Archive for October 18th, 2006
Type ‘Bali’ into Google, and you get an avalanche of monkeys, all trying to flog villas. Who comes up #1? I don’t know and don’t really care, but there are many sites on the web, that carry good info about Bali.
One of my guide books, ‘The Natural Guide‘ has an extensive list of Bali web sites that you may find useful.
Here’s the list:
•General sites, Portals and Accommodation
Bali Travel News
Bali Vision
Baliblog
(look no further!)
Budget Bali
Bali Aga
Bali Portal
99 Bali
Bali For You
Bali www
Bali Life
Bali Click
Bali Paradise
Gateway To Bali
Bali Hotels Resorts
Tourism Indonesia
Indo
Bali Info
Bali 2 Link
Bali StartKabel
•Alternative Travel & Sustainable Tourism
Foster Travel
Stranger In Paradise
Edvos Demon
Werple
Indonesia Photo
Istp Murdoch
Bali Autrement
Bali Authentisch
Bali Spirit
Green Tours
•Nature & Ecology
Indonesian Nature Conservancy
Pili
Fipa Web
Volcano information
Volcano - Smithsonian
Profauna
World Wildlife Fund
Orchid Indonesia
Bali bird species site
Coral Reef Odyssey
•Art, Culture, Reading, News
Bali Beyond
Inside Indonesia
Murnis
Latitudes Magazine
Bali Discovery
Jakarta Post
•Food & Entertainment
Bali Eats
Bali Cooking
Beat Mag
•Language
Indonesian links
Indonesian vocabulary
•Surfing
Surf Rider
Bali Waves
Indo Surf
•Non-Profit & Charities
Bali SOS
Bali Recovery Group
source : www.baliblog.com
October 18th, 2006
Life just gets stranger and stranger. In a country that can’t control the burning of jungle areas, government officials are ready to approve a new
floating nuclear power station. The ‘Electric Barge’, or what ever they end up calling it, will be anchored in Sulawesi.
Indonesia does not have a nuclear power plant yet, and the Ruskies are up for the job of building it. Bali gets its electrical power, via an undersea cable from Java. Traditional oil and coal powered generating stations supply most of the country with power.
Here in Seminyak, I have a friend who designed 10 nuclear power stations in Asia (ya see, we’re not all Bintang swilling losers!). He told me that a nuclear power station, will have to be built for Bali at some stage, and laughed at the suggestion that wind / wave / solar power, could do the job. At present, only traditional or nuclear power plants come close to generating the power needed for a modern city.
So where would Bali puts its floating nuclear power plant? First thoughts are Kuta Beach. Its close to the airport, high power demands and the staff wouldn’t have to travel far for food and drinks. Second thought, Uluwatu. Can you imagine the excitement of managing a nuclear reactor, when a swell hits! What about Lovina? Those dolphins wouldn’t be hard to chase anymore, they’d glow in the dark.
Its all food for thought, and will be interesting to see what happens, when the Sulawesi reactor breaks from its moorings.
source : www.baliblog.com
October 18th, 2006
Jailhouse romance ( I was going to use another title, but didn’t have the
cojones) is possible in Bali. The lovely
Schapelle Corby, was the object of affection for one jailbird, the ecstasy loving, Tjin ‘Eddy’ Yu.
Schapelle, no doubt bummed that remissions ain’t gonna happen, still managed to get it together enough, to dazzle the jailed surfing instructor. Said Eddy “”She’s beautiful. What normal red-blooded guy would not want her?” Fair enough, though I reckon after spending 6 months in Kerobokan, mixing with those tattooed, toothless Sumatrans, and their herd of Muslim relatives, Schapelle Corby’s mother would look attractive.
source : www.baliblog.com
October 18th, 2006
Losing your bank card, while on holiday in Bali really sucks. I’ve seen people in the internet cafe, frantically making calls home to Australia (’Mum, I’ve lost me bleedin’ card, have no ideeea what happened to it’). Same thing happened to me a month ago.
My bank is Washington Mutual, and like all those Aussie mates of yesteryear, I had no idea where my card ended up. The likelihood is I left it in the ATM machine I last used. Here’s what I did after that.
1. Go home. Search all likely places.
2. Once I had confirmed it was ‘lost’, I cancelled it online.
3. After cancelling it online, I immediately ordered a new one.
4. Wait for it to arrive.
My bank said it would take 5-7 working days to issue a new one. Then they had to mail it to my office, which then sent to me in Bali. Not a short process at all. During the time I had no card, I was unable to pay my pembantu, wife (plane ticket, spending money), motorbike, phone, internet connection and other things. Fortunately I had 2 things on my side. Firstly, Indonesians can be money grabbers, but if you can convince them you actually have no money, they leave you alone. I just told everyone who I owed money to, that I had none. Secondly, there are a few people in Bali, who like me enough to lend me money. I hit a couple of them up, and that got me through the drought.
