Archive for October, 2007
Minister for Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik in his press conference said that the success of PATA Travel Mart 2007 progressively steadied the position of Indonesian tourism. The arrival of delegates from 51 countries assuredly could see in person the real situation of Bali and on returning home, they would recount their experiences and observations of Bali in their respective countries. “The most immediate discernible impact is the increase of hotel occupancy” said Jero Wacik while adding, “in the long term the event would become a momentum for sellers and buyers to make cooperation in tourism business so that its proceeds could be seen within three months from now.”
Additionally, he also greatly appealed to the foreign journalists to write the real situation about Bali. Through this event, they should be able to see the real situation of Bali in person. They should not only see its drawbacks which only amounts to 5%, but should also see its good side reaching 95%. “Just come to every nook and cranny and see the situation of Bali objectively,” he implored. (BTN/008)
Source: http://www.bali-travelnews.com/
October 26th, 2007
Anton Muhadjir, Contributor, Denpasar
In the middle of Denpasar, a recently opened restaurant is offering diners tasty food and a rural atmosphere.
Located in East Denpasar, facing the Ayung River, Desa Dusun serves homemade food that tastes delicious and is reasonably priced too.
“We want our guests to feel completely at home,” said the restaurant’s owner, Nungki Yahya.
She deliberately designed the restaurant to be a meeting place for family and friends. Diners can choose to sit in the dining room, on the terrace where there is a dramatic view of the river or in the gazebo.
“This is our home and our business place. But we didn’t want to alter the homey atmosphere just because we opened the restaurant,” added Nungki.
The house is beautifully designed and constructed on a slope by the river. There are few places like this in Denpasar, which is Bali’s most densely populated city.
Denpasar is not known as a city that offers top-notch restaurants like those of Ubud, Kuta, Seminyak, Nusa Dua, Jimbaran and Sanur.
“This is like eating in a restaurant in Ubud,” said Daniel, a visitor from North Sumatra.
The concept of Desa Dusun is to provide diners with a respite among the busy inner-city of Denpasar.
“The architecture and landscape design of the restaurant are sympathetic both to people and the natural surroundings,” Nungki said.
The menu includes everything from steak and roast chicken to nasi goreng (fried rice). But you cannot have lunch here during the working week as the restaurant only opens from 4.30 p.m.-10 p.m from Monday to Friday. It opens from 12 noon to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Source: The Jakarta Post
October 26th, 2007
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Ministers and senior officials from around 40 countries are to hold informal talks in Indonesia this week aimed at setting the stage for a global climate change summit on Bali later this year.
The three-day meeting beginning Tuesday in the hill town of Bogor outside Jakarta will bring together diplomats from key carbon-emitting nations to test the waters for more substantive talks in Bali, officials here said.
The 11-day Bali summit, which kicks off on December 3, is tasked with creating a roadmap for negotiations on a global deal on climate change to come into force after the first stage of the UN’s Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.
This week’s meeting is not aimed at reaching resolutions, but participants will discuss an Indonesian paper outlining a range of proposals for the next framework, said Agus Purnomo, an adviser to Indonesia’s environment minister.
These would span from zero emissions reductions through to dramatic and binding emissions caps, he said, adding however that the conference “is only a discussion among friends, we are not asking for consensus.”
“This is an informal session so people will run through the ideas and the issues so they will be prepared for Bali,” he said.
Hans Virolme, the director of environment lobby WWF’s global climate change campaign, said he was confident that the nations attending the meeting could be persuaded to commit in writing to pursuing significant emissions reductions.
WWF is calling for industrialised nations to reduce their 1990 levels by 30 percent by 2020.
“My expectation is by the end of next week there will be a draft… that outlines the framework for the Bali decision,” Virolme told AFP.
Present at the Bogor meet will be representatives from the United States and Australia, neither of which have ratified Kyoto.
They remain opposed to mandatory emissions reductions and argue that a framework for tackling climate change should include emissions cuts by rapidly industrialising nations such as China.
Verolme said he believed the two nations would fall into line with the 30 percent cut proposal next week.
“I think they will do the sensible thing and not stand in the way of negotiations, and if I read public opinion correctly (then) in two years those countries will join the global consensus” of pursuing binding cuts in carbon emissions by industrialised nations, he said.
