Archive for July, 2008
Governor Beratha Calls on Karangasem’s Regent to Revoke Enabling Regulation and Halt ‘Chateau de Bali’ Project.
With controversy brewing regarding villa projects built in violation of zoning and environmental rules on Uluwatu and Kerambitan Beach, a separate imbroglio is now underway on Bukit Mimba near the east coast port of Padang Bai.
In the latest development, Bali’s outgoing Governor Made Beratha has ordered the Regent of Karangasem, Geredeg, to revoke his own regulation that is allowing the construction of a 5-star luxury resort Chateau de Bali on a 75.9 hectare site.
In the view of Bali’s Governor, the enabling legislation issued by the Regent is invalid because it is at variance with pre-imminent provincial zoning regulations which must take legal precedence.
Reports published in Bali Post contend that the project approved by the Regent enjoys widespread public support in Karangasem, despite alleged infringements on sacred grounds surrounding a local Hindu temple and overbuilding of an area formerly protected as a “green zone.” The newspaper reports that the hotels project’s developer has pledged to source 80% of the jobs generated by the hotels from local residents.
The situation in Karangasem has arrived at something of an “executive impasse.” Will the Regent of Karangasem accede to the Governor’s order, effectively outlawing a major investment project well into its construction phase? If the Regent refuses to revoke his ruling what, if any, action will Governor Beratha take with less than 2 weeks left in office? What legal recourse do the developers have if they suddenly find their project is suddenly illegal?
The polemic is only likely to intensify further was signaled by additional coverage in the Bali Post on Saturday, July 19th, where the Regent of Karangasem stated his regulation “pre-dated” the provincial law and was therefore, exempt from having to accede to the Governor’s request. Geredeg’s defiance has been greeted on the provincial and national level with suggestions that the Regent is leaving himself exposed to criminal prosecution and a possible prison term of up to 5 years.
Source: http://www.balidiscovery.com/
July 21st, 2008
Mark Forbes, Denpasar
A TAIWANESE fishing boat whose captain is feared killed has run aground on Bali’s best surf break, disrupting plans for the world surfing championship to return to the island.
Mystery surrounds the arrival of the Ho Tsai Fa No. 18 off Padang Padang beach. Locals woke on Saturday to see the 30-metre vessel floundering on a reef. Looters emptied the holds of tuna and shark, believed to have been caught illegally.
In May, Greenpeace activists had intercepted the ship illegally fishing with long lines in the Pacific.
Police are trying to find the boat’s Indonesian crew and Taiwanese captain, Tsai Wen-chen. Taiwanese authorities sought Indonesia’s help to find the boat several weeks ago, after it failed to return from fishing off Papua.
Three weeks ago another Taiwanese fishing boat saw the Ho Tsai Fa No. 18, but it sped away when approached, prompting concern it was controlled by a mutinous crew.
Fishery officials said the vessel’s monitoring system had been turned off since May 13 and it had ignored radio contact.
Several Balinese claimed the dozen Indonesian crewmen had thrown their captain overboard and attempted to return home, but had lost control approaching Bali and fled after the vessel ran aground.
Police commissioner Sutrisna, head of the Central Java coast guard, said it was searching for crew members. He would not comment on claims the captain had been killed.
“We have just found the ship, we cannot say or conclude anything till we investigate further,” Mr Sutrisna said.
Bali coast guard chief Oka Eswara said attempts to refloat the vessel had been foiled by the weather and tides. “We have notified the Taiwanese embassy to assist, but we simply have to wait till the weather permits,” he said.
The men’s world surfing tour was due to return to Bali, after an 11-year absence, at the end of the month. Organisers had not officially announced the venue of the sixth leg of the world championship for security reasons.
The shipwreck is already disrupting the Rip Curl Cup, the Indonesian championship, due to be held at Padang Padang this week. Rip Curl South Asia chief executive Jeff Anderson also raised environmental concerns.
“We are in touch with the local authorities, pushing for the vessel to be removed before it turns into a potential disaster zone when the next big swell hits on Friday,” he said.
Source: http://www.theage.com.au/
July 21st, 2008
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
The island of Bali is more than just an attractive place for tourists, it is also a place of divine inspiration — at least it seems to be for Yaari Rom, a talented artist from the United States.
