Bali exported as many as 750,000 paintings in various types and sizes in the January-September period in 2008 earning some US$ 2.5 million in foreign exchange from the activity, according to a report released by the province’s industry and trade office. The cited figures meant the province’s fine arts business had grown by 62 percent compared to a corresponding period in 2007 when it earned only US$ 1.5 million from painting exports. Continue reading »

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. Continue reading »

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika expressed concern about the House of Representatives decision to pass the controversial porn bill into law during a plenary session in Jakarta on Thursday. Pastika reiterated that the passage into law only meant one thing: lawmakers had ignored Balinese hopes. “We will continue to oppose the porn law as this has been our stance from the first,” Pastika told reporters. Continue reading »