LATEST BALI UPDATES

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Read the full report at http://www.balidiscovery.com/update/update788.asp


This is a special edition of Bali Update providing the latest information on the aftermath of a 6.8 earthquake and 11 aftershocks that struck off the island’s southern coast at 11:16 a.m. local time on Thursday, October 13th, 2011.

The news is generally good. The quake, which rattled the island and was felt as far away as the island’s northern shore, caused limited physical damage. Anyone driving the island’s roads this morning, less than 24 hours after the event, would be hard pressed to find evidence of the earthquake, with the possible exception of a severely cracked wall at the Carrefour Supermarket on Jalan Sunset.

Several people are, however, hospitalized with head injuries from debris that rained down on teachers and students at a junior high school. At least one of the injured is listed in critical condition and in a coma. We ask you to include them in your prayers.

Next Monday’s Bali Update will provide further updates on the earthquake together with our regular series of news articles on Bali.

This special edition, however, includes only a single article - a summary of new connected with yesterdays earthquake and is being sent in response to the many calls and emails of concern received from many of our 24,000 subscribers worldwide.


Om Çanti Çanti Çanti Om ...
J.M. Daniels, Editor
Bali Update
Bali Discovery Tours

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Read the full report at: http://www.balidiscovery.com/update/update745.asp
To readers celebrating Xmas, the team at Balidiscovery.com sends wishes of joy and good will at this special time of the year. Our Christmas-related coverage also includes news of added seats from Garuda to handle the holiday rush and estimates from the Bali Tourism Office that many hotels are now running occupancies in excess of 90%.

Weather was in the news last week with a devastating flood in Buleleng, North Bali and the another most unusual report of an ice storm in Denpasar.

One story from last week was very dramatic, but fortunately not true. Those who saw people fleeing a burning aircraft at Bali's airport last Wednesday were in fact watching a simulation exercise and NOT the real thing. Whew! Details in this edition.

President Yudhoyono has called on cities and tourism operators to exploit Indonesia's growing popularity as a destination for MICE – meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.

There's also news of growing safety for those who swim on Bali's southern beaches; a festering property dispute at Turtle Island in Bali; and a memorandum of understanding about to be signed between the police and the Indonesian Press Council.

Congratulations to John Spence of Karma Royal Resorts who's been named 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and to all the winners of this year's Tri Hita Karana Awards.

Question: What does an up and coming Indonesian chef, working in Singapore, do on his holiday? If you're Adithya Pratama you come to Bali and eat. Read our coverage and meet Adithya in this week's Update.

There's also a chance to read my mail in another installment of "We Get Mail" and more beautiful Bali faces from photographer Joe Kennedy.

Looking for events in Bali, the following are covered in this edition of Bali Update:
• Four talented pianists perform in concert at the Tugu Hotel in Canggu on Wednesday, December 29, 2010
• Anello Capuano in concert on New Year's Day at 7 pm at the Ubud Botanic Gardens.
• Three Italian Chefs are joining an international celebration of Italian cuisine on Monday, January 17, 2011.
• Paintings by I Made Windu Segara Senet at the Ganesha Gallery at the Four Seasons Resort at Jimbaran Bay January 6-17, 2010.
Special thanks to The Luxury Collection in Bali for putting me in the Christmas mood on Saturday night last week. Their invitation to a concert by "The Grand Choir of Russia" was musical magic on every level. Bravo and thanks!


Thanks to Virgin Blue Airlines, Gending Kedis and Bali Theatre at the Bali Safari and Marine Park for making this edition of Bali Update possible!

In 2011 promote your business to 20,000 Bali Update subscribers and the hundreds of thousands who visit www.balidiscovery.com each month. Book a banner now! Merry Christmas!



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

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Sadly, death dominates news from Bali this week. A 19-year-old Bali man was stabbed to death, allegedly by a security guard, at the Bounty Disco in Kuta and a 49-year-old Irish expatriate leapt to his death from the cliffs of Uluwatu. Not fatal, but with harmful intent, is the shooting of a Balinese tour guide by an Australian man in East Bali last Thursday.

Less dramatic coverage includes the closure of a busy street in Kuta every Saturday night to vehicle traffic; donations of blood by Bali Taxi drivers for victims of Indonesian natural disasters; increases in ferry tariffs between Java and Bali; and a report from Denpasar's immigration chief regarding the difficulties in capturing illegal foreign workers.