Many artists from overseas have fallen in love with Bali — since 1920, artists known across the globe, such as Rudolf Bonnet, Walter Spies, Arie Smith, Donald Friend, Ronald Wigman, Wolfgang Widmoser, Peter Dittmar, Filippo Sciascia and Walter van Oel, have made Bali the place to express themselves in art.
For Rom, Bali expresses the theme of the John Lennon song, “Give Peace a Chance”.
“There is no place as peaceful as Bali,” Rom told The Jakarta Post during his exhibition titled “360 Degrees of Yaari” at the Sheraton Hotel in Surabaya, from July 5 to 13.
“I’ve gained a most valuable lesson in Bali that I haven’t been able to get in any other country, especially about love and peace. I want to show all that to the world through my paintings.”
Profits from the exhibition will be donated to the Insan Bangun Swadaya Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to boost the social economy, education and health of poor people in the community — including street children in Surabaya.
Before the show, Rom exhibited a selection of 75 pieces at the ARMA Museum in Ubud, Bali, from June 10 to 24. He also plans to hold exhibitions in Jakarta and Hong Kong.
But his plans do not stop there. He also intends to produce a masterpiece incorporating the use of garbage, in a campaign about preserving the environment for university students in Surabaya.
“I want to say it’s time for us to work together to preserve the environment, which is getting more and more damaged and is no longer friendly toward human beings. Children themselves are victims of environmental damage,” he said.
Rom was born in 1956 into an artistic family and was brought up in the multiethnic and multifaith community of Christians, Muslims and Greeks in Los Angeles, California.
Rom’s art career took off when he was still a child, when he started doing internships in the fields of painting, printmaking, film and theater. At the age of 12, he even did the makeup for actress Goldie Hawn, who was performing on the stage at the time.
In 1970, Rom traveled through Europe visiting art museums and painting exhibitions. He became an intern artist in the Brahmberg Jafta Israel Studio and then became an assistant to Hugo Cleef Van, a portrait artist who worked in Cannes, France.
In 1971, he undertook a Royal Academy extension course in London while working in an art restoration studio. At the end of the 1970s, he worked as a private assistant to Billy Gaff and rock-and-roll singer Rod Stewart.
During the 1980s, Rom spent time in Maui, Hawaii, where he built his first studio and retail store. He flew between Los Angeles, New York and Hawaii, promoting fashion art and body painting.
In 1985, he was commissioned to design an inspirational swimsuit collection with hand-painted materials for Gideon Auberzon. Yaari went back to Los Angeles in 1986 and opened the Yaari Gallery at Venice Beach.
In 1988, he was contracted to design and build Penny Lane, a nostalgia restaurant with a Beatles theme in Vancouver, Canada. He also opened a Yaari Gallery in Santa Fe, Mexico.
During the mid-1990s he opened the Yaari Gallery in Armarganzit, East Hampton, New York. The year 1997 took Rom to Melbourne, Australia, where he continued his art activities, body painting and fashion exhibitions at the Brighton Gallery.
He was the first artist to be invited by the Singapore government to show body painting as an art to the public.
Now happily living in peaceful Bali, Rom works in his private Toya Studio in Kerobokan, Badung. Elephants feature prominently in Rom’s Balinese work — he says this is because he is enchanted by Ganesha (a Hindu god that takes the form of an elephant).
Apart from his conventional paintings, Rom’s ideas in his art seem to flow freely without boundaries. He has also made three-dimensional paintings, which can be viewed using special 3D glasses.
He is routinely invited to events and festivals all over the world to demonstrate his body-painting art.
In Bali, Rom is also involved in Art Quest, an art education charity project for children.
Rom said he had no plans to leave Bali. The artist is quite content to look for peace through helping support educational programs for children and campaigning for the environment.
Source: The Jakarta Post
July 18th, 2008
JAKARTA, July 17 (Xinhua) — FEALAC (Forum for East Asia and Latin America Cooperation) is holding a conference on ecotourism in Bali of Indonesia from July 17 to 18, 2008, according to local media Thursday.
”The conference is being attended by around 200 representatives of 24 member countries of FEALAC,” national Antaranews agency quoted the Indonesian foreign ministry’s Director for Intra-Regional Cooperation Dian Wirengiurit as saying.
