Archive for November, 2008
Forget those tacky T-shirt shops. Traditional mask makers in Bali offer a hand-crafted souvenir worth taking home.
BILL BRUBAKER; Special to The Washington Post
Published: November 16th, 2008 12:05 AM
We knew Bali wasn’t only about dreamy beaches, late-night bars and cheesy T-shirt shops. So on our first visit here, in 1991, my wife and I left our beachfront hotel to explore a culture-rich region in the countryside, known for its galleries and artisan workshops.
“First, I’ll take you to the best mask maker in Bali,” our taxi driver announced as our day trip began. His “best” label made us uneasy. Surely, we thought, we were headed to a place that sold gaudy, mass-produced masks, perhaps made by the driver’s favorite uncle.
Oh, how wrong we were.
Freddi and I have been collecting folk art for about 30 years, and our house is decorated with some 2,000 objects from holidays in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. We never cared much for masks, though, until that summer morning when we met Ida Bagus Anom in a village near Ubud, Bali’s cultural capital.
Ushering us into his studio, Anom strapped on a mask that depicted a witch with long fangs and a menacing scowl. Then he danced, playfully flailing his arms and making scary noises, demonstrating how the mask was used in the traditional Barong dance, which tells a popular Balinese story about a mythological character who is king of the spirits.
Anom’s masks were exquisite, finely carved and carefully painted with flourishes that included horsehair mustaches and mother-of-pearl teeth. We bought six (each costing about $100) and suddenly had a new obsession. Bummed that we had booked our entire Indonesian holiday at that beach hotel, about an hour away, we vowed that if we ever returned to the island we would stay in artsy Ubud.
Seventeen years and 250 masks later, we returned this summer with our 15-year-old daughter, Gabriela, checking into Ubud’s Hotel Tjampuhan & Spa, a sprawling compound that manages to be intimate, with traditional Balinese bungalows nestled into lush, tropical gardens.
ON THE HUNT
Our two-story bungalow was once owned and occupied by Walter Spies (1895-1942), a German painter who helped spark an art resurgence here in the 1930s. We had a blissful view of a lily pond from our veranda. But there was little time to linger. After breakfast that first morning, we hired a car and driver (a terrific bargain at $6 an hour) to take us to Mas, the woodcarvers’ village where we had met Anom.
Googling him in recent years, I learned that Anom is revered as a traditional mask dancer as well as a mask maker. I also discovered that he once appeared in a National Geographic TV show that showcased Bali and that his fans include Peter Brook, the British film and theater director. As with many artisans here, Anom learned his craft from his father, who in turn learned it from his father.
We asked our driver to take us straight to Ida Bagus Anom’s studio. He nodded, then took us instead to the workshop of another mask maker, Ida Bagus Padang Rata. (Warning to collectors trying to track down Balinese artists: Pay close attention to their names, which are often similar. Ida Bagus, for example, is a name given to male members of a particular Hindu caste. Although Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world, Bali is decidedly Hindu.)
Ida Bagus Padang Rata (no relation to Ida Bagus Anom) showed us a fearsome Barong mask. It was well done, but it didn’t move us. After 17 years of sizing up masks, we’ve become mighty picky.
“Uh, where does Ida Bagus Anom live?” I asked Padang Rata.
“Right over there,” he said, pointing to a house nearby.
We found Anom in the same spot where we had encountered him in 1991, sitting on a covered patio near a pile of wood shavings, quietly carving and chatting with several of his assistants.
Anom, 56, didn’t seem to remember us, perhaps because my hair is a bit grayer now, so Freddi and I introduced ourselves, then Gabriela. We told him how thoroughly we enjoyed our masks. Breaking into a huge smile, he took us back to his studio where the walls were covered with masks, all for sale.
“You’ll see that some of the styles and designs have changed since you were here last,” Anom told us in fluent English.
Yes, I had noticed; Anom had fewer traditional masks, depicting characters such as kings and queens and prime ministers, who play key roles in some Balinese dances.
