bali is relative lower than other economically mature regions, therefore the economic condition has provided less expensive labours available for agricultural activities, favouring the coffee farms. As explained by the locals, any kinds of industrial activities are forbidden in Bali, keeping the pollution to the least, benefitting the tourists as well as the local agricultural industry, hence the Balinese coffee is pollution free. With the impacts brought by Globalization, trading between countries have definitely facilitated and increased. The trading of coffee, as one of the most important trade globally, has definitely ensure the livings of the coffee framers in Bali as the world provides a stable and fair international environment for coffee trading.

The promotion and importance of Free Trade has also provided more incentives to the coffee farmers, favouring the growing of coffee beans.

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CHARACTERISTICS of COFFEE PLANTATION in BALI a.

Small & intensive As the process of coffee plantation is complex and labour intensive, therefore the scale of the coffee farm are usually in small scale, in order to keep the process centralized and to ensure the quality. The case in Bali is also the same, as observed, the farm is of a smaller scale relatively, once the coffee cherries are ready, they will be collected to a sheltered storage to carry out the next procedure, which is centralized, easier to supervise, ensuring the quality.

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Coffee Plantation

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Mixed As observed, the farm also grows livestock (i.e. cows) to help out the farming process, which according to the guide, they will not be sold or slaughtered, only the dairy products will be taken. The farm also includes plants other than coffee cherries, such as mandarin orange, pineapples. c.

Own-built tool (Low cost) As observed and explained by the owner of the farm, the tools used for the processing of coffee cherries are all made by himself, from car engines to metal parts, they were collected, designed and engineered by himself. This clearly shown the innovation of the farmer himself which also keeps the low cost to the business. d.

Family-run As explained by the tour guide, the coffee farms in Bali are mostly ran by family, keeping the operation cost to the least and never run out of labour force. e.

Wet Processing Coffee farms in Bali adopt a rather special and traditional processing methods compared to the other islands of Indonesia as well as to the rest of the world. According to my web research and the observation during my time at the farm, the fruit covering the coffee beans is removed while it is still wet, hence explained the name “wet” processing. The final product is usually shinier and of a higher tone, contains great fruit and unique taste compared to other region, according to a coffee expert from a web source.

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MY THOUGHTS… During my visit to the farm, I have got the chance to witness what a coffee farm look like, what it takes to enjoy the cup of coffee I am holding at this moment, how it turns from coffee cherries to a cup of pleasant smelling, delicious drink. It is a really complex process. What I have seen and learnt will definitely benefit my study in Geography and it also given me a memorable moment for me to remember back in time I spent in Bali, as the chance of seeing a coffee farm is rare, it is a really special experience for me, I enjoyed the moment there, even though I don’t have much interests and love in coffee.

Fascinating sunset in Bali

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Terraced rice fields in Bali

In year 2012, five large rice terraces and the Tanat Lot, Beraban in Bali have been included into the World Heritage. Tegallalang rice terraces, the terrace that we visited in this trip, is one of the five large rice terraces. The terraces is located at Ubud and is famous for its beautiful scenes of rice paddies.

Information of rice terrace in Bali The farming method there is arable, intensive and subsistence. As the native people there are hard to find a flat land in order to farm, they need to cut the slope and replace it with rice terrace.

In this way, they can earn a living. However, it is difficult to irrigate the farm because the rive is at the bottom of the valley. In this case, the farmer there involve the subak (traditional Balinese cooperative irrigation system). The system consists of five terraced rice fields and water temples covering nearly 20k ha. Besides providing water for the plant's roots, the water is used to construct a complex, pulsed artificial ecosystem.

Advantages brought by Tegallalang rice terrace As the well-known Tegallalang rice terrace has become a spot for tourist to visit, it has brought many opportunities for the native people there. People there started to develop the tourism industry. The rice terraces offer a perfect photo opportunity with its amusing views and attract many painters and nature lovers to visit the spot. Beside doing paddy rice cultivation, more and more shops, cafes and some numerous art kiosks have set up. Therefore, people can earn a living by doing cultivation and tourism work. Moreover, some little kids started to sell post cards in the rice terraces in order to earn money just like those kids who sold post cards to us.