The conference is organized based on a decision of the FEALAC Working Group Meeting on Economy and Society in south Korea in October 2007.
The initiating programs supporting FEALAC efforts is expected to enhance cooperation between East Asian and Latin American countries, particularly in the economic and social fields, Wirengiurit said.
”The countries in the two regions (East Asia and Latin America)have the world’s best ecotourism destinations, and they have identified efforts to strengthen cooperation in ecotourism among FEALAC member countries,” she said.
The theme of the conference is “Towards Sustainable Ecotourism Development in East Asia and Latin America”.
The ecotourism market has also proven to easily adapt to changes in trends in tourism and to have strong survival and fast recovery capability from different threats and challenges such as bombing incidents, war and even SARS epidemics.
Established in 2001, FEALAC has 33 member countries including Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Panama, Thailand and Peru.
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/
July 18th, 2008
Hundreds of thousands of people were gathering here Tuesday to cremate two Balinese royals in what promises to be one of the largest funeral rites of its kind in local memory.
Ubud royal family head Tjokorda Gde Agung Suyasa, who died in March after a long illness, and lesser royal Tjokorda Gde Raka who also died in March, will be cremated on a massive hand-crafted pyre representing the universe.
The hill town of Ubud, the cultural capital of mainly Hindu Bali, came to life before dawn with women wearing sarongs and traditional blouses carrying offerings of fruit on their heads to the royal palace.
Neighbourhood chiefs exhorted people over loudspeakers to wake up and get ready for the service, as men gathered at the palace to carry the huge pyre that will be paraded through town around midday.
“Each person has their job. For me, it’s making coffee for people coming in. For the men, it’s making the cremation towers,” domestic worker Ni Made Rinun told AFP.
“Everyone works, no one is lazy,” she added.
For months, the bodies of the dead royals have been waited on by relatives with offerings of food and coffee in bedrooms of the palace.
Most revered roiyal family
The royal family of Ubud, a hillside town famous as the heartland of traditional Balinese arts, is one of the most revered royal families on the island.
It is descended from royalty from the neighbouring island of Java who fled the fall of the Hindu Majapahit Empire in the 15th century.
At the start of the funeral procession, the bodies will be brought from the main temple where they have been lying in state since Saturday.
The bodies of 68 commoners, many also dead for months, were dug out of graves on the weekend and cremated in preparation to be included in the procession.
The royal remains will be loaded via bamboo and wood gangways into colourful papier-mache towers called bade. The multi-tiered, demon-covered towers symbolise the three levels of the Balinese Hindu universe.
More than 200 men in traditional dress will heave each tower — the tallest of which is 28 metres (92 feet) high — onto their shoulders with bamboo slats, spinning the structures around to ensure the spirits of the dead are too disoriented to return home.
Also winding through the streets will be the Naga Banda, a seven-metre long “dragon” reserved for the highest royals and symbolising the wisdom of the royal family.
Lying symbolically between heaven and earth in the bade, the royals are paraded to the sound of traditional gamelan orchestras, a percussion instrument resembling a cross between a xylophone and a bell.
Then they are loaded into sarcophagi representing black bulls bedecked with gold foil, which are then wrapped in the Naga Banda.
The priest pours holy water on the bulls before they and the towers are set alight. Finally, the ashes are taken to Bali’s eastern Sanur beach to be cast into the sea.
The cremation is intended to return the body to the fundamental elements of fire, air, water, earth and void. Smaller ceremonies then release the soul to reach oneness with God before, after a time, it is reincarnated.
“(The soul) doesn’t stay in the body, it’s probably around the body,” explained Tjokorda Dge Raka Kerthyasa, the successor as Ubud’s royal head.
“The process of cremation separates the attachment of the soul to the physical being, the world. I think… I haven’t died yet so I don’t know.”
Tjokorda Raka Swastika, nephew of the late Ubud royal family head, said “only the blue bloods” were honoured with a cremation featuring the Naga Banda.
“(The family) is not only respected in Bali, we are related to the royal families in Java, South Sumatra, all over Indonesia … Our family is respected by great people all over the world,” he said.