He explained that while he still produces a full range of traditional masks for local dance troupes, his focus now is on characters who have greater appeal to foreigners.
“Like this one,” Anom said, strapping on a mask that depicts a yawning clown. “And this one,” he said, suddenly turning himself into a green, bug-eyed frog.
“Masks are like psychotherapy,” Anom said. “You put them on and you feel different. A psychiatrist I know from the United States has bought masks from me to put on her patients. She said it transforms them.”
Our collection includes many kinds of masks, including some, like Anom’s frog, that were made to hang on collectors’ walls and others that have been “danced,” collector-speak for masks that actually have been worn by local people in rituals or festivals.
“I put 40 coats of paint on my masks,” Anom told us. “I’ll sandpaper them, put 20 coats on, then sandpaper them again and put another 20 coats on. All of my masks are made from pule, a wood that’s light so the masks won’t be heavy when you put them your face.”
RITUALS AND BELIEFS
Masks have been essential elements of Balinese rituals for centuries. In his 1937 book “Island of Bali,” renowned Mexican painter and frequent Bali visitor Miguel Covarrubias wrote that masks used in the Barong dance, for example, “have great power in themselves and are kept out of sight in a special shed in the death temple of the village. They are put away in a basket, wrapped in magic cloth that insulates their evil vibrations, and are uncovered only when actually in use, when the performer-medium is in a trance and under the control of a priest.”
In Bali, like everywhere else, master craftsmen such as Anom could disappear if their work isn’t embraced by new generations. I asked Anom about the future of mask making on the island.
“We’ll be OK,” he said. “There are many younger people in Bali who are carving. And there is demand. We have so many dance troupes here. And there’s also demand from tourists. The tourist industry here is doing well.”
A picturesque town built around rivers, valleys and rice paddies, Ubud was indeed buzzing the week we visited in August. Traditional masked dance performances were playing to standing-room-only audiences, and reservations were necessary at many restaurants. Most of the tourists seemed to come from Australia, Japan and Europe.
Like the rest of Bali, Ubud seems to have recovered from the tourism meltdown that followed terrorist attacks on the island’s beach communities in 2002 and 2005. Tourism industry officials here were buoyed by the U.S. State Department’s decision in May to discontinue its travel warning, which urged Americans to defer nonessential travel to Indonesia.
“After both of the attacks, everyone in Bali was sitting around like this,” Anom said, folding his arms, dropping his head and making a sad face that looked like one of his masks. “But now we’re almost back to normal.”
We left Anom’s studio with seven masks, averaging about $90 apiece. We visited several other mask makers that week, but none had the style of Anom. Just as the cabbie told us that long-ago summer morning, he’s the best that Bali has to offer.
more details
MASK SHOPPING: Ubud’s central market offers some mass-produced examples, so bargain hard. For the finest work, hire a taxi by the hour and browse the workshops in Mas, the nearby village known for its woodcarvers. Most drivers know how to find master mask maker Ida Bagus Anom on the main drag in Mas; just in case, his phone number is 974529.
MORE INFORMATION: Grab a copy of “Balinese Masks: Spirits of an Ancient Drama” ($19.46, plus shipping, on Amazon.com). For an overview on Balinese life and culture, pick up “Island of Bali,” the 1937 classic by the late Mexican painter and part-time Bali resident Miguel Covarrubias ($18.96, plus shipping, on Amazon.com). And don’t leave home without a Lonely Planet guidebook to Bali or Indonesia.
The Washington Post if you go
WHERE TO STAY: We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Tjampuhan & Spa, where thatch-roofed rooms range from $103 to $212, taxes and service charge included. The latter rate gets you the two-story bungalow of the late German artist Walter Spies; reserve several months or more in advance. Links to Ubud hotel Web sites are at www.ubudhotelsassociation.com/members.html.
WHERE TO EAT: Day or night, it’s fun prowling Ubud’s main streets, checking out the restaurant menus. We especially liked the Indonesian and international menu at Cafe Lotus.