Bali's statisticians have come round to a projection made by balidiscovery.com four months ago. And, Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia have signed a codeshare agreement for flights between Singapore and Bali.

There's two interviews in this weeks Bali Update. We talk to a French celebrity chef now in residence at the AYANA Resort Bali and Gaia Grant on the re-release of her book on Bali – "A Patch of Paradise."

Plans to build a toll way connection Denpasar and Nusa Dua appear to be moving ahead and taking shape.

CNN has named the rooftop SOS Anantara Restaurant among a list of eateries with the most exotic views.

People are angry. Read our mailbag containing emails from people unhappy with plans by Indonesian Customs officials to strictly enforce limits on the value of personal luggage brought into the country.

And, on a brighter note, look at this installment of "Bali: Pretty as a Picture" containing lovely faces captured by Joe Kennedy Photography.


Thank you to Virgin Blue Airlines, Gending Kedis and Bali Theatre at the Bali Safari and Marine Park for making this edition of Bali Update possible!

Promote your business to or 20,000 subscribers and the hundreds of thousands who visit www.balidiscovery.com each month.



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

Latest Bali Updates

Om Swastiastu ...

Read the full report at http://www.balidiscovery.com/update/update737.asp
Concerning reports of violent civil unrest in Bali's north as people fight over traditional land rights.

Against the same backdrop of the stewardship of Bali's land, there are also stories of protests by young Hindu's against those trying to thwart Bali's new zoning laws; a public expression of a suspicion from a leading local legislator that Bali's regents are behind efforts to repeal the new zoning law before the Supreme Court; and an increasing militancy in the area of zoning as lawmakers call for errant buildings who fail to follow the rules to be torn down.

Crime in Paradise? Bali police reveal that crimes committed by foreign visitors are up 39% this year, covering a gamut of illegalities from robbing temples to narcotic violations. The trial of 2 men charged with ATM fraud ends with each getting sentences of 9 years in prison.

Tragic news over the past week include the death of a tourist from Haiti while swimming on Kuta beach and the death of two Balinese men in Kintamani due to a landslide.

Good news for Indonesian residents as the government announces plans to do away completely with the "fiskal" tax. Details in this edition.

In aviation news: Aeroflot applies for permission to operate three flights each week from Moscow to Bali; Indonesia AirAsia is buying 35 new airplanes; and Indonesia prepares for an "open skies" policy to take effect from 2015.

Bali rules! Bali hoteliers and restaurateurs continue to do the island proud winning recognition in the World Travel Awards and from the Miele Restaurant Guide.

There's information about an important new art book in which Bali features prominently and an invitation to be Ghoulish at an October 30th Halloween party in Ubud

There more news on rabies, handicraft exports and cataclysmic trouble brewing on Mount Merapi in nearby Central Java.

Just some of the news in this week's Bali Update.

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

Latest Bali Updates

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Read the full report at http://www.balidiscovery.com/update/update732.asp
Bali hotels and the island as a destination have won honors in the 2010 Smart Asia Travel poll. In a celebratory mood, hoteliers hit the streets this weekend for a 7 kilometer fun run – part of a months' long Sports and Cultural Carnival organized by the Bali Hotel Association.

At two opposite ends of Bali's hotel sector: there's news of 'The Rock Bars' top spot in a CNN ranking among the best 30 hotel bars in the world, and the opening of a small resort focused on helping its guest avoid a drink.

Security and safety are always top news in Bali. Terrorism and rabies warnings from Canberra – will they negatively impact booming travel numbers from Australia to Bali?

Oblivious to such threats, Strategic Airlines is increasing flight frequencies form Townsville, Port Headlands and Brisbane to Bali.

The World Economic Forum reports encouraging news that Indonesia has became more competitive in 2010.

Bali's new police chief is on the beat. He's threatening to fire senior officers who can't solve crimes and meeting with Seminyak residents concerned about deteriorating security in their neighborhood. There's also been another arrest – this time a Frenchman – in the expanding investigation of sacred artifacts stolen from Balinese temples.

Also linked to security: Hundred of Indonesians are being refused entry to Bali at the Gilimanuk port due to the lack of a valid identity cards. Meanwhile, Iranian tourists are under close scrutiny at Bali's airport in the continuing war against narcotics smuggling.

The health and well-being of the Balinese is the focus of coverage of growing suicide rates in Bali and the implementation of free-health services for the island's poor.