Tegallalang Terraced Rice fields Cyrus Hui Chun Hin 5E

Paddy rice is a common tropical food crop.

Comparison with coffee plantation In the trip, we also visited a coffee farm. Compared with coffee plantation, coffee plantation is arable, intensive and commercial. The coffee plantation is much larger smaller than rice fields. Tegallalang rice terraces is located at a spur. People cut the slope and do paddy rice cultivation there by making use of the river water for irrigation. The crops will become the food for those people live there.

However, coffee plantation is carried out on higher grounds with lower temperature and coffee beans will be sent to market. The farmer will use simple machines to process the coffee bean. After the processing, the coffee bean and powder will be packed and sold to market. However, rice terrace uses even less machinery and the labour needed is higher than coffee plantation.

Rice terracing in Indonesia is a cultural heritage.

Disadvantages brought by Tegallalang rice terraces Since the Tegallalang rice terraces have become a famous spot in Ubud, it brings advantages but also disadvantages for native people.

More and more people go and visit there and those native children will sell postcards to them. Most of the people will buy them, soon the children know that it is a good way to earn money. They would rather go to

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sell postcards than go to school. In this case, the illiteracy rate will keep increasing in Ubud. Also, the children cannot earn money by selling the postcards when they grew up.

Moreover, more and more visitor go there may harm the rice terraces.

Many people step on the field may harm it and people may touch the plant there and disturb them. Some crops may also be destroyed by tourist. This may affect to terraces quality.

Reflections

Feel the sentiment of Bali people.

Show respect on Bali culture.

Take nothing but photographs.

Leave nothing but footprints.

li a B e v Lo

A precious learning opportunity The field trip to Bali is an unforgettable experience to me. It is not quite the same as expected but it is certainly a precious learning chance. For common practice, tourists will usually visit famous tourist spots during their stay. For us, however, besides famous spots, we have paid some untraditional visits. The schedule is well planned which teachers' and tour guides' honest effort cannot be neglected.

I would say but for this trip, I would have never attempted the volcano climbing. Also, I would not have fed the sharks and had my own baby sea turtle. Although the trip is filled with challenges and the schedule is tightly packed, the reward gained afterwards is definitely more valuable than the state of exhaustion. The superb views on top of the mount batur cannot be described by words. For the massive scale of caldera and crater lake, I realized that happiness is so easy to be obtained. Only by field study can you better understand in geography and apply your daily knowledge into it.

Bali is a place with nice and friendly people. In accordance with my observation, they always

wear a smile on their faces. It is believed that smile shortens the distance between people. In addition, it is a place blessed with plenty of geographical resources. Compared to Hong Kong, it is a slow-paced paradise. However, this paradise is gradually being destroyed. With more and more tourists visiting, the natural beauty and wild animals are adversely affected.

The sky becomes dimmer, the sea is full of plastic bags and rubbish and the plants are stepped by the pedestrians. The nature is the victim to human's entertainment. It is heartbreaking that sea turtles died due to accidentally consuming plastic bags. The population of sea turtles has sharply decreased in recent years and so for the sharks. It seems that no matter how much the green groups have done, humans keep on destroying. It is quite hopeless and helpless. Therefore, after this trip, I have rethought the interdependence between the nature and us. Moreover, my horizons are broadened after the 6-day trip. I hope that more people can support eco-tourism and sustainable tourism. Thank you Bali!