Source: www.antara.co.id/en
July 17th, 2008
Miguel Covarrubias, the Mexican artist who lived in Bali in the 1930s and who did much to promote its image as a tropical island paradise, wrote that the Hindu Balinese seemed to have “their greatest fun” at their cremation ceremonies.
Not much has changed in that respect.
On Tuesday afternoon, tens of thousands of Balinese gathered in Ubud, central Bali, to celebrate the biggest royal cremation in nearly three decades.
It was a culmination of months of elaborate, carefully choreographed rituals, carried out at vast expense so that the souls of the dead could be freed amid much cheering and laughter.
“Sadness is a very natural thing, when left behind by one they love,” Tjokorda Raka Kerthyasa, a younger brother of one of the deceased royals, said.
Crowds lined the streets and swarmed into the cemetery to watch as the bodies of Tjokorda Gde Agung Suyasa, who was head of the Ubud royal palace, and another royal, Tjokorda Gede Raka, were carried along Ubud’s main thoroughfare to the cremation site on enormous carved bamboo and wood towers.
Groups of 250 men took it in turn to carry the 28.5-metre-high tower - 7,000 relay-runners in all - to the cemetery where the two royal bodies were placed inside two giant black bull sarcophagi, presented with offerings, and set alight.
“This part of the ceremony is a chance to bury that sadness, to be accepting, of birth, life and death, freeing of the spirit. We are not allowed to have tears on the body,” said Kerthyasa.
The pageantry provided a strong reminder of the resilience of Bali’s Hindu culture at a time when predominantly Muslim, but officially secular, Indonesia is coming under increasing pressure from hardline Islamists, particularly over freedom of religion, to the alarm of moderates and some minorities including Hindus.
Muslim militants bombed Bali in 2002, killing over 200 foreigners and Indonesians in an attack that shocked the Balinese and dealt a deep blow to the island’s tourist industry, which forms the backbone of the local economy.
Since then, some Balinese have expressed concerns about the increasing number of foreigners and non-Hindu Indonesians who have settled in their midst, fearing an erosion of their culture.
Bali’s tourism industry gradually bounced back, thanks partly to promotions and events such as Tuesday’s cremation, although the island’s royalty have long given up any real power.
Royal families
The various sprawling, extended royal families once ruled separate kingdoms on the island. They were feudalistic, had multiple wives and consorts, and built lavish palaces, water gardens and follies.
One famously led his family in a mass suicide rather than succumb to the Dutch army. Another sprayed his palace walls with eau de cologne to disguise the smell of fresh paint, while another had the title of president of east Indonesia.
In the early 1900s, a few of the royals welcomed foreign artists, including the painters Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet - whose works today fetch hundreds of millions of dollars - and thus began Bali’s reputation as a centre for art and culture.
Covarrubias, whose book “Island of Bali” remains the classic text on the island, musician Colin McPhee, and anthropologist Margaret Mead, were among those taken by the local culture.
“The royals take their secular as well as their mystical roles very seriously,” said Made Wijaya, an Australian who settled in Bali and writes extensively about the island.
“As god-king they are defenders of the faith and patrons of the arts. They are extremely influential because they reconsecrate and restore the temples.”
Today, they tend to earn their living from tourism. They rank among the island’s top hoteliers - the Ubud royals own several including the Tjampuan, Ibah, and Pita Maha.
Some of their members are in politics. Earlier this month, one ran for governor of the island, but lost.
Most of them live fairly modestly by the standards of European royalty, if not by the measure of ordinary Balinese, many of whom save up for years or are forced to sell their land to pay for a costly cremation, considered the most important rite following death.
To help reduce that extravagance, Bali holds regular mass cremations: the dead are temporarily buried and then dug up for cremation later, as happened this week when several local people were given a mass cremation to coincide with the royal one.
An ordinary Balinese can expect to spend about $US500 to $US1,000 ($515 to $1,030) for a relative’s cremation, in contrast to the royal one which some say costs millions.
Suyasa, whose duties during his lifetime included building and restoring temples, died of cancer in March, aged 67.
The Balinese set to work immediately on the preparations for his cremation and afterlife. As with many aspects of Balinese life, whether the planting of rice or a wedding, a priest was consulted to choose an auspicious day, July 15.
While waiting for the date, his body has laid out in his bed in the palace, and injected with formaldehyde.