Indonesia’s Purnomo said the paper being presented by Jakarta would also contain a proposal for a scheme to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation in developing countries, but he declined to give details.
Indonesia is home to some of the world’s largest remaining tracts of rainforest, but deforestation and fires mean it is the world’s third largest carbon emitter.
Jakarta has spearheaded the formation of a group of 11 countries home to a majority of the world’s rainforests, which will negotiate to achieve a joint position on forest preservation and how it fits with fighting climate change.
The Bogor meeting will be closed-door, with a press conference at the conclusion.
Source: http://my-indonesia.info/
October 25th, 2007
The Chaophya Park hotel recently exhibited at the international trade show PATAMART 2007 in Bali. In attendance were GM Andrew Wood (left) and EAM Khun Dheerawat Bhunlapiwat (right). Visiting the stand to offer their support were Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Phornsiri Manoharn (2nd Right) and Khun Porntip Makornpan (2nd left), Director TAT Singapore.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association hosts an annual travel mart. This year’s record turnout in Bali produced 423 buyers representing 343 organizations from 49 source markets with 830 seller delegates representing 376 travel organizations from 38 destinations.
The award winning Chaophya Park Hotel is a luxurious 402 bedroom hotel on Rachadapisek Road, just 10 minutes from Sukhumvit Road. Getting around town on business or to simply shop couldn’t be easier with the MRTA subway (linking to the skytrain) just a few minutes walk from the hotel’s entrance.
Offering 5 distinct styles of accommodation the hotel is the one everyone is talking about, offering a full range of services at affordable prices, 24 hours a day.
With both traditional and ’hi tech’ modern restaurants (5) and impressive wine cellar, it is the place Bangkokians gravitate towards for its famous name restaurants including the renowned Kao Tom Buffet and Mori Grill Restaurant.
The hotel boasts a full length golf driving range with 45 tee off positions; a massage centre; Bali Spa and fully fitted fitness centre and outdoor pool. The hotel was the first in Thailand to offer complimentary WiFi and internet access in guest rooms and all public areas. Parking for 900 cars.
Source: http://www.etbmice.com/
October 25th, 2007
On the 5th October 2007, ten of the Bali Dynasty Resort’s Management team led by Robert Kelsall, General Manager of the Bali Dynasty Resort, set off at 5.30am in the morning and headed North East to the small remote hamlets of Pengalusan and Cegi. This is the location of the schools that the Bali Dynasty has supported since 2000. This was the second time in the last 2 years that the management team have painted the schools, both inside and out.
The visit to the schools was arranged with the help of the founder and chairman of East Bali Poverty Project (EBPP), Mr. David J. Booth and his team.
The Dynasty Team were joined by the senior and even some of the younger students who were also eager to take a part in making their facilities fresh and bright.
The Dynasty Team arrived at the village at 09.00am and were enthusiastic to get started.
The pace of the work surprised everyone and by mid day, they were ready to paint the second school which was also completed in record time.
For the children who painted with them, it was fun, for Dynasty staff, it was a joy to see the children take so much pride in the task of upgrading the look of their schools. The final reward was the look on the children’s faces when they arrived and saw their newly painted classrooms.
The East Bali Poverty Project (EBPP) is a non-profit organisation established in 1998 by a British resident of Bali after an appeal for help by an isolated mountain community, forgotten by time and progress.
Participatory community surveys in mid -1998 showed that thousands of people lived in abject poverty without water, sanitation, roads, schools, health facilities and electricity. Illiteracy was up to 100%. Malnutrition and iodine deficiency disorders were endemic, iodine being the essential nutrient for healthy child births, brain and body development.
The East Bali Poverty Project mission is to empower illiterate and malnourished children through relevant education, improved nutrition and basic stay healthy principles; and to reduce poverty and promote culturally sensitive sustainable development in impoverished rural communities that have little or no choice to alleviate their own plight.
The Resort certainly uses innovative ideas to raise money for the charity effort. Apart from Bali Dynasty guest donations, the Resort holds Charity Quiz Nights every Tuesday and Thursday at 8.30pm at its Gracie Kelly’s Irish Pub. Money is further raised during weekly guest Bingo games and even the Resort’s Management and also has just been issued recently that every departuring guest supports the children by giving US$1. The Dynasty Management Team and Staff also donate through Staff Bazaars and a Management Quiz. With a 60% returnee factor from the Australian market it is the Bali Dynasty’s Australian guests who are the main contributors which is further enhanced by the Resorts major annual Charity fundraiser, the ‘Back to Bali Dynasty’ party, which is held in Perth Australia each year.