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Coming to Bali, Indonesia, a land with bright sunshine, my worries suddenly vanished by locals and their relaxing lifestyle. As a busy boy in our fast paced metropolis, seeing locals smiling to us and working at leisure made me stop and think about the reason for worrying so many things every day. I believe everyone have the same perception on Indonesia with me: Indonesia is a less developed country and thus the people in there live much harder than us. Yet, there is no such person in Bali. The Indonesians we met are all friendly people and live happily

despite of their poor lives. Their culture is obviously different from ours that we should appreciate and learn from such as seeing everything fine and living without nervousness. Why don’t slow down our paces to enjoy our lives?

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The thing that impresses me in Bali is not only unlike culture but also the stunning scenery, for instance, mountain views of Mt. Batur and the starry night sky at the campsite. On the third day of our trip, we set off before dawn on the journey to the top of Mt. Batur. The scale of caldera and crater lake is much larger than my expectation.

Before the trip, the size of caldera and crater lake shown in the textbook made me a little bit confused and not clear about its formation. Yet, in this trip I can see the scales of a real caldera and crater lake. It shows the importance of field trip: we should see the real features rather than only drilling the textbook in studying geography.

On the last night in Bali, the starry night is really remarkable as we cannot see it easily in Hong Kong. We can see many stars glittering in gloomy sky. Actually, unlike Hong Kong, the buildings in Bali are not taller than 5 floors. Therefore, there is less light pollution in Bali. We can have greater chance to see stars in there. Even now as you are reading this, I still want to see that scenery again. In Hong Kong, it is difficult to see such views already and why don’t we retain them by reducing light pollution?

It is my honour to have the second chance to join geography overseas field trip. Two trips in a row are vital enough that I can learn many things and have unforgettable experiences. Lastly, I want to thank all teachers and tour guides for teaching and caring for us in the trip.

Terry Tsang Ka Hei 5C

This field trip to Bali was a great opportunity for me to apply what I have learnt, such as seeing a caldera and having a close contact with sea creatures.

What Bali impressed me the most is her clear sky with few floating clouds, contrasting Hong Kong's grey, miserable sky. The tallest building in Bali is only fifteen meters tall, giving us a wide view to admire the beauty of a pollution-free sky.

One thing I never thought of was we would have had such a tight schedule that we need to wake up at three in the morning for a volcano, yet when I reached the summit and saw the scorching sun, I understand the essence of getting up before dawn. The process of climbing the mountain is a oncein-a-lifetime experience, stepping on the unpaved road and tripping over again and again, but still managed to keep on, I bet everybody was proud of themselves.

During the trip, we had a close look of the local culture, and noticed that they have a slow-paced life, a much less stressful life than we have here in Hong Kong. The locals always wear a big smile, but Hong Kongers who work around the clock barely concern others.

In a nutshell, this is a joyous trip to learn, as well as to wind down.

MARGARITA SHU 4B

Fortunate enough to join geography field trip for two years straight, it is certain that I have learnt lots of things. For instance, the so called “tropical rainforest” in Bali is just consisted of under ten tree species! How diversified! Just kidding, below are some serious words…

Last year in the Silk road trip, there are obstacles like deserts, snow surfaces and maybe some gentler slopes, where I strived to walk through at last. This year, volcanoes. Sure was it unforgettable, the view up on the summit of Mount Batur (1717m) was absolutely stunning. However, to gain such a view, much effort was put to trek up the mountain. As you may reckon, slopes around volcanoes are concave most of the time due to the way that lava piles up around the vent after eruptions. It was all calm and just a breeze to hike on at first. As for myself, this is even easier than going back to school on foot from Fortress Hill station! What came next was hectic… Volcanic ashes everywhere! On a slope that is even steeper than the gradient 1:1, each step was a hard trial, again, just like last year. For every little single step, you slide down due to the lack of friction. Yes, I do admit that it is seriously challenging, but eventually I did it! The sense of achievement was just so great that I have forgotten anything! My exam results, duties and even the fact that I was desperate for the restroom!

Apart from the staggering view and me being over the moon, sure do I learnt something. All things are difficult before they are easy. It is actually really exhausting to trek up the steep mount Batur.