Each morning his favourite newspapers - the Bali Post, among others — were laid out beside him, with his best reading glasses, his small bag, and the letter of condolence that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had sent to his family.
For more than three months, several nearby villages prepared offerings for the cremations. They included pigs, coconut leaves as well as the bull sarcophagi and the towers.
“The cost is exorbitant, but a lot of the things were donated,” says Jero Asri, a relative of the royal family.
-Reuters
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/
July 16th, 2008
Ramon Jorge Sarabosing
BALI, Indonesia (MindaNews/14 July) – In Bali,they call me “Mr. English please,” and the Balinese locals are surprised to know Filipinos look like Balinese.
The only Filipino they know, it seems, is Imelda (Marcos). It was the first thing the security guard of Bali Rani Hotel in Kuta district asked me. Apparently, he finds her having 3,000 pairs of shoes funny and memorable.
It was the Balinese dance instructor who baptized me “Mr. English please” because my classmates would approach me in Bahasa Balinese and I would reply “English please.” As simple as that.
I have joined a Balinese warrior dance class where most of my classmates were 10-year-olds, one American and two Aussies. The dance is fantastic, especially if you are 40 something. It exercises all your muscles and nerves, from the tip of your fingers down to your toes, including even your eyes. It is a very expressive dance, but if you have to be a master warrior dancer, you have to begin at age 10.
As a habit, I looked for Filipinos there. I asked the lady at the front desk if there are Pinoy employees at the hotel, and she said none. I inquired from the guy at the restaurant, and he said zero. I went to the Catholic Church and was told there are several Pinoy nuns. Alleluia!
But I never got to meet them because they go home either late or too early. But it was the security guard who told me a revealing story. “Do you live in Dabao?” He asked me.
(He pronounced Davao as Dabao.) I said no. “You see,” he began, “My fighting cocks are from Dabao.” That fired up my curiosity. He said he buys them from a friend who breeds those cocks in Dabao. “They are very good cocks. Very brave, they fly and hit their opponents (local Balinese cocks) up in the air. Very unusual.” I thought all fighting cocks do that so I asked him if Balinese cocks don’t do that and he said, “no, its only Filipino cocks who do.”
Hmmm…
In Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali, many things amaze the visitors—from nightly cultural presentations, religious rituals, temples, a hundred art galleries (some in the middle of the ricefields), splendid food, the artists and artisans, and friendly and gentle locals. Two things got etched on my mind. One, local women doing manual labor. Yes, the women do sand and gravel delivery, carrying loads of them including hollow blocks on their heads to the construction site. “The men do the construction but it’s the women who bring the materials to the site area,” explained my Balinese host.
I asked whether the women don’t mind this, and he said no. “It’s extra income for them. That is why you only see them doing that early in the morning or early or late at night.” Petite these women may be, but they sure have enough strength to deliver them to some distance.
The other one was that huge handsome deer who followed me at the valley outside of the town. It was nearly sundown and in the field of grass his head popped out and he stared at me. For a second, I was thrilled yet hesitant to come near him, but he bowed his head as if giving me his permission. He had dark gentle eyes and his horns were lovely. He took a few steps as I passed by him, and I keep looking back at him. It was like seeing a real magic. I wanted to shout but ended up murmuring a prayer of thanks.
Whenever friends asked me if I went to some white beaches I would be hesitant to answer. I did go to Kuta Beach but who wants to swim with a thousand others. It’s so crowded I would rather dream of the tiny coves and islets of Surigao. What I’d tell my friends instead is the mountain village of Munduk, north of Bali. “This place is my Shangri-La,” a senior American stewardess told me. Our group of four was having dinner in an open air restaurant overlooking a spectacular view – contours of mountain peaks protruding from the hills and valleys in the distance. A million stars and a crescent moon made it even more heavenly, like the food on the table… the mountain breeze… the sound of gongs and bells and flutes courtesy of the resident musicians.
At day time, we would hike down toward the twin lakes and take photos of the ancient temple. It’s a different world, all green, clouds, a tranquil lake, dried pathway, peaks, waterfalls, flying eagles. Maybe Munduk is not for everyone and maybe it’s better that way. It makes you special, privileged to be there. In a sense, it speaks of Bali itself. (Ramon Jorge Sarabosing of Butuan City, has been going around Southeast Asia the past few months).
