Archive for September, 2007
| Written by EditorsChoice |
| Thursday, 27 September 2007 |
| The quintessential Bali villas were originally created by the colonial Dutch to take advantage of Bali’s tropical conditions, and were designed to exploit the wind, the sunshine and climate by creating high-ceilinged, open-plan living spaces using local materials to create comfort in what was essentially an alien environment to them. Since that time the Bali villa has evolved with the times incorporating western trends design philosophies, resulting in Bali having become a haven for world-class architecture, comfort and luxury.
There are many diverse locations in Bali so when thinking of where to build or buy a villa you must ask yourself the question: What do I want around me? If you want to live in the thick of all the best restaurants, beaches and endless nightlife then Seminyak is the place. For peace and serenity, Canggu offers a much quieter experience of stunning rice field views, while Ubud to the north is an equally peaceful haven for the arts. Jimbaran and Sanur are well developed and family-friendly locales while the Bukit to the south offers stunning and dramatic cliff top views of the Indian Ocean, and is hotting up to be the place of choice for the most discerning of Bali’s villa owners.
There are many things to look out for however in the search for the perfect villa. The government is cracking down and enforcing a great many rules and regulations designed to control the Bali villa industry so, as with investing in any new home, one must make sure that everything is “squeaky clean” with regards to title, covenants, surveying and above all due diligence. It is therefore vitally important to have expert advice to see you through the entire process. Exotiq have all the right people to guarantee that the process goes smoothly with an absolute minimum of fuss, from choosing your piece of land, right through the building process to finally putting the key in your front door and walking inside your new home.
The benefits of having a villa in Bali are endless: the weather, the culture, the beaches, premier golfing facilities, world-class resorts, an endless array of gourmet eateries, and above all, the opportunity for a watertight investment. The market for Bali villas is reaching fever pitch, prices are at an all time high and returns on investment are better than ever. Whether for investment or retirement there has never been a better time to buy into your own piece of paradise. This is one purchase that will change your life.
Source: http://pr-gb.com/ |
September 28th, 2007
Andi Haswidi, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua
More than 400 delegates from the travel trade in the Asia Pacific region are gathering in Nusa Dua, Bali, today for the kick off of the biggest annual promotion and networking event held by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
The three-day event, titled the PATA Travel Mart 2007, will be attended by some 1,500 travel trade representatives from 50 member countries.
Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik, who is co-hosting the event, said that the PATA Travel Mart 2007 was expected to generate business worth about US$500 million, with Indonesia hoping to benefit to the tune of about $60 million.
“By hosting this prestigious travel event, the Indonesian tourism industry has a chance to play a key role directly in the Asia Pacific market and remind the travel trade that Indonesia is still one of the world’s best destinations,” Minister Jero Wacik said in his welcoming remarks to the delegates Tuesday.
He said the Indonesia tourism sector had bounced back and was now expanding again after several lean years due to natural disasters, security problems and the bird-flu scare.
In the first semester of this year, some 750,000 foreign tourists visited Bali, with June alone seeing 150,000 visitors, an increase of 32.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
Wacik said that the presence of global players and the international press in Bali for the expo would help promote a positive image of the country and the “Island of the Gods” in particular.
As the official carrier for the event, Garuda Indonesia is also eager to promote its brand during the event.
“This is clearly an exciting event for us. The presence of the international media gives us a good chance to showcase our tourism potential. Right now, Garuda is trying to establish new routes abroad,” a Garuda spokesperson told The Jakarta Post.
Aside from networking and the sealing of deals, the Travel Mart also serves as an educational forum where experts will discuss the latest developments in the MICE sector. This is the latest buzzword in the tourism business and stands for “meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.”
The delegates can also attend workshops organized by PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Center on various current topics, such as the tourism industry in China and U.S. outbound markets.
The PATA Foundation will also hold an auction, with part of the proceeds to be contributed towards the growth and development of travel and tourism in the region through protection of the environment, conservation of heritage and support for education.
The organizers are hoping that the travel industry leaders will also agree on and sign a cross-sectoral industry response to climate change, one of the greatest global threats to travel and tourism, during the event.
PATA President and CEO Peter de Jong said that the ambitious goal of the event was to create a single platform and action plan, fully engaging tourism ministers and heads of tourist boards, CEOs of airlines and airports, CEOs of leading international hotel groups, major tour operators and other key industry stakeholders.