WHAT TO DO: Traditional shows with masked dancers can be found almost every night in Ubud, Bali’s cultural capital. The outdoor setting at the Ubud Palace, still home to the local royal family, is unbeatable. Buy tickets (about $9) in advance. Ubud also is known for galleries that sell textiles and paintings by local and expatriate artists.
Source: http://www.thenewstribune.com/
November 19th, 2008
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A total of 15 countries have been registered to take part in a martial arts championship scheduled in the tourist resort island of Bali on December 18-24, 2008.
“With 15 countries having registered in the event, the executive board of the Indonesian Martial Arts Association (PB IPSI) assured itself to hold the event after the plan to hold the same championship was canceled in Indonesia since 2006,” Deputy Chairman of PB IPSI Bambang Effendi said here on Sunday.
He said that two years ago the world championship was to be held in Solo but all of a sudden it was moved to Malaysia.
PB IPSI General Chairman Prabowo Subiakto has previously stated that the world championship could be held if attended by participants from at least 20 countries.
He said that PB IPSI was optimistic that the championship could be held while it was now waiting for the participation of another five countries.
“PB IPSI has booked rooms in a number of hotels in Bali,” he said.
He said that the venue of the event will be at the Ngurah Rai Sports Hall in Denpasar. The sports hall is located near residential areas so that it would be easier for people to witness the event, he said. (*)
COPYRIGHT © 2008
Source: ANTARA News
November 18th, 2008
Villa Kecapi Bali comprises of 4 individual villas set within Balinese styled walled compounds for seclusion and privacy.
Nov 15, 2008 – Each 2 or 3 bedroom villa features a personal swimming pool in a tropical garden enclosure where guests can relax and sunbathe without the unnecessary disturbances found in a large hotel or resort.
Villa Kecapi Bali is ideally suited for small families and intimate honeymooners who will appreciate the level of privacy and discreet personal service that is offered. Breakfast is conveniently served daily in each villa and arrangements can be made with our staff for additional meals including special occasions and fine dining.
The Location
Strategically located in the vibrant neighbourhood of Kerobokan, Villa Kecapi Bali is only a 20 minute drive from Bali’s international airport and a short distance from the shopping district of Kuta. A nearby place of interest includes the renowned Petitenget Beach and its ancient Hindu temple. Several boutique resorts also grace the district such as The Legian and The Oberoi, as well as an entire stretch of cosmopolitan restaurants such as Kudeta. Fine dining, art shops, chic cafes and up market spas are abundant.
The Lifestyle
Following the integrated concept of open Balinese living, the airy lounge, dining and kitchen areas merge harmoniously together to create a sense of spaciousness.
The Bedrooms
All bedrooms are fully air-conditioned and elegantly furnished complemented by an en-suite bathroom with separate hot /cold water sunken tubs and shower compartments.
The Dining
A fully equipped kitchen features all necessary western amenities such as a juicer, microwave and coffee maker for guests who prefer to prepare their own meals in accordance their individual dietary requirements. Alternatively, breakfast is organized daily and villa staff can arrange room service or banqueting that is set up in an effortless manner for other daily meals or special occasions in the dining room.
The Relaxation
With peace and comfort clearly in mind, each villa is facilitated by a private entrance. A personal swimming pool is set within a charming garden environment complete with an elevated thatched gazebo for relaxing and a barbeque corner for casual outdoor meals or entertaining.
The Services
Villa Kecapi Bali employs a team of full time staff to take care of and anticipate all necessary guest requirements. Besides the standard housekeeping service, there is also a butler service, baby sitting facility, laundry and dry cleaning service and banqueting to ensure that each stay is one of utmost comfort. For guests’ leisure conveniences our staff will be of assistance to help arrange tour services, water sports, ticketing, car rental, currency exchange and postal requirements.