However, if I don’t give in, I would have never tried hard and boost myself all the way up to the summit! Well, shall I give you some daily live examples, math’s homework! We all know how frustrating they are sometimes. If we never put our heads into it, we would never be able to solve all the related problems and hand it in to our teacher! What I am saying is, do not hesitate on things like the others do, and this would be your key to success. Trust me—try hard! This works on everything.

For real, I am truthfully thankful to have such an opportunity to join two such epic geography field trips! What I have learnt is golden and would stay in my heart for the rest of my life…....

Ryan Ko Tin Long 5B

This is the second time that I attended the school's study tour. For me, the tour was valuable and I believed that different students, both from science and art class can learn something that may not be on our textbooks but advisable for us.

There are two things that I have learnt from the tour: First was the attitude of the locals towards the nature. During the tour, we could see that the locals really respected the environment and the places that they were living in. They believed that the nature gave them the resources that they needed and it was a must to thank the mother nature and respect her. This was something I never experienced in Hong Kong and it was quite a shame that Hong Kong, having over 30% of land as country park with high valued plants and animals, still people here have a low conspicuous to protect and environment but to gain benefits from it.

Furthermore, I really appreciated how they treated others and their attitudes towards life. They were so enthusiastic and kind-hearted that we spoke different languages, they still tried themselves to introduce their county and guided us to explore it.

Also the pace of life there was much slower than that in Hong Kong, and I really yearned for that.

Toto Fu 5D 20

On a muddy path

I think the most impressive part is the Ubud Palace. My group had the most memorable experience as its owner let us have a ‘history role play’, i.e. a parade. He summoned the actors to accompany us in the parade and we all took part in it. I was chosen to be the one to hold the flag. Although it was hard to maintain the balance of the flag and keep it from hitting the surroundings because the flag pole was very tall, I enjoyed it much.

Talking about learning in this trip, I think it is an inter-subject study tour. I had learnt much knowledge about Geography and the other two subjects including Biology and Tourism. Each programme of the itinerary is very educative such as the study of the sea cliff allowed us to apply knowledge of Geography and Tourism; the rainforest required us to apply what we had learnt from Biology and Geography. Besides study, I also played happily with friends and new friends in this trip.

At last, I want to thank our teachers, tour guide Addie and the leader Zoe. They had contributed a lot in this trip for us to play and learn in the same time. It is the most awesome trip I have ever joined.

David Mo 5C

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I am grateful that I can join this field trip as I really want to go to Bali with my friend in my secondary school life. In this field trip, I have learnt many things that are unexpected and create a lot of precious memory for me.

The most unforgettable part in this field trip was hiking Mount Batur on day 3. Since I have never hiked in Hong Kong before, this is my first experience and it is really very challenging for me. As the road become steeper and steeper step by step, I tried to give up many time.

Luckily, the tour guides and schoolmate gave me a helping hand to step over all the difficulties that I finally reach the mountain top. I can’t believe that I can do this!

Also, I really learn a lot from the local people in this field trip. In Hong Kong, people are too into materialism. We try shopping, buying luxuries in order to satisfy ourselves. However, in Bali, the local people try to have very simple life with slow pace. They like playing a guitar or singing songs with friends. Although they are not rich, they feel satisfied of their simple life. In comparison to us, we should learn from them and try to slow down our pace and enjoy our life.

Besides that, the local people love their country and environment very much. Although Indonesia is a developing country, they will not scarify the environment for development. They try to conserve the rainforest and mangrove and protect the endangered species. Compare to Hong Kong, we always see floating rubbish on the sea, and keen on developing by destroying Country Park or reclamation. We only focus on economic development but not environmental conservation. Therefore, we should learn from the local people and self-examine ourselves on our plans against the nature before having any development.

Keicy Chan 5

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July 5-10 2016

issue 1

Thank you Mrs. Lo

CCSC Production 2016

Bali, Indonesia