At the final day of the event on Friday, PATA will present its Gold Awards to honor this year’s high achievers in the business.
Source: The Jakarta Post
September 28th, 2007
By Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
TWO bombings, drug arrests and debate about air safety in Indonesia have failed to deter Australian tourists.
It seems Bali is back.
According to Garuda Indonesia, flight schedules between Sydney and Bali that added 3000 seats to the route have been a resounding success and its new Sydney flight is recording average loading of 90 per cent.
The airline’s high load factors reflect a rise of more than 50 per cent to 85,860 in the number of Australians visiting Bali in the first half of the year. The record, 267,500, was set in 2004.
Bali is Australia’s fourth most popular holiday destination behind New Zealand, Thailand and the US.
Western Australia and Victoria are performing well for Garuda, which flies from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Darwin, but Western Australia remains Bali’s biggest holiday market.
“Our Perth services, expanded this year to include direct Jakarta flights, are encountering extremely high demand, and agents and consumers alike have learned that early booking is essential,” Garuda Southwest Pacific general manager Suranto Yitnopawiro said. “This is quite different to the past trend towards last-minute booking.”
Bali is proving to be Jetstar’s second strongest international service, after New Zealand, and the long-haul low-cost carrier will add two more Sydney-Denpasar flights next month.
“Bali is performing extremely well and we’re ahead of expectations,” Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said. “We’re pleased with the existing and overall forward outlook.
“That’s why we’ve put on an additional two weekly return services out of Sydney.
“From the end of October we’ll be operating four times weekly services out of Sydney while maintaining twice-weekly Melbourne services.”
Mr Westaway said the airline wanted to fly daily services to Bali but it was limited in what it could do until its Boeing 787s arrived next year.
This year’s optimistic outlook contrasts sharply with the outlook this time last year.
Last October, Bali’s tourism officials were accusing Australian authorities of discriminating against the island by an “ongoing frenzy” of travel warnings and Garuda was considering halting direct flights to Bali from Australia’s east coast.
The growth in Bali’s popularity is helping to improve Garuda’s bottom line.
Last month, the Indonesian airline lifted its profit expectations after a 141 per cent growth in first-half earnings.
Garuda reported a 148 billion rupiah ($18.7 billion) profit in the half-year to June.
Source: http://www.news.com.au
September 27th, 2007
In part two of his travel notes, Alex Mustard recounts his experiences in Pemuteran in the northwest of Bali.
After a few days in Ubud, I have to admit I was well rested and itching to get wet. Our first diving destination was Pemuteran, which, although not the best known diving area on the island, is ideally placed to sample the many flavours of diverse Balinese diving.
Pemuteran Bay has both interesting shore diving around the electrically grown artificial reefs (more about those in a bit) and some good quality sites on offshore reefs, with great scenery and plenty of critters. The star attraction of the area is Menjangan Island, with its the rich coral reefs and craggy fan-covered walls. This is a place which, on a good day, can match any reef in the world for sheer beauty. Visibility can be a bit up and down, so it’s worth staying for several days. Then in total contrast are two fabulous muck diving sites. Pemuteran is exactly equidistant between the famous critter dives of PJ and Secret Bay, both less than 40 minutes drive away.
We were diving at the Bali Diving Academy Pemuteran, which is owned by the professional and widely respected Bali Hai dive operation, who have been running dive trips on Bali for more than 15 years. The centre is run by old friends of mine, Renaud and Mireille Wicky, who add their personal touch by making sure that each guest, whether they’re a novice going on a tryout dive or a crazy underwater photographer desperate to see a rare or exotic critter, gets exactly what they want.
That second example is me, by the way! We stayed in the attractive and spacious Taman Sari Amertha Villas, which has a handful of rooms set in peaceful grounds right on Pemuteran Beach.
As I mentioned earlier, Pemuteran Bay is the site of a very special artificial reef project, where artificial coral reefs are being grown on low-voltage electrified metal frames. The reefs start in just a few metres of water, about 50m from shore, and can easily be visited by divers or snorkellers.
The frames come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and the amount of coral growing on them is truly remarkable given that they are just a few years old. Scientists report that corals typically grow three to five times faster than normal with the help of electricity, which increases the corals’ calcification (skeleton-building) rates. There are now 40 artificial reef structures in Pemuteran Bay, making it the largest such project in the world.