Source: http://www.prlog.org/
November 17th, 2008
Bali Villas - The Ulin Villas and Spa is a tropical retreat harmonious balance between traditional Balinese design and simple yet contemporary elegant interior
Perfectly situated in the most fashionable and stylish Seminyak known for restaurants, club, shopping areas and vibrant night life. The Ulin Villas & Spa rests only 30 minutes from Ngurah Rai International Airport and within few minutes to the white sand beaches.
The Accommodation
The Ulin Villas and Spa offers 14 Luxury boutique villas provide the ultimate privacy and totally unique lifestyle experience. It is a harmonious balance between traditional Balinese design and simple yet contemporary elegant interior. A superb experience from the magical island of Bali.
One Bedroom Villa - approximately 300 square meters with private swimming pool of 3m x 7m and private Spa Gazebo, comfortable for up to two guests.
Two Bedroom Villa - approximately 400 square meters with private swimming pool of 4m x 8m. Each has two bedrooms of a king size and a twin comfortable bed.
Three Bedroom Villa - approximately 600 square meters with private swimming pool of 6m x 10m. The villas have three bedrooms of a king size bed and two twin comfortable beds.
Each villa features private entrance, private swimming pool with environment friendly water treatment, air conditioned bedroom, well appointed living and dining lounge, designer kitchen, en-suite bathroom with over-sized bath, IDD telephone system, the latest technology of wireless internet connection and state-of-the art entertainment system. All villas are set in manicured tropical garden, each within their own walled courtyard.
We endeavor to provide a majestic lifestyle and the ultimate boutique villa experience. All is presented with the gracious and attentive service that is inimitably Bali.
The Spa
The Spa at The Ulin has been designed to indulge your body, mind and spirit. It has well appointed therapy suites offering total privacy and serenity, surrounded by carefully designed fish fond and lush tropical garden. Private Spa gazebo is available in each of our intimate One Bedroom Villas. Presenting only the most nourishing of products, we have blend and sourced only the purest natural selected oils, herbs and spices. The Spa treatment at The Ulin is a ritual that includes the exemplary necessities to be healthy, rejuvenate and well being
Each Villa Features
Private swimming pool with environment friendly water treatment
Private Balinese gate (Angkul - Angkul)
Manicured tropical garden
Fully equipped designer kitchen
Living and dining area
Spacious en-suite bathroom with tropical garden and over-sized bathtub
Superb quality personal care amenities & toiletries
State of the art entertainment system (DVD/CD player, multi channel television)
IDD phone, wireless internet connection
Personal safe
Services & Facilities
Multi lingual Guest Service Assistant
In villa dining or BBQ party
Gym, Cafe, Spa
Tour, adventure and car rental services
Complimentary bicycle
Complimentary drop off transportation within Seminyak and Kuta area
DVD and CD library
Baby sitting, kids program
Medical services - on call
Housekeeping and laundry services
Source: http://www.prlog.org/
November 17th, 2008
By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop
UBUD, Bali: The long, narrow lane would not look out of place in an old spy movie.
It ends abruptly at what looks like a wall of thatched grass but, after the driver toots the taxi’s horn, what turns out to be a grass-covered gate swings open to reveal a private entrance to one hectare, or 2.5 acres, of luxurious property nestled among the rice paddies of the Ayung River valley, near Ubud, at the center of the Indonesian island of Bali.
There, on the Sayan Ridge overlooking the river, stands a 33.5-meter-long, or 110-foot-long, single-story traditional longhouse among a vast expanse of coconut and frangipani trees, manmade and natural ponds, and even vegetable gardens.
Built entirely of tropical wood, including old ironwood electricity poles bought in a government auction, this is the dream house of John Hardy, 58, a Canadian, and his American wife, Cynthia.
Each arrived in Bali more than 20 years ago and they separately set up small jewelry businesses. Then, after meeting here, they joined forces to develop John Hardy, the renowned silver company. Its initial designs were based on four traditional Balinese jewelry-making techniques.
The couple sold their share in the business last year and now are concentrating on a new ecologically friendly school that they have built entirely of bamboo. The international school, which opened its doors in September, serves about 100 students from preschool through eighth grade.
