Bali News / Island’s News Updates

People comments on the election of Police General Made Mangku Pastika as Bali governor and what he should do to keep Bali a leading international tourist destination. Bali post interview a number of audiences in different background, native Balinese, Indonesian, and Australians, the country which have very close connection to Bali, and with the largest victims of the terrorist attack put into jail by the General.

Prevent further traffic congestion by imposing heavy taxes on big cars. Don’t allow huge trucks and buses to operate on small roads during rush hours and don’t allow parking in restricted areas.
ROBERT
Seminyak, Bali

Bali is rich in cultures and arts that attract tourists. The new governor should focus on security to ensure safety of tourists and residents.
DEDE LESMANA ELO
Tangerang, Banten

His priority should be on equality and justice to raise awareness on law and order. The improvement of the economy through the development of infrastructure, healthcare and education is important to escalate the standard of living of the Balinese. Mangku Pastika should make the people of Bali happy hosting tourists.
JANPIE SIAHAASN
Jakarta

He should strengthen security in Bali. And he should extend visas to two months or more. He should also have a better security system at ferry docks to prevent the smuggling of illegal goods.
YOS WOWOR
Denpasar

I believe that Pastika, with his capacity and integrity, can lead Bali to be not only a famous tourist destination but also a more prosperous region. However, he should not be a hesitant leader. He should focus on social welfare.
ABDUL MUIS MADKHAN
Kudus, Central Java

Congratulations, Bali and the new governor. What should he do? When he looks at Bali from the eyes of tourists, he will see that many are harassed by taxi drivers and locals just hanging around.

Undisciplined driving often causes unnecessary deaths on the roads. Secure Bali, not only from terrorists, but also from the gangs operating on streets who are creating an atmosphere of violence.

Bali needs many police officers to assist residents to enforce the law and to lecture Balinese with more discipline in traffic. I wish the governor good luck and wisdom.
JOHANNES
Nusa Dua, Bali

I am from western Australia. I have regularly returned to Bali since 1975. First, I have to say that it is a better experience every time I return.

I believe that if foreigners could own land in Bali many, many wealthy people would like to own holiday villas there. This would mean that many millions of dollars would enter the economy both to build the homes and then to operate them.

It would help to pay for the improvement of roads needed to open further parts of Bali such as Medowi, which is good for surfing.
JOHN SIMPSON

News by The Jakarta Post - thejakartapost.com

Hundreds of thousands of people were gathering here Tuesday to cremate two Balinese royals in what promises to be one of the largest funeral rites of its kind in local memory. Ubud royal family head Tjokorda Gde Agung Suyasa, who died in March after a long illness, and lesser royal Tjokorda Gde Raka who also died in March, will be cremated on a massive hand-crafted pyre representing the universe.

The hill town of Ubud, the cultural capital of mainly Hindu Bali, came to life before dawn with women wearing sarongs and traditional blouses carrying offerings of fruit on their heads to the royal palace. Neighborhood chiefs exhorted people over loudspeakers to wake up and get ready for the service, as men gathered at the palace to carry the huge pyre that will be paraded through town around midday.

“Each person has their job. For me, it’s making coffee for people coming in. For the men, it’s making the cremation towers,” domestic worker Ni Made Rinun told AFP. “Everyone works, no one is lazy,” she added. For months, the bodies of the dead royals have been waited on by relatives with offerings of food and coffee in bedrooms of the palace.

Most Revered Royal Family

The royal family of Ubud, a hillside town famous as the heartland of traditional Balinese arts, is one of the most revered royal families on the island. It is descended from royalty from the neighboring island of Java who fled the fall of the Hindu Majapahit Empire in the 15th century.

At the start of the funeral procession, the bodies will be brought from the main temple where they have been lying in state since Saturday. The bodies of 68 commoners, many also dead for months, were dug out of graves on the weekend and cremated in preparation to be included in the procession. The royal remains will be loaded via bamboo and wood gangways into colorful paper-made towers called “bade”. The multi-tiered, demon-covered towers symbolize the three levels of the Balinese Hindu universe.

More than 200 men in traditional dress will heave each tower — the tallest of which is 28 meters (92 feet) high — onto their shoulders with bamboo slats, spinning the structures around to ensure the spirits of the dead are too disoriented to return home. Also winding through the streets will be the Naga Banda, a seven-meters long “dragon” reserved for the highest royals and symbolizing the wisdom of the royal family.

Lying symbolically between heaven and earth in the bade, the royals are paraded to the sound of traditional gamelan orchestras, a percussion instrument resembling a cross between a xylophone and a bell. Then they are loaded into sarcophagi representing black bulls bedecked with gold foil, which are then wrapped in the Naga Banda. The priest pours holy water on the bulls before they and the towers are set alight. Finally, the ashes are taken to Bali’s eastern Sanur beach to be cast into the sea.

The cremation is intended to return the body to the fundamental elements of fire, air, water, earth and void. Smaller ceremonies then release the soul to reach oneness with God before, after a time, it is reincarnated. “(The soul) doesn’t stay in the body, it’s probably around the body,” explained Tjokorda Dge Raka Kerthyasa, the successor as Ubud’s royal head. “The process of cremation separates the attachment of the soul to the physical being, the world. I think… I haven’t died yet so I don’t know.”