Pemuteran diving was excellent and all the regulars were about: frogfish at Secret Bay, mimic octopus at PJ and pygmy seahorses on both dives at Menjangan (when I was shooting wide-angle)! We also had time for a snack and a beer with talented underwater photographers and Bali aficionados, Mike Veitch and Simon Buxton, who will be back on the island in October to run one of their popular digital photography workshops at Scuba Seraya Resort, which coincidentally was our next stop.
Source: http://www.finsonline.com
September 26th, 2007
Bali, a beautiful island paradise in the Indonesian archipelago made international news when the island was rocked by suicide bombings in 2002 and 2005. However, the island is better known as an excellent vacation holiday destination and a major tourist attraction.
Tourists who have visited this South East Asian island will tell you that Bali exudes a certain magical charm and that is why, some people call Bali, the Island of Gods. After all, gods live in paradise don’t they?
You will be pleasantly impressed by the many stunningly beautiful tourist attractions and the charming local people. If you are a scuba diver, you will be pleased to know that Bali is one of the top scuba diving destinations in the world.
Bali presents itself as a modern paradox because its ancient and traditional culture is still very much alive amidst modern living. While the basic conservatism of the Balinese people has enabled them to preserve many of their ancient customs, culture and religion, it has never hindered the acceptance of the new and innovative modern technological advancement.
The island is indeed a feast for the eye for tourists on holiday vacation in Indonesia. As the island is situated near the equator, it has almost equal amount of time for rain and sunshine making its environment very suitable for human inhabitation and as a result, Bali has been inhabited and civilized since ancient times.
Bali is also the only island in “middle Indonesia” that has more or less uninterrupted cultural continuity for hundreds of years. It is of this reason, Bali is the only part of Indonesia that remains “Hindu” and is still retaining elements of fusion of ethnic and Hindu cultures of more than a thousand years of cultural tradition.
When the island was colonized by the Dutch at the beginning of last century, the Dutch colonial masters were so impressed by the traditions of the Balinese that a concerted effort was made to preserve the island’s mystical culture.
The Balinese society is a strong and cohesive one because the local people promote communal and family values. Feelings of alienation from parents and friends which are common in the western world are almost unheard of in Bali.
Children are carried everywhere or strapped to their mother’s back until they are at least three months old. Religious rituals are performed regularly to keep the children safe, healthy and to protect them from harmful spirits. Every aspect of village life is organized in such detail that the individual’s responsibilities and rights are meticulously defined by the Balinese tradition.
The Balinese are emotionally strong people and take the unfortunate incidents in their stride. The people are eternal optimists and believe that their Island of Gods enjoys a special place in the grander scheme of things. This is another reason why the local population can bounce back from the tragic terrorist attacks so quickly. Want to visit paradise? Then include Bali as your next holiday vacation destination for its many tourists attractions.
Written by EditorsChoice
Source:Â http://pr-gb.com
September 25th, 2007
An initiative to support new creative writing from Asia and the Pacific brings together academics and literati from Australia, Asia, the Pacific islands and beyond. It will launch the Asia Pacific New Writing Partnership at the 2007 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali this September.
The Partnership supports diversity of cultural expression, and literature that crosses borders. It champions the notion that literature enhances understanding between cultures and seeks to create stronger international interest in new writing from the region.
While the Partnership has had a small presence at literary events in Asia and Australia for the past 18 months, its launch marks the start of a more focused collaborative effort.
Also attending the launch are writers, academics, publishers and literary festival organizers from China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and East Timor, as well as representatives from the New South Wales, Northern Territory and Byron Bay writers’ centers.
According to the Partnership’s Australian initiator, Jane Camens, desired outcomes of the inaugural Board meeting include collaborative research projects on writing and identity in the region, mentorship and writing programs, and development of writer centers in the region.
Camens is a former journalist and cofounded Hong Kong’s international literary festival with Chinese-Malaysian writer Shirley Geok-Lin and Sri Lankan writer Nury Vittachi. – JP
The launch of the Asia Pacific New Writing Partnership is at 4 p.m., Thursday Sept. 27, at Indus Restaurant, Ubud. It is a free event for all at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.