When it came to their house, “We talked to the architect, Cheong Yew Kuan, about a fantasy,” Cynthia Hardy explained. “John’s brief was as few walls as possible, floor-to-ceiling windows upstairs and no door downstairs to maximize the outdoor living experience and the fabulous view. We wanted the house to be as open and as transparent as possible, so you could see the rice fields from wherever you stood inside.”
The couple fell in love with the site when they first spotted it in 1992 on a cycling trip around Ubud. At the time, they were living in a small house with no electricity or hot water on the very edge of the Ayung River gorge, below the luxury Amandari Resort.
“That day there was corn in the field and the view was incredible. We had had the same view below the Amandari but not that open,” she recalled. “Here, there was a real expanse of rice fields and the river below. There was a feeling of peace, serenity, seclusion.”
The first small parcel of land was bought for $20,000 with a loan from Cynthia Hardy’s father. (Property prices in Bali are quoted in U.S. dollars.) Since then, the couple has bought 10 more pieces of land to make up the site they now have. “Actually, the land is mainly contracted because foreigners cannot buy land outright in Indonesia,” Hardy said. “So you get a contract for 20 years, with a possibility to extend for another 20 years or buy through a Balinese proxy.”
The construction of the main house, which cost around $1 million, was a slow and organic process that took about two years, ending in 1997. “We first built a scale model in bamboo, just to get an idea of what it would be like to live in that house. We put up a little tent and moved it around to see where we wanted the bedroom. That’s when we decided we wanted to sleep in the north,” Hardy recalled.
The result is striking. The 20-meter-high structure stands on stilts and is one-room deep. The open ground floor space underneath the house is punctuated by water features that create a series of living spaces, some linked by small bridges, and include plenty of nooks for privacy. The décor is dominated by Javanese items that the couple has collected over the years, linked by a saffron and burgundy color scheme.
At far end of the house, a dining room, mainly used for breakfast, overlooks a deep pool and an old stone tub from Java that has been transformed into a Jacuzzi. “I can’t say we’re using it very often, maybe once every six months. We’ve never been in the hang-around, lounge mood, ever. One day, when we’re old and not doing anything,” Hardy mused.
Upstairs is another enfilade of rooms, beginning with an 8-meter by 7.6-meter living room, then a his-and-hers office, a master bedroom with a small walk-in closet, and finally a well-appointed bathroom with a custom-made rainforest shower with copper walls designed by John Hardy.
The rooms are open to the elements, so every night the Hardys’ staff hoist “sails,” screens made of varnished canvas, to protect the furnishings and decorations from the rain.
The couple’s two daughters, Carina, 12, and Chiara, 8, live in a separate five-story, parent-free pagoda with a thatched roof. Also designed by Cheong and built at a cost of $25,000, it is accessed either by a submerged stone path from the living room or through the garden.
John Hardy’s two older children from a previous marriage, Orin and Elora, have separate small Javanese houses that were restored and placed on the property for their visits. Elora is a graphic designer for Donna Karan in New York; Orin attends Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Washington.
Cynthia Hardy admits the house, which employs more than 15 staff members, requires “huge upkeep” as nature constantly tries to regain some ground: “We get lots of cobwebs, dust and leaves flying around, ferns grow out of the wood on the second floor, we even have bee holes in some of the teakwood and some of the coffee tree wood we used have rotted.”
Building their dream home has required “thousands of little decisions to make,” Hardy said, and it seems like the couple may never stop adding to it.
The latest addition was a 12.7-meter by 10.5-meter open family kitchen with an underground dry-storage space and toilets with walls that have been reinforced with bamboo and plaster. At the far end, overlooking the paddies, stands a huge kitchen table created from a long teak log split in two.
The couple says it is fast becoming the heart of the house, where the family spends every evening together eating the food they have produced in the garden, the rice paddy and the new shrimp house by the riverside.