Governor Pastika is putting forth an ingenious idea to raise money for schools that will also rid the island of unwanted plastic trash. There's some news of the provincial budget for 2011 that some see as unrealistic and impossible to achieve.

Certain to make some property investors nervous, the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association Secretary would like to see illegal commercial villas torn down.

Looking for special events in Bali? Attend an experimental music workshop in Sanur this Wednesday. Coming in November – an important painting exhibition at The Ganesha Gallery in Jimbarnan.

Just some of the news in this edition of Bali Update.

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

Latest Bali Updates

Om Swastiastu ...

For the full report go to: http://www.balidiscovery.com/update/update731.asp

The Lebaran Holidays are still in full swing in Indonesia. As a result, Bali hotels are full and our roads are jammed – at least for most of the coming week.

Our news beat this week: Bali's governor says "no means no" to geothermal energy in Bali; a South Korean diver drowns off Tanjung Benoa; Garuda is said to be seeking to dump its low-cost subsidiary Citilink; the former Regent of Gianyar and his wife are washed out to sea during a morning walk; and airlines add new domestic routes from Bali.

Other news includes the arrest of an Italian and a group of men suspected of stealing sacred objects from temples across Bali; Denpasar officials seal several businesses, including a new hotel project in Sanur; and Tommy Suharto sues Garuda for unkind remarks in their in-flight magazine.

Coming events in Bali:
• Oscar Pasinato cooks at Dava at Ayana Resort September 18-24, 2010
• Mount Langi Ghiran Wines at a special dinner at the Conrad Resort on September 20, 2010.
• Oktoberfest comes to the Kartika Plaza September 24-26, 2010.
• Gay and Lesbian Films in Bali at Q!Film Festival October 13-17, 2010.
• Bali Triathlon 2011 on June 26, 2010.
We also provide a look at our mailbag in the latest installment of "We Get Mail."

All this, and more, in this edition of Bali Update.


Om Çanti Çanti Çanti Om ...

J.M. Daniels - Bali Update
Bali Discovery Tours

Latest Bali Updates

Om Swastiastu ...


In the final week counting down to the Idul Fitri Holidays, Bali police are deploying 1,700 officers at special posts to keep Bali safe over the biggest travel period of the year. Promising to pose extra challenges to police are weather predictions of nation-wide strong winds, high seas and rain during this peak travel period.

Also from the police blotter: Angry employees at the M-Bargo Disco in Kuta savagely attacked an Australian customer. Police make arrest following a bust at the Blue Eyes Karaoke in Sanur where 4 nude lady dancers were caught on stage. A training aircraft from the Bali International Flight Academy crashes in East Java without significant injury to the instructor or his two students. And, Bali's police chief General Hadiatmoko promises to get tough on uniformed officers reported to be collecting bribes from tourists on motorbikes.

There's the worrying news that the death toll from rabies and suspected rabies cases in Bali now stands at 93.
A Garuda jet parked in Amsterdam and bound for Indonesia is delayed after being struck by a cargo van.

The national House of Representatives has approved a US$229.3 million budget for the ministry of culture and tourism for 2011. Still on the subject of money, Bali needs US$9.53 million over five years to reclaim and rebuild its forested areas and fees collected for visas-on-arrival total US$23 million for H1 2010.

Find out why Bali is calling for an end to new permits for travel agents in Bali.

Plans to build alternative roadways to overcome traffic congestion in Kuta entered yet another new phase of uncertainty last week as Badung regency officials dug in, refusing to approve the project unless underpasses are used instead of overpasses.

There's an interesting story on how job applicants were recently asked to sing, dance and perform for a new resort in Seminyak. There's exciting plans for 10 new luxury pool villas to open soon at the Laguna Luxury Villas at Nusa Dua. And, a bigger, safer fast ferry to soon begin operating between Bali and Gili Air.

Learned tourism commentator A.A. Gde Agung asks if Bali is Over-exploited while in a separte editorial we question the lack of regulatory enforcement in Bali.

There's a contemporary art exhibition opening at The Ganesha Gallery on October 10th and more details, including pictures, of the "must see" Bali Agung performance now showing four times every week at the Taman Safari & Marine Park in Gianyar.

ERRATA: Last week's edition of Bali by the Numbers miscalculated projected total arrivals for 2010. That article, in its corrected form at [Will Bali Hit 2.5 Million Visitors in 2010?]
To all our Moslem Readers – Maaf Lahir Batin – Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri 1431 H.