Source: http://www.mindanews.com/
July 15th, 2008
Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Ubud
Tens of thousands of locals and tourists are expected to flock to the tiny resort village of Ubud, Bali, on Tuesday to witness the Palebon (cremation ceremony) of three members of the Ubud royal family.
Among the royals to be cremated is Tjokorda Gde Agung Suyasa, who formerly headed the Ubud royal family and was Bendesa (chief) of Desa Pekraman (a traditional customary village) for more than three decades.
A stoic aristocrat, Suyasa was also one of the most influential figures behind the revival of Balinese Hinduism in several parts of the country. He donated generous contributions to several major Hindu temples in Java, including the majestic Mandhara Giri Semeru Agung temple in East Java, and others in Kalimantan and Lombok.
Suyasa passed away last March after suffering from a prolonged illness. His body has since been preserved in one of the Ubud royal palace’s pavilions.
After his death, thousands paid their respects to the man formerly known to the people of Ubud as Tjokorda Lingsir (The Elder Tjokorda), a title reserved for the ruling member of the Ksatriya family.
“We estimate that more people will come to Ubud to pay homage to him on the day of the cremation,” Suyasa’s younger brother and current guardian of the royal family, Tjokorda Raka Kerthyasa, said in a press conference Saturday.
All main access ways to Ubud will be closed off Tuesday to ensure the smooth progression of the ceremony, which will feature a gigantic 28-meter-tall Bade (a tower with a multi-tier roof).
“We will divert some routes leading to Ubud from July 13 to July 14 to prevent disruption to the series of preparatory rituals,” he said.
“On July 15, all roads around the palace and the cemetery will be closed, too.”
He said the Ubud community had prepared a parking area on the city’s central main soccer field to accommodate visitors. Visitors are advised to leave their vehicles at the parking area and walk the remaining 300 meters to the palace.
“Considering the huge number of people expected to witness the ceremony, we ask all people to cooperate in safeguarding the event,” he said.
Kerthyasa said the Bade, which will house Tjokorda Suyasa’s body, was 28-meters-tall and weighed eleven tons. It will be carried to the cemetery from the palace on the shoulders of more than 250 men.
“Due to the overwhelming weight of the Bade we will substitute the men with a fresh group of men every time the Bade moves 150 meters or so. It will also provide people from different villages the opportunity to participate in the cremation ceremony of their former leader,” he added.
In total, an estimated 8,000 people will participate in carrying various ritual paraphernalia from the palace to the Dalem Puri cemetery, which lies two kilometers to the east of Ubud.
“More than 67 Desa Pekraman from all over Bali have actively taken part in assisting the royal family’s preparation of the grand ceremony,” he said.
The royal family of Ubud is one of the most powerful and influential royal families in contemporary Bali.
The family’s generosity in assisting traditional communities across the island on religious and cultural matters and the humble demeanors of its key figures have created a sphere of influence that goes beyond the traditional geographical boundaries of Ubud, the tiny village known as the cultural heart of Bali.
Source: The Jakarta Post
July 14th, 2008
For years it has lived in the shadow of its more famous neighbour Bali. Now Indonesia’s pristine Lombok Island is making a concerted effort to build itself up as the next Bali, while trying to maintain its natural charm.
Slower to catch the tourism train than its neighbour to the west, Lombok has been promoted as an “unspoiled Bali”.
But a future $US600 million ($NZ802.35 million) development may see it emerge on par with Bali as a world-class tourism destination, according to the United Arab Emirates-based developer.
Tourists visiting Lombok typically treat it as a side-trip to Bali, staying just a few days.
The Japanese and Australians, Bali’s top two groups of tourists, come to Lombok for the surfing.
The Koreans come here to honeymoon, the Europeans see it more like an extension of Bali, and expats come from Jakarta for the relaxation, explains Dominique Duvivier, the general manager of Accor’s Novotel Lombok.
But he says there’s new interest in Lombok.
The hotel struggled to survive in the aftermath of the tourism downturn that followed the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings.
Business is particularly good this year though, with the hotel running at about 53 percent occupancy compared to just 30 percent at this time last year.
News of a new airport and UAE property developer Emaar Properties plans have helped generate interest in Lombok.