“There is no downside to anything. This house is incredible, and it gets better every day, it really does,” Hardy said. “Every day I’m here, I like it more.”
Source: http://www.iht.com/articles
November 14th, 2008
Hong Kong: The United Nations World Tourism Organization says global travel grew less than two percent in June, July, and August.
Bali is every dream of an Asian holiday but Asian holidays these days seem to be just a dream.
The people in Bali - most of them - are relaxing on the basis of decisions they made back when Wall Street still looked relatively good.
In Thailand, tourism operators carry an extra burden; a protest movement has occupied government offices for months it’s already helped bring down one prime minister. And a 16% plunge in visitors.
In Hong Kong’s ocean park, nearly half the visitors are from mainland china a relatively resilient market - so far. China is still growing in the high single figures - and the very lack of financial integration with western banks has largely protected China from direct exposure to things like risky sub prime debt.
In Asia, a tourism downturn doesn’t just hit the obvious things like airlines and resorts - high end shopping is also a major motivation for travelers to places like Hong Kong and Singapore.
Tour operators say they don’t expect massive discounts in Asia. It may be a jungle out there, but Bali has survived terrorist bombings - and is convinced it has the strengths - and the range - to weather this downturn.
“Holiday is one of the needs of western people - so they will come to Bali,” says Bali resident Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya.
“People still find overall Bali to be a very inexpensive place to visit, accommodation wise, especially food wise. Everyday expenses like travel. It’s still very affordable so I’d be surprised if Bali does suffer,” adds Marcus Willson.
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/
November 14th, 2008
After having had the opportunity to live and travel throughout Asia, we felt compelled to share with the world the many treasures that have crossed our paths.
Charlotte, NC, November 11, 2008- Treasures of Bali has just launched their new website treasuresofbali.com.
Treasures of Bali is a family-owned business run by Pete and Caroline Huffstetler who say, ” Our distinctive mix of products from far-reaching and exotic locations come together to remind you of both travels experienced and those yet to be accomplished. We pride ourselves in dealing directly with the craftspeople and villages ensuring fair trade, fair prices, and first rate quality.”
Once you visit the website, you will see the vast array of natural fibers used in their woven furniture, beautiful and traditional batik printed fabrics for sarongs and pillows, unique hand-crafted sterling silver jewelry, and accessories, luxurious cashmere and silk pashmina shawls, striking hand beaded purses, unique “Bali glass” home decoratives, and some of the best Indonesian specialty coffees in the world… just to name a few.
With the Holiday season just around the corner, now is the time to shop from the comfort of your home for gifts from far away. You will be amazed at the quality of these fine products and the array of jewelry, handbags and more they offer. What is unique about Treasures of Bali is that the owners travel to Bali to personally hand-pick each item to ensure the quality and craftsmanship of everything they purchase for their website.
If you are looking for a special gift for someone special, a hard to find gift or even something just for you - be sure to visit Treasures of Bali today and often! New products are added monthly!
Press Release Submission By PressReleasePoint(www.pressreleasepoint.com)
Contact:
Caroline Huffstetler
Treasures of Bali
Charlotte, NC
704.747.7445
caroline@treasuresofbali.com
www.treasuresofbali.com
Source: http://www.pr-inside.com/
November 13th, 2008
By SONIA KOLESNIKOV-JESSOP
UBUD, BALI
The long, narrow lane would not look out of place in an old spy movie. It ends abruptly at what looks like a wall that swings open to reveal a private entrance to a 2.5-acre property nestled among the rice paddies of the Ayung River valley, near Ubud, at the center of the Indonesian island of Bali.
There, on the Sayan Ridge overlooking the river, stands a 33.5-meter-long (110-foot-long), single-story traditional house situated among a vast expanse of coconut and frangipani trees, man-made and natural ponds and even vegetable gardens.
Built entirely of tropical wood, including old ironwood electricity poles bought in a government auction, this is the dream house of John Hardy, 58, a Canadian, and his American wife, Cynthia.