Om Çanti Çanti Çanti Om ...

J.M. Daniels - Bali Update
Bali Discovery Tours

Latest Bali Updates

Read the full report at: http://www.balidiscovery.com/update/update728.asp
Om Swastiastu ...


Last week Indonesia celebrated the 65th Anniversary of its founding. On Bali, a group of handicapped divers marked the day by unfurling the red and white beneath the ocean's blue in a unique way to celerate nationhood and personal independence.

Numbered among leading news stories last week were the frantic attack by a mentally disturbed man with a knife on people walking down the streets of Kuta; a gift of 18,000 vials of anti-rabies serum from the United Nation's WHO to Bali; the sinking of a fast ferry from Bali to Gili Trawangan island that saw 34 tourists narrowly escape drowning; and an increase in the security alert level for the Port of Gilimanuk following the arrest of a radical cleric in Java.

There's also coverage of the appointment of a new chief of police for the province of Bali; a startling report from the bureau of statistics that Bali's population has increased 20% in only a decade to 3.89 million; and the good news that handicraft exports to Europe are on the increase.

Also, last week, a group of spokespersons from Bali travel industry met with the island's House of Representatives to warn of 7 threats to the island's tourism industry.

Governor Pastika is scolding the regents and mayors across Bali for failing to keep their pledge to make payment of the Hotel & Restaurant tax on line. There's coverage of the governor's threat to take matters in his own hands and our editorial in support of his hard line initiatives.

Jakarta has suddenly promised to help finance both underpasses and overpasses in order to alleviate traffic congestion in Bali. Police will soon have 1,000 sets of new eyes in the form of surveillance cameras operating across the island. And, the governor is sticking to his guns and insisting a 1,000 percent increase in the cost of well-water must go ahead as planned.

Hardly news or new, but complaints continue over poor service and immigration waiting lines at Bali's airport.

The U.S. and Indonesian governments have agreed to establish a national bio-diversity institute ay Bali's Udayana University.

And, in order to unfreeze a wide number of infrastructure projects, a draft law is in the works that will introduce the concept of eminent domain into Indonesian law.

Art is a walk in the park in Bali. Be sure to see the eccentric display of sculptures created by Adi Bachman in the gardens surrounding the ARMA Museum in Ubud running through December 31, 2010.



Om Çanti Çanti Çanti Om ...

J.M. Daniels - Bali Update
Bali Discovery Tours

Latest Bali Updates

Om Swastiastu ...


Drugs, unfortunately, still loom large in news from Bali. 8 Iranians received life sentences before a Bali court last week for attempting to smuggle narcotics into Bali, while the National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN) labels Bali and Jakarta as Indonesia's two main gateways for the illicit drug trade.

Bali's rapid growth and efforts to ease traffic congestion are the focus of three articles in this week's Bali Update. High land acquisition costs are affecting efforts to build an overpass at the Simpang Siur intersection. A zoning experts and local legislator suggest that Bali's unique roadside statuary may be one of the first casualties in new road building projects. And, we have an editorial asking if building tunnels to overcome traffic jams has been too readily dismissed as an option by the island's administrators?

Other news brings welcomed confirmation that Bali's cat population remains free of rabies; news of 2 criminal convictions for Jakarta businessman Paul Handoko involved in efforts to illegally appropriate a villa in Sanur; labor demonstrations by workers at the Aston Bali Resort and Spa; and an urgent call for more life-guards and life-guard stations along Bali's southern beaches.

This week we'll also introduce you to the newest resident of the Bali Safari and Marine Park.

There's a handy link to all the official holidays for Indonesia in 2011 and confirmation that tourist visiting Bali are staying for shorter periods of time.

Back by popular demand is another interview with Bali-based notary Rainy Hendriany, examining the current state of Indonesian law on property ownership by foreigners. Essential reading for anyone contemplating a property transaction of any kind in Bali.

Feeling hungry? I share the discovery of a fun-filled and very economical restaurant discovered last week in South Kuta.

Coming events covered in this week's edition include an Italian food experience at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay; a three-person art exhibition celebrating the female form at the Ganesha Gallery; and a two-person art exhibition on “Flower Power” at Pranoto's Gallery in Ubud.

You're also invited to read our mail bag gathered from the past two weeks.


Read the full report at http://www.balidiscovery.com/update/update721.asp


Om Çanti Çanti Çanti Om ...