Travel Reports

Having once had to pay Au$10 to bring my own video camera through Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport Immigration, the following story brought back the memory.

An incident at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport involving a Hollywood leading man has caused a media brouhaha stretching from Indonesia to the Late Night Show with David Letterman on American TV.

Canadian heartthrob Taylor Kitsch shared the story of a run-in with Balinese immigration officials, incorrectly portrayed by Letterman as having occurred in the Philippines. [Read more...]

Mola Mola Oceanic Sunfish

A non-governmental organization dedicated to preserving the ocean’s ecosystem, the Coral Triangle Center (CTC), is urging the government to list the enormous Mola-mola fish as a protected species.

The Mola-mola is a rare Oceanic Sunfish – the world’s heaviest bony fish that can grow up to 3 metres in diameter and weigh more than 350 kilograms.

The CTC is asking that this huge fish, a seasonal visitor to the waters of Nusa Penida Islands, a short distance off Bali’s southeastern coast, be registered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to prevent people from selling and buying the aquatic behemoth. [Read more...]

Kuta Nightclub

If you’re at your favourite Kuta nightclub expecting to rage until 5am, you may be in for a surprise around 2am when local residents of Kuta and the surrounding areas, unhappy with the rising levels of crime and noise in Bali’s nightlife Mecca, have begun neighbourhood patrols to enforce the rules that the officials seemingly cannot.

These local residents are also forceably insisting that nightspots close their doors at 2:00 a.m. to reduce crime and noise pollution that disturbs residents in the area. [Read more...]

Sea Turtles for sale on Bali

Balinese officials have been asked to take strong action against souvenir sellers in Tanjung Benoa in southern Bali who are selling souvenirs made from turtle shells. The government has also been asked to control and moderate the increasingly popular release program for baby turtles from the beaches in front of various hotels on Bali, claiming such programs are more closely linked to commercial considerations than any genuine concern for the creatures.

According to ProFauna Bali, the sale of souvenirs made form turtle shell is still openly carried out in the Tanjung Benoa tourist area of Bali. A survey conducted in January of 2012 revealed widespread sale of bracelets, decorative boxes, and cigarette holders on Pulau Penyu, Tanjung Benoa.

Pulau Penyu at Tanjung Benoa is known a center for “turtle tourism” where hundreds of turtles are on display for visiting tourists. Tourists can be photographed holding turtles. The endangered species on display at Pulau Penyu include Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas), Olive Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), and Hawksbill Sea Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata). [Read more...]

Trunyan Cemetery

For those of you who have read “Bali – A Family Holiday” in Life and Travels of a Non-Famous Person, you may have noticed a paragraph where we visited the village of Trunyan across Lake Batur to see where the locals bury their dead above ground. This tour has been almost abandoned for nearly two decades. I thought it had been stopped either because the villagers had stopped the tradition, or laws had prevented anyone undertaking the tour.

But no; it appears the tours were all but ceased because of aggressive, heavy-handed, and coercive behaviour by Trunyan villagers towards tourists crossing the lake to view their unique community. These actions had been the source of numerous complaints, causing tour operators to largely avoid sending their guests there. The village chief is now seeking to restore the reputation of the village as a tourist destination.

[Read more...]

A rare day on Bali's streets

For those visitors to Bali who have never experienced Nyepi, Bali’s Day of Absolute Silence, if you are holidaying on the island on Friday, March 23, you will get to experience it first-hand. Here’s what to expect:

Bali’s magical and highly spiritual day of absolute silence, Hari Raya Nyepi, marks the first day of the Bali Hindu New Year of Caka 1934.

Unique in all the countries of the world, Nyepi Day is preceded by a night of revelry in which elaborately decorated papier-mâché floats are carried through Bali’s streets. The floats are adorned with images depicting all manner of daemons and well-known celebrities. They are carried on the shoulders of the village youth who have spent the time leading up to the festival creating the colourful displays. As dawn approaches, the celebrants, now exorcised of their wild impetuosity, slip away to their homes for a 24-hour period of compulsory solitude and reflection from which to preview the year ahead. [Read more...]

Duck foie gras mousse

The St. Regis Bali created an unexpectedly pleasant problem for itself when it established its Boneka Restaurant as the venue for the best Sunday brunch on the island. They faced the dilemma of regularly having to turn away those who failed to make advance reservations as all seats quickly filled for the Sunday repast.

They solved the problem by making the Boneka the second best Sunday brunch on the island, and launching their new Astor Diamond Sunday Champagne Brunch in the resort’s fine-dining Kayuputi Restaurant. This is now the best Sunday brunch on the island.

The menu from the Kayuputi Sunday Champagne Lunch is mind-boggling in both its range and opulence. [Read more...]

Artisan Estate

It appears there are more quality wine makers on Bali than I was aware of.

Bali-based Artisan Estates have raised the bar in the increasingly competitive and growing circle of vintners producing quality wines on the island. Production of Artisan Estate’s latest varietals – the 2011 Artisan Sauvignon Blanc, and the 2011 Artisan Shiraz – represent yet another rebuttal to those who dismiss the possibility that a quality table wine can be produced in Bali. [Read more...]

Kintamani souvenir sellers

Thank goodness it appears that something will be done to make a visit to Kintamani enjoyable again.

The Bali Post reports that factors ranging from aggressive street vendors to territorial disputes between competing tour guides are having a debilitating effect on tourism at the volcano-rimmed community of Kintamani, with tourist numbers declining every year.

The regent of Bangli, Made Gianyar, has expressed his grave concerns on how best to restore tourism in Kintamani. Admitting that Kintamani as a tourism destination on Bali is in decline, the regent fears Kintamani is under threat of “being left behind” in Bali’s growing tourism industry. [Read more...]