Tourist arrivals in Bali are at an all-time high despite warnings Australians could be targeted once the three Indonesian bombers are executed. The number of Australians visiting the holiday island has almost doubled in the past year and 3500 extra plane seats a week have been added since December.

Tourism authorities are confident any impact from the executions, scheduled for early next month, will be short term. And they are optimistic security is now so tight that a repeat of the 2002 and 2005 bombings can be avoided, although many privately admit nothing can be ruled out. They pointed to recent terrorist arrests, which have foiled plots to commit bombings in Jakarta and Sumatra. Continue reading »

From the crowded bar of the Bounty Club, where bare-chested Australian youngsters mount the stage and drunkenly bellow karaoke, to the luxury Luna 2 villa where the glitterati sip French champagne on the Legian foreshore around a pool inlaid with a 20-meters Marilyn Monroe mosaic, Bali is booming again.

A tourist influx has replaced the downturns that followed the two Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005. Total numbers swelled to new highs this year, and 33,000 Australians came in July alone, a record. Visitors walking the 10-kilometers beachfront strip from Kuta to Seminyak any day in the past three months could not find a single available room. Continue reading »

In the glittering sun of a spring morning on Bondi Beach, 24-year-old Rae Milton is radiantly pregnant. “Rae’s baby is due in three weeks and that’s brought a lot of love to our family,” says Tia Byron on the imminent birth of her first grandchild.

Tia’s husband, David Byron, adds: “She’s brought an energy into our family that we need.”

Mr Byron is a founding member of the Bondi Longboard Club. To him, the Sydney beach-side suburb is more than a glamorous icon, it’s a neighborhood and a community. It’s where he grew up and where he taught his son, Jared (Rae’s partner), and his daughter, Chloe, to surf. Continue reading »

The battle is on for the big bucks in the high performance waves of Keramas Beach on Bali, with 18 of the world’s top junior surfers going toe-to-toe in the opening round of the US$75,000 Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge Championship on Thursday. The championship kicked off with the traditional “blessing of the waters” ceremony, before surfing action got under way with six non-elimination heats completed in round one. Continue reading »

Infinity, one of the largest beachfront wedding venues in Bali, floats two meters above sea level within an ensemble of overflowing reflecting pools and marble walkways.

The air fills the sounds of romantic music as the bride with her father walks down the walkway over the black infinity pool. The majestic sight of the Infinity chapel is quite unique is located on a beautifully manicured 12,000 sq foot beachfront reserve in Nusa Dua. With a height of 33 feet and occupying in all about 1,200 sq ft, the space has been designed with a contemporary feel and huge ocean facing glass frontage. The off-set triangle shape represents a romantic angle towards the heavens, while its physical attributes of marble glass and steel are each metaphors for the male and female bodies and their interaction with each other as a couple. Australian General Manager Michael Burchett says: “the north side of the triangle embodies the delicate and nurturing characteristics of the bride as she supports the impressive marble south side, the stoic groom”. The 65 foot floating walkway to the chapel is set on 3,230 sq feet of infinity pool. On the water sits islands formed of wreaths of flowers that the couple walks past. About 60 guests have already filled the chapel and the groom awaits his bride. Continue reading »