Tjokorda Raka Swastika, nephew of the late Ubud royal family head, said “only the blue bloods” were honored with a cremation featuring the Naga Banda. “(The family) is not only respected in Bali, we are related to the royal families in Java, South Sumatra, all over Indonesia … Our family is respected by great people all over the world,” he said.

News by Antara - antara.co.id

The Sales Mission, Bali and Beyond, Australia-New Zealand event launched with over 50 travel and hospitality industry professionals at the Novotel Rockford in Sydney’s Darling Harbor last week. Continuing their “Visit Indonesia Year 2008″ campaign, the sales mission aimed to promote new and current Indonesian products and services to entice Australian’s to visit the “Island of the Gods” shores.

The night started with flowing wine and canapés before the attendees gathered to watch a traditional Balinese dance and listen to the many reasons to visit Bali and beyond. Speakers included Mr Siuaji Raja, Consul for Economic Affairs and Dr I Gde Pitana, Director for International Promotion from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Pitana pointed out the strong tourist numbers that Indonesia had been experiencing over the past few years, with 2007 welcoming overall an increase of 43.4% of tourists compared to 2006. The first quarter of 2008 has already seen 101, 115 visitors arrive at the country, and the government has set an estimated target of 380,000 visitors already. It was found, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the republic of Indonesia, that Australian’s rank as the 4th highest numbers of visitors to hit Indonesian shores, with Singapore, Malaysia and Japan respectively taking the top three places.

Pitana urged attendees to make Australians aware of the diverse experiences Indonesia offers, with over 500 ethnicities, 473 dialects, endless shopping, over 100 festivals and 25 international standardized golf courses, Indonesia as a product is “suitable” for the Australian market.

In regards to the safety and security that many Australians have had concern over, Pitana assured that these “issues” were “only issues, they are not correct”. He referred to the fact that the US had removed the Travel Ban from Indonesia three weeks ago, and that terrorism is a worldwide problem.

The sales mission also featured a Table top session where over 10 suppliers of products and services in Indonesia sat down with a new group of buyers every 7 minutes to explain their innovative and hospitality-driven ideas. To further drive the sales mission home, 38 industry practitioners offered special deals only for Australian and New Zealand agents, which included package deals and discounts at luxury resorts and hotels.

The night ended with a lucky draw for attendees, the winner taking home a 7-night package at one of Bali’s luxury resorts.

News by e-Travel Blackboard - www.etravelblackboard.com

Residents of Bondalem village in Buleleng regency, Bali, on Tuesday officially launched a 3 square kilometer sea conservation area and reef monitoring center that will be used as a center for education and information on coral reef ecosystems. The signing of a stone plaque by Buleleng Regent Putu Bagiada and the presentation of 40 blocks of coral from the head of the local maritime and fisheries agency to the Bondalem village head marked the launch.

The blocks will eventually be transplanted in the conservation area. The Buleleng regent, head of the tourism agency and several other regional officials symbolically transplanted pieces of coral which were placed in the conservation area by divers. “We started to initiate the conservation area in 2006 with help from the Reef Check Foundation,” Bondalem village head Gede Ngurah Sadu Adnyana told The Jakarta Post in Buleleng. He said coral reefs in the region had suffered from the practice of fish bombing and other harmful fishing practices. “Also, lots of residents made a living by taking coral and crushing it to make lime which they sold,” he said.

He said it was difficult to blame the residents for this because so many lived below the poverty line. “As a consequence of these harmful practices, the amount of fish caught by our fishermen kept decreasing daily, so I issued a village decree in 2006 and ordered residents to start protecting the sea and coral,” he said.

Reef Check Foundation chairwoman Naneng Setiasih said the sea conservation area would be like a bank for coral to grow. “We expect people will make use of the coral bank without laying their hands on the main deposit,” she said.

Head of the Bali Tourism Agency I Gede Nurjaya, in his speech during the launch ceremony, praised the residents of Bondalem for taking the initiative to protect the environment. “This is a very smart move by Buleleng residents because, after the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Bali last year, people are supposed to stop talking and start taking real action to overcome these issues,” he said. “I’m proud of Buleleng residents who have responded to climate change issues with real action. “At the end of the day this will help Bali tourism since the main attraction of tourism on the island is its environment and scenery,” he said. He said Buleleng had several tourism potentials that could be developed: ecotourism, spiritual tourism and agro tourism. He added that this step by the residents of Bondalem would help in developing the region’s ecotourism. “This conservation effort should be continued even though we probably will not experience the results ourselves, but at least we can preserve nature for our children and grandchildren,” he said.

Buleleng Regent Putu Bagiada said he was pleased with the initiative by Bondalem village and expected other villages would follow its lead. “Buleleng has at least 144 square kilometers of coastline, and we all need to cooperate in preserving it,” he said.

Written by Irawaty Wardany
Published by The Jakarta Post - thejakartapost.com