“I think Bali is too crowded so they need to find a plan B,” Duvivier said of Lombok’s visitors.
“Also this development program is bringing some new investors, some new tourists.”
The Novotel Lombok is currently the only top-end hotel in the island’s south, although there are other budget and mid-range accommodation options in the area.
Lombok’s principal beach resort of Sengiggi is situated in the western part, closer to the capital Mataram, the current airport and Lembar, the main port for ferries to and from Lombok.
Work has started on a new $US72 million ($A75.11 million) international airport, close to the town of Praya and about 30km south of the existing Salaparang airport.
Authorities believe the opening of the new airport, expected in 2010, will make Lombok a primary tourist destination, rather than just an add-on to Bali.
International travellers will be able to fly direct to Lombok. And the new airport will be able to handle 2.4 million visitors, a massive increase on the Salaparang airport’s 800,000 passenger capacity.
Among them are expected to be a large number of tourists from the Middle East, drawn by Emaar’s planned development of a 1,175 hectare site in south Lombok.
The development will be set along a seven-kilometre natural waterfront complete with five-star resorts, luxury residences, a marina, golf course and shops.
The Bali Tourism Development Corporation signed off on the Lombok mega-tourism project in March, with masterplanning for the development beginning in April.
The first five-star hotels are expected to open to guests in a few years time and further development will take place over a number of years.
Emaar says its project, set on the Kuta and Tanjung beaches, will be environmentally friendly, integrating natural elements into a residential, leisure and hospitality zone.
Unveiling the project in April last year, Emaar chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar described Lombok as one of the most promising tourism destinations in Indonesia, adding it had the potential to be the magnet for world travellers.
“We are thankful to the Indonesian government for their trust in us to support their development initiatives that will help position Lombok on par with Bali as a world-class tourism destination,” Alabbar said in a statement at the time.
Visit Lombok today and you’re certainly not met with a carbon copy of Bali.
It’s immediately clear that it’s more laid back and less touristy, even though tourism is the island’s largest source of income.
It’s sometimes described as being like Bali 20 years ago, although at least one Lombok travel company says that’s incorrect if you consider the landscapes and cultures that are uniquely Lombok.
As lombokhotelandtravel.com puts it: “As the old saying goes, `You can see Bali in Lombok but you can’t see Lombok in Bali’.”
Whereas most Balinese are Hindu, Lombok’s population is mainly made up of the island’s indigenous Sasak people, most of whom are Muslims.
Entering one of the traditional villages, our guide reminds us that “this is not a museum, live people live here”.
The 700 people, described by guide Anaf as one big family, live here in a cluster of 150 thatched houses.
Sade, situated near Kuta beach, is not a tourist setup but they do welcome visitors. Guides like Anaf show tourists around for a small donation.
There’s nine other villages in this family, housing 4,200 people, with Sade being the oldest, “the mother of the villages”.
The Sasak people here continue a number of traditions, although some things have been adapted to the times.
“It’s our tradition, if you like a girl you have to `kidnap’ her,” Anaf says.
And so the parents live downstairs in a Sasak house, with the daughters sleeping up higher, next to the cooking area, until they’re 15 because then “it’s difficult to kidnap them”.
Of course nowadays everyone has a mobile phone.
“The kidnappings happened long, long ago, not now,” Anaf says.
After a call or a text message: “The girls wait at the front of the houses. It’s more easy to kidnap them.”
The first job of a Sasak family is still farming. And the girls have to learn how to weave the multi-coloured, intricate sarongs and songket fabric.
“Weaving is very important, it’s passed down from mother to daughter,” Anaf says.
“If the girl can’t do weaving they’re not allowed to get married in here.”
It’s also known for its pottery. And of course there’s the diving, snorkelling, hiking and surfing.
Horse carts or cidomos blend in with cars and scooters in Mataram, and life generally moves at a slower pace than in Bali (which is hard to imagine when you first arrive in Bali and quickly discover everything moves according to Bali time).
Riots in Mataram in early 2000 had a big impact on tourism to Lombok, as did the flow-on effects from a drop in visitor numbers after the Bali bombings.
Before the October 2002 bombing, a lot of Australians came to Lombok, Anaf recalls.