Source: The Jakarta Post
September 24th, 2007
Bel Mooney visits the luxury and affordable hotels that are tragically empty because of a drop off in tourism
Bel Mooney
Here’s the astonishing thing: in Bali even the scruffiest motorbike can be made sacred by hanging religious objects from the handlebars; a car dashboard can become a shrine; and an open drawer in a clothes shop turned into an altar, complete with an offering of food and flowers on a palm-leaf plate.
I have been nowhere else where Hindu shrines in the smartest internationally owned hotels are tended by staff, lighting incense and mouthing ritual prayers. I was prepared to be sceptical about claims that Bali is a special spiritual place. But I left this greenest of islands a convert – and like all born-again zealots, I need to spread the word.
Bali needs its tourists. Wherever we went, in the south and the east of the island, we were painfully aware of how desperate the people are – wanting to drive you, guide you, paint your nails, sell you sarongs, give you massages. Again and again you hear that there are not enough visitors – not since the Balinese faith in a benign, balanced universe was shattered by the 2002 terrorist outrage.
In a boutique in Kuta earlier this year I met Mary Lambe, a 60-year-old Irish woman who visits her beloved Bali twice a year and sells Balinese jewellery on Portobello Road. I thought Kuta was crowded and noisy, but she told me that it was nothing compared with life before October 2002. Lambe was in town when terrorists exploded bombs at Paddy’s Bar and the Sari Club – she heard the blasts, shared the shock and outrage, and is now a returning witness to how the island has changed. “Tourist numbers are down. Lots of people have gone bankrupt. It makes me sad,” she said.
Along the narrow alley, the site of the outrage is marked by an impressive memorial. Tourists stand in silence reading the names, divided into groups according to nationality – the largest number being Australians. “So many Balinese, too,” said the middle-aged woman on the beach selling shell jewellery. I bought some items. You have to. These beach traders pay to be licensed, and some days they make nothing at all.
In a rarefied world of grand hotels it is easy to forget the real Bali, pampered as you are by the best service. We had begun our visit at the new Orient-Express hotel, the Ubud Hanging Gardens, built up one side of a ravine in a wooded area north of Ubud. Considered the artistic centre of the island, Ubud is too spread out to be walker friendly, but local drivers charge little and need the trade.
The Ubud Hanging Gardens is a perfect example of hotel-as-destination, since it’s hard to leave your pavilion and its private plunge pool. You travel up and down the steep site on a little funicular, and the two-level pool is spectacular. We went for a guided morning trek through the village next to the hotel, to the forest and rice fields, where gangs of people worked with covered heads in heat that was already exhausting by 9.30am. Our fellow trekkers were French, Russian and Japanese.
After three days in Ubud, we headed south again to stay at the island’s other Orient-Express hotel, Jimbaran Puri Bali. This is so near the airport it would be ideal for the first couple of nights, the continuous boom of the surf lulling you to sleep. Here the hotel was not a destination in itself; the beach – to dine on, play on, stroll on – is all. We strolled past rows of seafood restaurants to watch the locals pushing out their spidery fishing boats, and generally cavorting on the sand: rich, joyful teeming activity.
A 30-minute taxi ride away is Ulu-watu, the clifftop temple where wild monkeys mug tourists for anything edible they might be carrying, and each evening dancers stage the classic kecakfire dance as the light fades. The huge “choir” of men chants “cak-cak-cak” while the beautiful dancers enact the barely comprehensible story of Rama, Sita and Laksamana, before the thrilling, fiery finale. All you need to know is that it’s the old story of good versus evil, like the black and white of the men’s costumes.
After six days of luxury in hotels we wanted a change. So a driver took us two hours eastwards, to sweet little Candidasa, a small strip of hotels and restaurants along a rocky shore.
We checked into Ida’s Homestay – one of those small places you find all over Bali, with an open-air bathroom, stunning carved wood pavilion and peaceful atmosphere. But the man who looked after the rooms was sad because we were staying only for one night and were the only guests. “No tourists,” he said mournfully.
Next night we moved to the slightly more upmarket Ida’s Beach Village, where one of the staff told me that since 2002 he had worked only one week a month – and he had a family to feed. With such hardship in mind, we hired a driver for a day’s tour of the area, taking in Tenganan, the picturesque village of the Bali Aga, who make traditional double ikat cloth, and (oh, joy) accidentally coming across a temple ceremony in pouring rain. We were invited in like honoured guests.
