Bali Updates

Om Swastiastu ...

Full report at: http://www.balidiscovery.com/update/update705.asp

If you're reading this edition of Bali Update on Tuesday, please do so quietly as it's "Nyepi" – Bali's official day of silence. Our wishes are that the world will emerge on Wednesday cleansed and renewed at the beginning of the Hindu New Year Saka 1932.

Lead stories this week are the killing near Jakarta of Dulmatin – a mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombing as part of a nationwide sweep against terrorism. Rabies has now claimed its 40th victim in Bali. Bali's Taxi war continues with no end in sight. And, preparations continue for the visit of President Barack Obama, whose visit to Bali will be delayed by a few days due to a heavy legislative demands in Washington, D.C..

Bali's arrivals figures for 2009 are presented in this week's installment of "Bali by the Numbers." Needless to say, the results are astounding.

There's news of another new Australian Airline starting service to Bali form Perth in June; some Bali snapshots from the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" now being prepared for its Hollywood premiere; a call for a crackdown on illegal websites selling Bali travel from ASITA; and a story on why a present from Indonesia's President to Kevin Rudd is stuck in Customs in Canberra.

Calendar ready? There are two presentations in Ubud by fitness and success guru Billy Blanks on March 25 and 26. And, don't miss a painting exhibition by the children of the East Bali Poverty Project, also in Ubud, March 21 through April 30, 2010.

We also share our notes on a "not to be missed" seafood restaurant – Sardine – that's now open in Kerobokan.

Fed up with the misleading way the current taxi war in Bali is being presented, we boldly offer our two-bits and sound off this week in an Editorial asking "Who Speaks for the People?"


Selamat Hari Raya Nyepi Tahun Baru Saka 1932!


Om Çanti Çanti Çanti Om ...
J.M. Daniels - Bali Update
Bali Discovery Tours