Two Drown Off Seminyak: Bali

October 27th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Two foreigners trying to cool off after a rugby match drowned while swimming in the sea off Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. A police official told Reuters that one man was Dutch, with the family name Byssemaker, while the other was Belgian, with the family name Deygrev. Both were aged 30, he said. Another police official said the two men had drowned on Friday afternoon off Seminyak beach due to strong currents. A local lifeguard, who declined to be identified by name, said a group of eight friends had gone for a swim after playing rugby and two of them got into trouble in the currents.

Denpasar Expands its City Tours: Bali

October 25th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

The Denpasar administration has announced plans to include more destinations in the city tour that it has been running since 1999. There are currently 10 destinations on the tour, which is managed by Denpasar’s tourism office, including the Art Center, Bali Museum, Le Mayeur Museum, Maospahit Temple, Badung-Kumbasari market and Sanur beach.

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Bali Safari and Marine Park: Bali

October 24th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Bali Safari and Marine Park, to be officially opened Wednesday in Cucukan, will be Taman Safari’s best park to date, marketing manager Esther Manansang said. And she should know. Esther, like many of Taman Safari’s department heads, was born into the business.

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Tour de Indonesia Starts in Bali

October 24th, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

The international Tour de Indonesia cycling race will start in Bali in November, with cyclists set to pedal through Denpasar, Buleleng and Gilimanuk on their way to Jakarta. Freddie Tutuarima from the event’s organizing committee said hundreds of athletes from 14 countries were expected to take part in this year’s event.

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Bali Needs to Register Cultural Assets

October 23rd, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik has asked the Balinese to protect their cultural assets by registering them as intellectual property. Indonesia recently became embroiled in a spat with Malaysia over that country’s use of the folk song Rasa Sayange, which Indonesia claims as its own. Malaysia was also reported to have registered batik products as its own cultural assets according to the Jakarta Post.

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Sekar Baruna Women’s cooperative: Tulamben, Bali

October 23rd, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Before Ni Nengah Dempi joined the Sekar Baruna women’s cooperative in Tulamben, Karang Asem, it was a daily struggle to feed her five children. The cooperative is located near a number of popular diving destinations some 90 kilometers east of the provincial capital of Denpasar. Dempi and some 28 other women and girls from Tulamben now work carrying diving equipment the 500 meters from hotels to scuba spots. They are paid Rp 8,000 per diving session.

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Global Tourism Competition and Bali

October 22nd, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

An economist said Bali will increasingly have to compete globally for tourists as countries promote their top destinations for a larger share of the lucrative industry. Economist Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said tourism will increasingly play a bigger role in the global economy. “Tourism will be grown as a ‘clean industry,’” said Kuntjoro-Jakti, a former chief economics minister.

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Women Writers in Indonesia

October 22nd, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

Meita Kasim, an up-and-coming Indonesian writer and Dorothea Rosa Herliany, a well known contemporary Indonesian poet stood out from the rest of the writers at last month’s UWRF festival in Ubud: They are prime examples of women writers who dare to challenge the status quo.

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A Safe Haven for Orangutans: Bali

October 21st, 2007 | By Barrie | No Comments »

If longtime orangutan expert and animal behaviorist Francine Neago gets her wish, Bali is set to become a world leader in orangutan and endangered species research. Neago has been passionate about the protection of orangutans for decades, even before she stepped onto Indonesian soil back in 1965.

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Book Review: Theo Meier a Swiss Artist Under the Tropics

October 21st, 2007 | By Barrie | 1 Comment »

Theo Meier, like other artists such as Walter Spies and Rudolph Bonnet, found absolute paradise in Bali for the creative pursuits. In a recently published book - Theo Meier A Swiss artist under the tropics – by Didier Hamel there is clarity in the previous statement as reviewer Carla Bianpoen writes:

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