A Passionate View on All Things Bali

Bali International Women’s Association (BIWA) once again held “Annual Charity Tennis Tournament 2010” in Nusa Dua Bali on March 10-13 2010. The result for this fundraiser will be used to financing BIWA social charities in 2010. The event that is held routinely each year and has been the fifth event held this year had been participated by around 200 people from 15 countries such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Canada, USA and Indonesia as the host. This tournament could give people chance to give fund for social charity held by BIWA. Read more about BIWA Tennis Tournament 2010 here.

Multiple fires happened along the bypass road in recent days make Phuket firefighters keep battling it. The first broke out in a field opposite Tesco-Lotus in Rassada at about noon on Sunday. Four car-fires and 20 firefighters tried to extinguish the fires that gradually became big due to the forest’ dense and dried state. To extinguish the fire some assistance from around 20 officers of Phuket Provincial Wildfire Prevention Unit and some 10 local volunteers. Fortunately, the flames did not spread to structures on nearby Songkhla Road, which is separated from the lot by a two-meter-high concrete wall. Read more about Phuket flare in here.

Dengue fever casualty had fall in Tabanan. A fourteenth years old girl who still in her third year at SMP 3 Tabanan – Tabanan Junior High School Number 3 – Arista Dewi was brought to the hospital at February 2nd and she died on Monday of 8 February. Read more about Dengue Fever Casualty here.

6.6 earthquake shook Nusa Dua Bali on Friday (February 12) at dawn that was around 01:43:06 a.m. shock strong enough as far as people in Lombok NTB also felt it. Though this earthquake make people in Lombok quite panic, still that quake was to shallow to trigger tsunami. Selaparang Mataram observation staff of Badan Meteorologi Klimatologi dan Geofisika (BMKG) – Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics – Joko Raharjo said that the earthquake happened at 10.11 south latitude coordinate – 113.85 east longitude or around 210 kilometer at south west Nusa Dua Bali. Read more about Nusa Dua earth quake here.

Denpasar Major, IB Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra on Wednesday escorted the departure of 200 Indonesian labors who will work at cruises and plantation in Italy, New Zealand as well as United State of America. During the departure, the major hope that due to their time abroad, the labors besides studying lots considering varied of things have chance to develop in Indonesia. The major also instruct before their departure that they should be given art and culture skill since they also will become Indonesian art delegation at international level. Read more about Labor Departure here.

Security officers and tourisms guidance who stand by at the Mount Agung climbing post in Besakih of Karangasem Regency Bali had suggested for the tourists not to climb the mountain in this recent days.

This suggestion is due to the bad weather happened lately.

“Hard rain along with vast wind that keeps to be happened is very dangerous for climbing activity in every track in that highest mountain in Bali,” said Nyoman Sudarsana as a member of Kelompok Pemandu Wisata Kebut Gunung (KPWKG) Agung – Group of Mount Agung Racing Guidance – when contacted from Denpasar on Tuesday.

Mountain tourism guidance that got incorporated with Basarda Bali find himself help SAR team frequently to find the climber who get lost on that mountain, he mentioned that almost none of save route can be go through when bad weather happened.

The problem is to reach the peak of the mountain with 3.142 meter height above the sea, the climber often find themselves went through a path with not more than 50 cm width and flanked by a deep ravine.

“The deep ravine that flanked the path way is the back of the mountain with depth from tens to hundreds of meter. Making a mistake and you’ll get slipped,” said that senior mountain guidance.

Besides get flanked by the ravine, lots of the path on the mountain have declivity more than 75 degrees and great enough to bring such difficult for a beginner climber he said.

In relation with that, Sudarsana and other guidance also wish for the climber to delay their climbing activity on Mount Agung concerning the very bad weather which may happen.

Some tourism guidance confessed that they had rejected to accompany the tourists to clime regarding the bad weather happened recently. Although, according to Made Suena, there is other tourists who try to climb the mountain without “mountain race” guidance companion with them.

“This that usually attract dangerous,” said Suena while adding that there were lot of climber who dead or gone missing when climb Mount Agung in the middle of bad weather.

Sudarsana confessed that he got involved with SAR to find three climbers from Bandung West Java who got lost in Mount Agung several years ago. From those three only one had been found and he already dead.

They are Mohamad Iqbal (22) who found dead and the other two were Eko Saputro Sudirman (21) and Indah Safitri (21) whom until today still nowhere to be found.

He suspected that those climbers who were the member of Mapala STIE Bandung gone missing on the Mount Agung after felt into the deep ravine.

“Lots of climbers, who felt to the ravine, end with their corpses nowhere to be found. Those climbers usually people who did not accompanied with guidance,” he said.

Therefore, Sudarsana urged for the tourists for a while canceling their plan climbing Mount Agung.

“If they want to climb, it will be better if they accompanied by guidance who has been familiar with climbing and down the track in Mount Agung,” he said.

News by Antara Bali

A car crushed a cobra that was trying to cross Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang traffic late yesterday afternoon. Estonian freelance photographer Ardo Kaljuvee, who happened to be driving past at the time, was among the many motorists who stopped to view the remains of the flattened serpent, which was at least three meters in length. Read more about Mai Khao Cobra here.

Waste pollution that recently attack Kuta Beach in fact also striken another tourism object in Bali that is Gawana Bay in Banyuwedang area of Buleleng Regency, West Bali. At this tourism object the local tourism entrepreneurs such as Novus Gawana staffs, until Sunday yesterday still conducting communal work in order to clean up the waste that keep arrive to that bay. Their goal for this tourism object merely to realize “Going Clean – Going Green” program, dedicated to change dry forest into a clean and green one, wish that it will support preservation effort toward natural tourism object and adventure at the beach area. Read more about Gawana Bay and Novus Gawana here.

Bali Industry and Trading Agency considers to obligate hotels and restaurants in Bali used local agriculture product in fulfilling their daily needs for meat, vegetables and fruits.

Hotel and restaurant management in Bali even expected to utilize 30-50 percent of local agriculture product to fulfill their daily needs.

Head of Bali Industry and Trading Agency, Bali Gde Darmadja in his statement at Renon (February 3) confessed this plan is actually in order to raise local agriculture product. Besides, that policy also aimed in giving assistance as well as protection to the farmer in the middle of import agriculture product due to the free trade.

Gde Darmadja admitted problems’ concerning agricultural products was the government and farmers fault that is still could not providing sustainable supply for hotels and restaurants in Bali. “If its season comes then the supply will be more than enough, but it will difficult if it was not the season for certain plants, and then our challenge is to supply it continuously,” assessed Gde Darmaja.

Head of Bali Industry and Trading Agency, Gde Darmadja declared that he also asked for chance given to the local agricultural products entering supermarket and hypermarket in Bali. Moreover, Gde Darmaja also said other task followed this program was the raising of local products quality, concerning that problem, the government in Bali also should promulgating the development of organic agriculture program.

News by Berita Bali

     Some examples of gamelan music.  The two videos on left are typical.  Here are some tunes from Colin McPhee.  No video accompanying this music.