The numbers dropped significantly after that, although a graph at the village shows international visitors to Sade increasing from around 1,250 in 2002 to about 4,000 last year.
“Tell your family to come to Lombok because Lombok is still natural,” Anaf says as we leave.
Over at the Novotel Lombok, where the accommodation includes 23 Sasak villa rooms, set out in the style of a traditional Sasak village, Duvivier thinks the differences between Bali and its neighbour to the east are even greater than simply describing Lombok as the Bali of 20 years ago.
“In Bali, Kuta 20 years ago was still developed,” he says.
“It’s more than 20 years ago, I would say even 30 to 40.
“It’s (Lombok) still natural. There’s not too many places in the world where it’s still very authentic.”
He’s confident Lombok can retain its own unique character even with the Emaar development.
“Bali is crowded … We are far better in terms of beach here.
“There’s a few Aussie guys living here and they surf all day, living here in semi-retirement.”
Duvivier predicts Lombok will grow, “little by little, yes, but not like Bali”.
“I’ve worked myself in many areas and this one is totally magical.
“When you see the sunset, it’s breathless. You think `wow, this is beautiful’.”
IF YOU GO:
The Blue Water Express departs at 8am daily from Bali International Marina at Benoa, 20 minutes from Kuta, costing 690,000 rupiah ($NZ99.95) one-way. It also stops at the nearby Gili Islands, popular for snorkelling and scuba diving. Visit www.bwsbali.com or call: 62-361-310-4557/8.
For more information on the Novotel Lombok, located on the south of the island at Seger and Kuta beaches, visit www.novotel.com/asia or www.accorhotels.com/asia.
*The writer was a guest of Accor Hospitality and Garuda Indonesia, staying at the Novotel Lombok.
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/
July 14th, 2008
The first St. Regis resort in Asia is looking forward to introducing its professionally trained English-style butlers to guests when it opens in September. The St. Regis Bali Resort will have an international Chief Butler, Tony Sharp and Assistant Chief Butler, Robert Johnson, winner of ‘Butler of the Year’ award, an international award conferred by the International Guild of professional Butlers.
Tony Sharp has been butler to the US ambassador to Australia and tycoon Kerry Packer. His last assignment was Chief Concierge and Head Butler, training butlers at the exclusive The Nam Hai Hoi An resort in Vietnam. His assistant Robert Johnson, a graduate of Britain’s oldest butler school, Ivor Spencer International School for Butlers, was personal butler for 10 years to Asia’s prominent Ong family, including four years as Head Butler and Assistant Estate Manager at Parrot Cay Resort in Turks & Caicos.
The St. Regis Butlers are a hallmark of the brand, their trademark is providing ever-present, unobtrusive service while anticipating the every need of guests.
The St. Regis Bali Resort will offer not only an on-call service but also a 12-hour and 24-hour personalized butler service for its guests. Each villa in the resort features a butler quarter with a separate entrance to cater for this additional service.
“Beyond preparing coffee and tea, or packing and unpacking suitcases, the butlers are more like an experienced personal assistant anticipating and catering to the needs of guests,” said Tony Sharp.
His dedicated team was strategically recruited four-months before the opening to go through an intensive training to be butlers that are distinctly different, in preparation for the resort’s opening, and this training started with Australian consultants Magnums Butlers. Founder and trainer Josephine Ive was herself a butler to High Court judges in Australia. The training schedule with the consultants extended to modules on having positive mind-set and behaviour and effective thought processing methods.
Beyond the regular on-call service, butlers are trained in both food and beverage skills as they prepare a whole variety of breakfast egg dishes, skills which will be used when they cook fresh eggs in the morning in guests’ villas.
They are also trained in wine by the resort’s German sommelier, from the history of wines to international wine regions, different types of grapes and tasting, along with education on famous wines and their history, with education extending to teas, cigars and caviar.
As The St. Regis Bali Resort is one of the first resorts in Bali to feature Internet Protocol (IP) phones in all suites and villas, the butlers were also put through advanced technology training.
With 125 luxurious suites and villas the luxury resort occupies a breathtaking beachfront location in the exclusive enclave of Nusa Dua, overlooking the ocean and one of Bali’s premier golf courses.
Source: http://www.asiatraveltips.com/
July 11th, 2008
Next Posts
Previous Posts