Each arrived in Bali more than 20 years ago and they separately set up small jewelry businesses. Then, after meeting here, they joined forces to develop John Hardy, a silver jewelry company. Its initial designs were based on four traditional Balinese jewelry-making techniques.
The couple sold their share in the business last year and now are concentrating on a new ecologically friendly school that they have built entirely of bamboo. The international school, which opened its doors in September, serves about 100 students from preschool through Grade 8.
When it came to their house, “we talked to the architect, Cheong Yew Kuan, about a fantasy,” Mrs. Hardy said. “John’s brief was as few walls as possible, floor-to-ceiling windows upstairs and no door downstairs to maximize the outdoor living experience and the fabulous view,” she said. “We wanted the house to be as open and as transparent as possible, so you could see the rice fields from wherever you stood inside.”
The couple fell in love with the site when they first spotted it in 1992 on a cycling trip around Ubud. At the time, they were living in a small house with no electricity or hot water that stood on the very edge of the Ayung River gorge, below a luxury resort, Amandari.
“That day there was corn in the field and the view was incredible. We had had the same view below the Amandari but not that open,” she recalled. “Here, there was a real expanse of rice fields and the river below. There was a feeling of peace, serenity, seclusion.”
The first small parcel of land was bought for $20,000 with a loan from Mrs. Hardy’s father. (Property prices in Bali are quoted in American dollars.)
Since then, the couple has bought 10 more pieces of land to make up the 2.5-acre site they now have. “Actually, the land is mainly contracted because foreigners cannot buy land outright in Indonesia,” Mrs. Hardy explained. “So you get a contract for 20 years, with a possibility to extend for another 20 years or buy through a Balinese proxy.”
The construction of the main house, which cost around $1 million, was a slow process that took about two years, ending in 1997. “We first built a scale model in bamboo, just to get an idea of what it would be like to live in that house,” Mrs. Hardy said. “We put up a little tent and moved it around to see where we wanted the bedroom. That’s when we decided we wanted to sleep in the north.”
The 18-meter-high (59-foot-high) structure stands on stilts and is one-room deep. The open ground floor space underneath the house is punctuated by ponds and water features . The décor is dominated by Javanese antiques and artifacts that the couple collected over the years, linked by a saffron and burgundy color scheme.
At far end of the house, a dining room, mainly used for breakfast, overlooks a deep pool and an old stone tub from Java. “I can’t say we’re using it very often, maybe once every six months,” Mrs. Hardy said.
Upstairs is an 8-meter-by-7.6-meter (26 foot by 25 foot) living room, where a flat screen television is concealed behind a hanging carpet. There is a his-and-hers office, a master bedroom with a small walk-in closet and a bathroom with a custom-made rainforest shower with copper walls designed by Mr. Hardy.
The rooms are open to the elements, so every night the Hardys’ staff hoist “sails,” or screens made of varnished canvas, to protect the furnishings and decorations from the rain.
The couple’s two young daughters, Carina, 12, and Chiara, 8, live in a separate five-story, parent-free pagoda with a thatched roof. Also designed by Mr. Cheong and built at a cost of $25,000, it is accessed either by a submerged stone path from the living room or through the garden.
Mr. Hardy’s two older children from a previous marriage, Orin and Elora, have separate small Javanese houses that were restored and placed on the property for their visits. Elora is a graphic designer for Donna Karan in New York; Orin attends Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Wash.
Mrs. Hardy admits the house, which employs more than 15 staff members, requires “huge upkeep” as nature constantly tries to regain some ground: “We get lots of cobwebs, dust and leaves flying around. Ferns grow out of the wood on the second floor. We even have bee holes in some of the teakwood.”
The latest addition was a 12.7-meter-by-10.5-meter (46 foot by 34.5 foot) open family kitchen with an underground dry-storage space, as well as toilets with walls that have been reinforced with bamboo and plaster. At the far end, overlooking the paddies, stands a huge kitchen table created from a long teak log split in two.