Prime Plaza Hotels & Resorts is an International standard hotel group consisting of the Plaza and Dynasty brands, who provide leisure, corporate and meeting facilities of the highest quality in a range of convenient locations in Indonesia. From enjoyable and relaxing resort accommodation to efficient business hotels, Prime Plaza Hotels & Resorts are the “The Signature of Indonesian Hospitality”
Source: http://www.etravelblackboardasia.com/
October 24th, 2007
Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA News) - Tens of environmental activists staged a peaceful rally here on Tuesday to protest against the Indonesian government`s plan to seek more money from developed nations to reforest its lost tropical woodland.
The demonstrators, most of them members of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) earlier marched from the road in front of Udayana University campus to Jl Dewi Sartika intersection where they staged a one-hour oration opposing the plan.
Some of the demonstrators carried posters which among others read “One hectare is equal to Rp50,000 plus sin. No way”.
Agung Wardana, the rally`s coordinator, said the activity was part of campaigns to make the people aware of the danger of global warming.
“Unless we take concrete steps to address the matter, there will be climate anomaly in all countries in the world,” he said.
The rally came as environment ministers of parties to the United Nations climate change conference are holding a meeting in Bogor, West Java, on Oct. 23-24.
The meeting was nothing more than developed nations` effort to force their will on developing countries in managing their forests, he said.
He said developed nations were also held responsible for the global warming as two of them, the US and Australia, were not prepared to ratify the Kyoto Protocol which serves as a joint commitment to put an end to the global warming.
Last month, Indonesia hosted on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Convention in New York a meeting with 10 other tropical rain forest countries.
They issued a joint statement calling for the mobilization of new and additional financial resources to implement non-restrictive policies and positive incentives for forest management and conservation.
New York`s meeting came nearly three months ahead of the UN climate conference in Bali in December which will seek to lay the groundwork for a new climate deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012. (*)
Source: ANTARA News
October 24th, 2007
Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will send off a group of 15 cyclists on a 20-day cross-nation trip from Jakarta to Bali on November 11, 2007.
Designed to underline Indonesia’s support for the coming United Nations Forum on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Bali December 3-14, 2007, the bicyclists will travel 1,433 kilometers covering an average 72 kilometers each day as the group visits 40 cities along the route.
In support of the cyclists the government will provide accommodation and other assistance along the entire route, including organizing tree plantings and activities to promote the popularity of cycling as an alternative to fossil-fueled vehicles as a means of transportation.
The Bike to Work (B2W) movement in Indonesia has 7,000 registered members, with 4,000 members in Jakarta alone.
The cross-country cyclists are expected to arrive in Bali on November 30 at which time they will hoist the U.N. flag to welcome the more than 10,000 participants expected to come to the island to participate in the UNFCCC.
Source: www.balidiscovery.com
October 23rd, 2007
On October 7, 2007, The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have that Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport is once again considered to be compliant with the strict aviation safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The announcement reverses a December 23, 2005, declaration by the TSA stating the Bali airport fell below minimum safety standards that resulted in cautionary warnings to that effect being prominently posted at major airports across the U.S.A..
In announcing the recertification of Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport by the TCA, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta praised efforts by Bali over the past two years to improve security standards at the airport. “I am very happy to inform Mr. Jusman Syafii Djamal, Indonesia’s Minister of Transportation, that our government have acknowledged that Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport has met international safety standards,” said the Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, John Hefferen.
“This is very good new for Indonesia as it prepares to host the United Nations COP-13 Climate Change Conference in Bali this December,” he added.
The Department of Homeland Security has now issued instructions to all airports across the U.S. to remove all written notices cautioning against travel to Bali’s airport.
U.S. Law requires safety standards at all international airport offering flights to U.S. cities be regularly reviewed..
Source: www.balidiscovery.com
October 23rd, 2007
Republika On-Line reports that the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik has identified spiritual tourism as a key product for Bali’s future.
According to the Minister, “a source for tourism in Bali for the future is spiritual tourism because of the potentials and possibilities offered in the cities and regions in Bali.”
