First up, don’t be alarmed and rush to cancel your flights thinking you are going to cark it or something more disastrous. The Centre for Travel Medicine in Dusseldorf, Germany has merely released a statement saying that Hepatitis A is on the increase in South-East Asia and naturally this includes Indonesia. The remedy for protection is simple – get vaccinated!. So many people have asked me on the BaliBlog Forum if or not they need to get vaccinated before travelling to Bali and if so, which types. I always tell them at least have a Hepatitis A & B combination vaccination and this will help in some way of avoiding the dreaded Bali Belly and spending your holiday barking down a toilet bowl or sitting on top of it. In reality, Hepatitis A can be easily avoided by following basic hygiene rules. Washing your hands after going to the loo is probably the main one.
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Today in Bali is Tumpek Wayang, also known as Tumpek Ringgit. It is a Kajeng Kaliwon and is of particular importance. Some areas of Bali use this day to make offerings to musical instruments and dance equipment. This day is also important for the shadow puppets, Wayang Kulit. Many families have inherited puppets from an ancestor who performed them, a dalang. All dalangs have full sets of puppets. The puppets are taken from the box, placed in a position just as if an actual performance were being given and blessed by the owner. A Dalang …
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It is an irrefutable fact that Indonesians love their kerupuk — just ask Supardi, the owner of a successful kerupuk business. Kerupuk - crunchy fried or baked crackers made from flour - are everybody’s favorite snack and can be found at most sidewalk food stalls. Supardi, 55, is not an economist or a business analyst. He did not graduate from elementary school and he struggles to read and write well; he asks his son Mulyandi, the third of four of his children who is studying economics at a private university, for help with any written documents. Supardi, who was born to a farming family in Gemulung, Sragen regency, Central Java, became an orphan at the age of eight after both his parents died from an unknown illness; due to economic hardship, they could not afford medical treatment. Following the death of his parents, Supardi stayed with a relative. But his relative was also poor and Supardi was forced to drop out of school.
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Would you buy shares in Garuda Indonesia in a public float of the company?. Currently, most certainly I would, provided the share options were right. The latest news is that the national airline intends to do just that but only a small proportion will be offered to the public. If you look at past history with airline company floats [or even businesses if it comes to that] more often than not the price of air tickets rise. At the moment Garuda Indonesia is a sound investment but I am not rushing to smash open my piggy bank with a hammer. Anyway, I think you will find that the public shares were be predominately offered to Indonesian citizens. Here’s more from Bali Discovery.
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Indonesia currently has 16 or more species on the verge of extinction. A further 30 are classified as endangered. On the critically endangered and endangered lists are the Sumatran tiger, the Bali starling, the Javanese wild dog, the orangutans of Kalimantan and Sumatra, the Sumatran gibbon and the Sumatran elephant. Some claim the number of Sumatran elephants remaining in the wild is around 1,500, while the more conservative believe 1,000 is more likely. A further 900 or so are found in Sumatra’s elephant camps; once known as elephant training centers, the camps are now called elephant conservation centers and are designed to save the species. However, these camps have become death camps for far too many elephants, according to elephant conservationist Nigel Mason of the Elephant Safari Park in Taro, Bali.
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Many people in Bali and elsewhere will be delighted to read this book because they will have already sampled the delectable fare offered in Heinz von Holzen’s restaurant, Bumbu Bali in Tanjung Benoa, which is generally regarded as the only truly authentic Balinese restaurant in the whole of the island. Many have tried to copy the concept and one restaurant in Ubud has even taken the same name but has not managed to achieve the same standard.
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We are almost halfway through this year and across Indonesia it is Visit Indonesia Year 2008 and every province has some manner of activity planned as well as the normal yearly festivals. It is an exciting year for the government because it gives them the chance to showcase the beautiful archipelago, its people and culture. Although predominately the tourism input is to the island of Bali, it is the other islands that you will find interesting and, they are all reached easily by local air carriers such as Garuda Indonesia, Mandala Air, Lion Air and many more. So, if you are in Bali and want to experience a different culture or just want a couple of days in another part of Bali, do so because you won’t regret it. You can easily arrive in the cultural heart of Indonesia, Yogyakarta, with a two hour flight, see the sights and then return the next day or day after. A half-hour flight will see you arriving on the island of Lombok if you wish to see West Nusa Tenggara, and there are connecting flights to the other islands in this chain.
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So often when my stomach reminds me that it is time to eat, I ponder for at least half an hour in making a decision on a destination for my choice of repast. Of course, in the main, I am never disappointed with my final choice. When I at home in Yogyakarta it is easy because I hit the street stalls of which there are many. But, in Bali one is spoilt for choice. Do I eat upmarket, warung or from the kaki lima. I was pleased to read today that a culinary map is due to be released and will be available at most places. This is an excellent idea for first-time visitors who are often bewildered by the island’s number of eateries and where to go. But, it’s not only the greenies that will benefit. Often people have said to me ‘Have you been to such-and-such a place. It’s near that other place’. Now all I have to do is look at a map!.
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As a great lover of Javanese food I am a regular patron at Kafe Batan Waru in Tuban. The sister restaurant to the one in Ubud, the cuisine is just as delicious and although not in a garden setting, the décor more than makes up for this. Located opposite Waterbom Park in Tuban and a stone’s throw from the Discovery Mall, Kafe Batan Waru is not your ordinary open-air warung. Adorning the walls on one side are beautiful collection of flora and fauna prints, and the other, classic prints of Indonesia during the colonial era. The décor is practically simple with polished, long wooden tables and benches giving the place that touch of class. I particularly like the ‘feel’ of the restoran, warm and comfy. And, as with all upmarket restoran the service is first-class.
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Like most people in Bali and travellers alike were disgusted with the development years back around Tanah Lot temple. There really is no need for this type of development that encroaches upon sacred ground and sacred places. It is unjustified greed. If any of you have recently visited Tanah Lot then you know what I mean. And now, developers have their eyes on the sacred temple of Pura Uluwatu. There are currently many development projects for new villas in the Bukit area in Jimbaran, including in the sacred area around Uluwatu shrine. This condition has triggered a public uproar with some of Bali’s noted intellectuals declaring the constructions illegal. But some locals and developers argue the constructions are legal because the developers acquired the necessary licenses from the Badung regent. There has to be a cut-off point as far as blatant development is concerned. It seems to me that this desecration of Bali will continue unless it is curbed and fast.
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