The couple says it is fast becoming the heart of the house, where the family spends every evening together eating the food they have grown in the vegetable garden, the rice paddy and the new shrimp house down by the riverside.
“There is no downside to anything; this house is incredible and it gets better every day, it really does,” Mrs. Hardy said. “Every day I’m here, I like it more.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/
November 12th, 2008
Garuda Indonesia has announced that it will waive amendment fees for passengers wishing to defer their immediate travel arrangements to Bali.
Passengers departing prior to 31 December 2008 will be permitted to rebook their travel arrangements without charge, for departure within the next six months, provided they do so no later than 25 November 2008.Â
New bookings must be at the same fare. Lower fares will not attract a refund and the difference will be charged for any increase in fare or taxes & surcharges that result from the rebooking.
Standard cancellation and amendment policies will apply for travel after 1 January 2009 or for cancellation of bookings held prior to that date.
The airline will continue to monitor the situation and review these policies as required.Â
Source: http://www.etravelblackboard.com/
November 11th, 2008
Sarah Dougherty in Legian
November 10, 2008
AT THE Bali Aussie bar in Legian last night, they were hosting a No Fear Party. It seemed to sum up how people were feeling.
In light of the repeated warnings by the Australian Government to avoid all non-essential travel, the island is quiet.
But four friends from Perth were among the Australians heading to Bali Aussie to celebrate. There is little sympathy on the island for the bombers, but there is a resolute feeling that their executions - and any threat of reprisals - will not dampen the enthusiasm of holidaymakers, now or ever again.
“How anyone can think they can kill 200-odd people and not be punished is ridiculous, no matter who you are,” said one of the four, John Bown, who has been to Bali numerous times in the past five years. He says he has noticed a difference in the Balinese this time around.
“Before you could sense they didn’t want to talk about the bomb. Now they talk about it all the time; at breakfast in the hotel, the taxi drivers, they all seem to want to talk. We have had a great time and, in fact, we only knew about the executions because we got messages from home.”
Up town, a popular hotel for Australians is the Kumala Pantai on Legian Beach. Normally crawling with families, regional holidays are over and the current guests are mostly older.
David and Sue Pritchard, from Berrydale, NSW, have been coming to Bali since 1993, sometimes twice a year. They are happy the bombers are gone, “as long as it doesn’t make them martyrs”.
Ms Pritchard said she knew families who had asked their children to cancel their schoolies’ trips this year.
“I told them I would be far more worried about them being offered drugs, and being silly enough to take them, than anything else,” she said.
James and Karen McKay have been coming for 17 years and admitted their children were concerned about the timing of this trip. “It won’t affect us. We won’t allow it. I think the impact on the locals could be as big as the bomb. They are already fearful about the economic situation affecting tourism and they don’t want any more trouble here. We visited after the bomb and the effects were devastating on the community.”
The Balinese are both happy and relieved feeling that the Australian Government will encourage people to come back to the island, now that they see justice has been done. “The waiting has been very sad for us, but I am very happy now and I hope that our security will protect us,” said a local transport worker, Wayan Cerita.
At the entrance to the Kumala Pantai Resort, Made Diada Guatama sat quietly reading the Bali Post. “We have extra security here and we check every taxi and car coming in. We patrol the grounds all night and we hope there is no more trouble.”
One man who does not feel that the execution will bring anything positive is long-time Australian Bali resident Richard Flax, instrumental in the evacuation of many Australians as a result of both bombings and currently head of the Emergency Response Team supported by a local group.
“In view of my experience, I was contacted immediately by the hospitals and clinics operating in Bali when the first bomb went off. I think the execution will simply inspire more dissatisfied youth to acts of violence. In the spirit of reformation I believe they should have been locked away for the rest of their lives, out of the reach of media who have played into their hands.
“It is apparent to us that terrorism does not strike where you expect it to, that’s the nature of it. We all need to be very vigilant, create a kind of neighbourhood watch and protect each other.”
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news
November 10th, 2008
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