Speaking before a conference on “Major Trends – Opportunities and Investments in Tourism,” Wacik said the main market sources for spiritual tourism are from Japan, Europe and the United States. “Tourist coming from these countries have become bored with crowded tourist attractions and are now seeking ‘quieter’ tourism, such as places for mediation and reflections upon their Creator,” he explained.
The Minister said that all locations in Bali have potential for spiritual tourism together with other destinations in Indonesia, such as Tanah Toraja in Sulawesi and Central Java. Wacik emphasized that in addition to the physical location for this form of tourism, it is also essential to have staff trained in meditative practice and yoga.
Commenting separately, Bali’s Chief of Tourism, Drs. I Gede Nurjaya, said that the Balinese have a close connection with nature and an all pervading sense of spirituality. The leading government official in charge of Bali’s tourism said that the Balinese see nature in a religious context and have a wide range of ritual practice honoring nature. Because of this, said Nurjaya, Bali is the proper choice of location for the development of spiritual tourism.
Source: www.balidiscovery.com
October 23rd, 2007
The ultimate tropical utopia for dreamers
By Victor Dabby
Dutch explorer Cornelius de Houtman and his crew were the first Europeans to set foot on the island of Bali in 1597. When it came time to leave, a number of de Houtman’s sailors chose to stay behind, entranced by Bali’s exotic culture (a mix of animism and Hinduism) and its easy ways (the king alone had 200 wives).Flash forward to today’s Bali: Many of those crew members would likely flee in horror from the tourist beach resort of Kuta, chased by a persistent army of hustlers offering to trim their nose and ear hairs, to give them massages (”cheap, very cheap”) or to sell them blowguns (”to shoot cats”).
Or, like the many other starry-eyed foreigners who followed them, they may escape inland to the tranquility of “authentic” Bali. Despite a long history of disasters — from earthquakes to bombings and the fungus-like growth of resorts — Bali remains the destination of choice for foreign dreamers searching for the ultimate tropical utopia.
They include surfers looking to catch the perfect wave, artists seeking inspiration in Bali’s long and rich history of painting and dancing, or just weary backpackers, ready to chill and lay down their heavy loads after long months of travel in Asia. Or they could be crooners like Bing Crosby on The Road to Bali with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in tow.
From the 1960s on, this flood of foreigners seemed unstoppable. As global-brand outlets like McDonald’s (even Ronald McDonald hangs 10 on a surfboard on Kuta Beach) sprang up, alarm bells rang about creeping commercialism. Few paid attention, hypnotized by the flood of easy money and the prospect of endless wealth.
Then, came Oct. 12, 2002 — the day everything changed.
The sun sets over Kuta Beach as glorious shades of red and orange break out over the sparkling blue waters of the Indian Ocean. The bar is filled with young, well-heeled tourists and locals nursing exotically coloured drinks, laughing and talking to a soundtrack of soothing lounge music. No one seems even vaguely aware that this is the spot where a bloody terrorist bombing took place just five years ago.
It was on a Saturday night around midnight, a time when tourists flock to Kuta’s bustling commercial section for a cooling drink at one of the many noisy bars dotting JI Legian, the area’s main street. The first bomb exploded outside Paddy’s Bar, followed by a more powerful blast at the nearby Sari nightclub. When the dust settled, more than 200 people from 23 countries were found incinerated or blown to pieces, at least 300 others were injured.
Authorities blamed Islamic terrorists linked to al-Qaida and scores were arrested. Tourism plunged and foreigners fled the island. Bali’s much-vaunted “harmony” was shattered. Since then, Paddy’s Bar has been rebuilt, and the government has erected an impressive monument for victims of the bombing (two Canadians — Richard Gleason and Mervin Popadynec — have their names etched in stone there).
Then, three years later, just as the island was recovering, it happened again. On Oct. 1, 2005, three suicide bombers struck in Kuta and nearby Jimbaran, killing 20 people and injuring 129. The incident sent shivers of fear through Bali, proving that the October 2002 blasts were not a one-off and that terrorists were determined to destroy tourism.
The events served to deepen ethnic tensions on Bali, a mainly Hindu island in a sea of Islam (once Buddhist, Indonesia is now the world’s most populous Muslim country). “It’s the Muslims of (nearby) Java (who are responsible),” a Hindu taxi driver tells me bitterly. “They are jealous of us, see a lot of money here and want it. Business has been bad since the bombings. Life is hard, not like before.”