My card arrived by mail from the US, a month later, a week after it was sent! I would never recommend sending anything important, to Indonesia by mail, but miraculously, it got through.
Everyone knows over here, that if you lose your cell phone, someone will grab it and change the SIM card. They also know that at ATM machines, if you lose your card, and it has a VISA or MC sign as mine did, the likelihood is someone will try to use it. Cancel the thing ASAP and call yo momma.
source : www.baliblog.com
October 18th, 2006
Lombok is Bali’s neighbor to the east. While tourism has run rampant in Bali, it has progressed at a crawl in Lombok. A trip to Lombok can be like going back 40 years in Bali.
Here’s a run down of the history of Lombok.
In the 14th Century, Lombok was settled by Hindu-Javanese under the auspices of the powerful Majapahit Empire. Islam was brought to Lombok between 1506 and 1545 by Sunan. In the 17th Century, the island was divided into a number of petty princedoms. In return for Balinese support, in their struggle against the raja of Sumbawa in the early 18th Century, the native Sasaks allowed the Balinese to settle in western Lombok. The Balinese king of Karangasem, took advantage of the disunity of the fueding princes, conquered Lombok in the mid 17th Century, enslaving the Islamic Sasaks in the western part of the island. At the same time, Islamic Makassaresse traders from Sumbawa, colonized Lombok’s eastern half, converting the Sasaks to Islam. Though the Massakaresse were expelled by a joint Balinese / Sasak force in 1677, the Sasaks soon found themselves oppressed by the newcomers from Bali. Over the next several hundred years, they became second classs citizens on their own island.
The Dutch colonists used the conflict between the 2 groups to their advantage. In the late 19th Century, the Sasaks sought assistance from the Dutch, who had occupied northern Bali in 1882. In 1894, the Dutch mounted an elaborate military expedition to Lombok and demanded a war indemnity of 1 million guilders, to be paid by the old raja. The raja accepted, but the princes rose up and attacked the main Dutch encampment in Cakrenegara. Afterr 3 days of fierce fighting, the Dutch retreated to the sea, leaving almost 300 wounded and 100 dead.
Large reinforcements of men and heavy artillery were brought from Java. After a bitter month-long campaign of destruction, with the Dutch razing Balinese villages and the Sasaks looting them, the Balinese stronghold at Cakranegara was finally taken. The crown prince, Anak Agung Ketut, a bitter enemey of the Dutch, was murdered; the old raja was captured and sent into exile. Soon after, Lombok formally became part of the Dutch East Indies. Strained feelings still exist between the Sasaks and the Balinese.
Interesting stuff and somewhat surprising to find Balinese communities still living in Lombok.
source : www.baliblog.com
October 18th, 2006
Sumbawa is the island to the east of Lombok. The Indonesian archipelago is a string of pearls that strech from Aceh to Papua, and are, for the most part, easy to travel across. From Bali to Lombok is 4-5 hours, on the ferry from Padangbai. From Lebuhan Lombok to Pototano harbor in W. Sumbawa is 3-4 hours.
The 2 groups of westerners who visit Sumbawa are surfers, eager to surf the breaks at Scar Reef and Lakey Peak, and backpack travelers, who enjoy island hopping. From Bali its easy to ride your rented motorbike onto the ferry and off the other side, island to island.
Sumbawa itself is 15,600 sq km, making it as large as Bali and Lombok together. The scenery is mainly rolling hills, eroded foothills, volcanic ridges. Wildlife is an interesting mix of Asian and Australasian, with soiny bush, cactus, and grasslands along with flora more similar to the western islands. The further east you travel, the drier it gets.
Sumbawa is split in 2, as far a population. In the west are the Sumbawans, a race of people descended from the Indianized ‘high-cultures’ of the islands to the west, Bali, Lombok, Sulawesi, etc. In the east of the island are the Biman’s, who are short, darker and who originate from a pagan culture, more in line with those found to the east, boardering the Pacific. Both groups are predominantly Muslim however and also speak Bahasa Indonesia.
Right now its Ramadan, and Muslim area in Indonesia will be in full celebration, with loudspeakers going on calling people to prayers. For some people being in Sumbawa during this time may not be so pleasant, but it would be an extremely interesting cultural experience.
One thing I find fascinating about Indonesia, is how the local people have dealt with the different cultural / religious influences. In Bali you have a pagan people, who adopted Hinduism. In Java, you have a Muslim people, who used to be Hindu, and still retain elements of their pagan past. Sumbawa throws up another dimension, a people in the east, the Biman’s, an earthy bunch, who were never Hindu, but are now Muslim, with close connections to pagan traditions, and ethnic connections pointing in another direction.
Would be nice to get out there sometime and learn more about Sumbawa.
source : www.baliblog.com
October 18th, 2006