After three nights in Candidasa (and if you go to Bali, you must travel beyond the south) we went to Kuta for our last two nights – taking pot luck with accommodation once more. And again we were lucky, for Poppies, one of Kuta’s oldest, prettiest hotels, had one room: a lovely “cottage” in the exquisite garden. From there we walked straight out into the land of T-shirts, surfboards and bars, slightly depressed because everybody was selling the same thing.
The famous sunset on Kuta beach didn’t happen for us; the surfers were silhouetted against a melancholy grey sky. But I don’t want to give the impression that Bali left me sad. I pray for it to recover, although with the continued threat of terrorism allied to environmental pressure, it is hard to see that the boom can ever return. Yet the lovely people I met live in one of the most beautiful places on earth – so how can tourists bear to stay away?
Source: http://travel.timesonline.co.uk
September 24th, 2007
As many readers would remember, e-Travel Blackboard has in recent months ran quite a few campaigns to try and raise money for the Bali Zoo in the village of Singapadu (near Ubud).
Due to much industry support, private donations, and the help of a few sponsors Bali Zoo has just announced the completion of a new Sumatran Tiger habitat.Â
In response, Tony Greenwood, spokesperson for Bali Zoo, and owner of WA Peel Zoo would like to thank the industry and sponsors for their generous donations.
“You guys have been such a help. If it was not for your kindness the zoo would have closed,” commented Mr Greenwood.
Bali Zoo would appreciate any further support, and for more information visit http://www.bali-zoo.com/getinvolved.html.
Source: http://www.etravelblackboard.com
September 21st, 2007
By Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
September 20, 2007 11:30pm
TWO bombings, drug arrests and debate about air safety in Indonesia have failed to deter Australian tourists.
It seems Bali is back.
According to Garuda Indonesia, flight schedules between Sydney and Bali that added 3000 seats to the route have been a resounding success and its new Sydney flight is recording average loading of 90 per cent.
The airline’s high load factors reflect a rise of more than 50 per cent to 85,860 in the number of Australians visiting Bali in the first half of the year. The record, 267,500, was set in 2004.
Bali is Australia’s fourth most popular holiday destination behind New Zealand, Thailand and the US.
Western Australia and Victoria are performing well for Garuda, which flies from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Darwin, but Western Australia remains Bali’s biggest holiday market.
“Our Perth services, expanded this year to include direct Jakarta flights, are encountering extremely high demand, and agents and consumers alike have learned that early booking is essential,” Garuda Southwest Pacific general manager Suranto Yitnopawiro said. “This is quite different to the past trend towards last-minute booking.”
Bali is proving to be Jetstar’s second strongest international service, after New Zealand, and the long-haul low-cost carrier will add two more Sydney-Denpasar flights next month.
“Bali is performing extremely well and we’re ahead of expectations,” Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said. “We’re pleased with the existing and overall forward outlook.
“That’s why we’ve put on an additional two weekly return services out of Sydney.
“From the end of October we’ll be operating four times weekly services out of Sydney while maintaining twice-weekly Melbourne services.”
Mr Westaway said the airline wanted to fly daily services to Bali but it was limited in what it could do until its Boeing 787s arrived next year.
This year’s optimistic outlook contrasts sharply with the outlook this time last year.
Last October, Bali’s tourism officials were accusing Australian authorities of discriminating against the island by an “ongoing frenzy” of travel warnings and Garuda was considering halting direct flights to Bali from Australia’s east coast.
The growth in Bali’s popularity is helping to improve Garuda’s bottom line.
Last month, the Indonesian airline lifted its profit expectations after a 141 per cent growth in first-half earnings.
Garuda reported a 148 billion rupiah ($18.7 billion) profit in the half-year to June.
Source: http://www.news.com.au
September 21st, 2007
JAKARTA: The Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) of Denpasar has sent a group of artists to Cambodia to participate in an Indonesian Tourism and Trade Exhibition in Siem Reap from Sept. 20 to 23.
“The nine-member arts delegation will perform Indonesia’s traditional dances, including Balinese dances which are popular internationally,” ISI rector I Wayan Rai told Antara in Denpasar, Bali, on Tuesday.
The artists were invited to attend the event by the Indonesian Embassy in Cambodia.
Wayan Rai said during the visit ISI would also explore the possibility of establishing cooperation with Cambodia’s art institute.– JP
Source: The Jakarta Post
September 20th, 2007
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