Though more visitors drawn by cheap package holidays are arriving this year, Bali’s tourist industry remains fragile. Australians, once the mainstay, “are staying away in droves,” Margaret, a Melbourne resident, tells me as she deletes yet another government alert from her inbox at an Internet caf in Kuta.
“Our government keeps warning whoever is in Bali to come home and anyone who’s thinking of coming here to stay away because terrorists are plotting more bombings,” she says. “This way, they can cover their backsides if something does happen.”
Penny Harvey, a Canadian, is more philosophical. The Welland, Ont., native, who married a Balinese man and settled down to manage Randy’s (which bills itself as an “authentic Canadian cafe”) in the resort town of Sanur, admits the recent past has not been kind. But she thinks the Balinese will emerge stronger because “they have a sense of identity that allows them to hold it together (despite adversity).”Even the bombings will have a positive effect, she says, because they “made people think about what kind of life they want and how to develop the island without destroying the things that make it unique.”
Ubud, Bali’s cultural capital, has “unique” written all over it. Legend has it that this inland town, two hours north of Kuta, was blessed by the Hindu gods who looked after the enlightened nobility that ruled it for centuries, leaving behind an impressive heritage of stone palaces and temples that are in use even today. In the 1930s, a flood of Western artists came here for inspiration.
Driving into town, you can see why as you approach the gleaming green rice paddies on terraces built alongside winding roads and jagged mountains. It’s a visual feast.
There is more visual feasting at Ubud’s three amazing public museums - Agung Rai, Puri Lukisan and Neka - that house extensive collections of photographs, paintings and sculptures by local and foreign artists. You can easily spend the better part of a week taking it all in and wandering around the private galleries that dot the town.
But the pice de rsistance is the dance show. On any night, you can go to one of several performances of Balinese dance. All are major productions that employ up to 30 dancers and a live orchestra playing traditional instruments. Especially dramatic are the “trance” dances that build up to a frenzy of chanting as bare-footed men shuffle through the red-hot remains of burning coconut husks.
Then, there are the venues. All the performances take place in the spectacular, age-old courtyards of palaces and temples spread throughout the town centre. The events are a treat for the eyes and ears. And the price, an average $5 a ticket, is the best deal in Bali.
“You can see why visitors who come to Ubud for a few days, end up staying much longer,” a California artist who visits every winter tells me. “Ubud is just that kind of place.”
But there’s much more to Bali than Kuta or Ubud. For a quiet beach scene, you can visit Lovina on the north shore and watch dolphins frolic in plain view. The coast is teeming with sea life and coral, a paradise for diving and snorkeling. Especially fascinating is Tulamben, where you can snorkel in the wreckage of the Liberty Glo, a U.S. cargo ship that sank here during the Second World War. It is now covered in coral, a rich nesting ground for thousands of exotic fish. It’s like plunging into the biggest aquarium in the world.
On the east coast, you can hang out at the fishing village of Padangbai, where you can rent a local jukung (boat) to go snorkeling off the deserted islands in the bay. Or you can hike for 15 minutes to the Blue Lagoon, for a day of lazing at a beach caf or swimming among exotic fish.Farther down the coast, you can hop a ferry to Nusa Lembongan, a hassle-free island with no cars or motorcycles, just two small villages that thrive on harvesting seaweed for carrageenan (an emulsifier used to thicken food, including ice cream and cheese). It is also home to some of the best surfing and snorkeling around, though the riptides and jagged coral make it a place where only strong swimmers and veteran surfers will venture.
Back on Kuta Beach, it is time for the daily spectacle: the most psychedelic sunset you’ll ever see. By evening, it seems that the whole town — thousands of people — is out on the beach. Many are sitting on the sand in lines, as if watching a live show as the sun sets to a rainbow of colours. Even the most jaded travellers are touched by the scene.
But mainly, it’s the locals who come here each day for the big event. It seems that they cannot get enough of this daily explosion of beauty. There are smiles all around as people linger to watch the blackening sky as the last traces of colour fade away. This, the greatest show on Earth, makes you realize just how exquisite Bali is.
And now you understand why some of de Houtman’s sailors stayed behind.
CanWest News Service
Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
October 22nd, 2007
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