BALI UPDATE #274 - 17 December 2001

Minal Aidin Wal Faizin

Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri 1422H. Why Balinese Hindus Find Time to Celebrate an Islamic Holiday.

All of Indonesia paused on December 16 & 17, 2001 to mark the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramedhan and the celebration of Lebaran or Idul Fitri.

Recognized as official holidays, Moslems conclude one month of abstaining from food and drink during daylight hours with gatherings at their homes. The introspection and contemplation afforded by the month of abstinence just past, flows naturally into two days of seeking out members of your community and family to beg and extend forgiveness for all your transgressions, both intended or otherwise. Nor is this practice limited to only Islamic circles, as Moslems open their homes to neighbors offering refreshment and their hands in fellowship to all who come in peace.

Conversely, non-Moslems will typically use these two days to visit the homes of Islamic co-workers and neighbors to extend the traditional greetings of reconciliation - maaf lahir dan batin. Such was the case in Bali where the Islamic population, although a minority, enjoyed two days of prayers and fellowship with their Balinese friends and neighbors of every religious persuasion.

Cherishing a good idea, whatever its religious source - Bali Update and balidiscovery.com take this opportunity to ask forgiveness for any shortcomings committed over the past 12 months while saying Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri 1422H.

Editorial: But, Really, Professor ...

Bali Update Suggest A Local Environmentalist May Have Missed the Point Completely in His Call for an End to Tourism Promotion.

Those who live in the ivory towers of academia sometimes become severely out of touch with reality, espousing nonsense parading as learned theory. A risk in any academic setting, there is perhaps an even greater risk of this occuring in Indonesia where cultural mores dictate the man at the front of the classroom should never be questioned or challenged.

A case in point is the recent press report in the Bali Post quoting Drs. I Nyoman Sunarta M. Si, the Secretary of the Center for Environmental Studies at Bali's Udayana University, who demanded Bali "stop tourism promotion if it really wants to save the environment." He went on to explain how his "call to inaction" was a necessary step to "stagnate" tourism growth in Bali and thereby allow the enforcement of environmental safeguards and regulations already in place.

Decrying the lack of environmental consciousness among the people of Bali and the officials entrusted to enforce planning rules, Drs. Sunarta suggests that by stopping tourism development, Bali could use the "stagnation period" to set about making the residents of the island better environmental citizens.

But, Really, Professor ...

Aside from the glaring naiveté of believing that the forces that drive development are so easily halted, Drs. Sunarta's period of stagnation - if introduced - would more than likely accelerate environmental decline and result in more, not less, damage to Bali's natural environment.

Ironically, the proof underlining the folly of this position can be found in Bali's current situation where, one could argue, that organized promotion of the island's tourism product has in fact been largely absent for almost 3 years. This situation, almost the epitome of Drs. Sunarta's plan for environmental preservation, has not managed to stagnate development but, instead, seen bureaucratic corruption and the readiness to bend planning rules reach heretofore unknown heights.

Dr. Sunarta's analysis fails to contemplate that short of closing Bali's borders completely, tourism development and change will continue apace in Bali with or without promotion. Existing investments in world airlines, cruise ships, hotels and supporting tourism companies represent an array of synergies that once established create a survival imperative. Left to struggle on without the support of state-sponsored destination promotion, these companies will do what they must to carry on, including cut throat discounting undertaken at the cost of environmental and product degradation.

The Real Issue: Carrying Capacity

Clearly, Bali's unique culture and environment does not have an unlimited capacity to absorb tourism numbers. Proof of such natural limitations are already on the horizon: Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport has limited options for expanding to handle more flights; roads now become crowded with air quality suffering during high tourist seasons; and the island's landmark paddy terraces increasingly succumb to shops and hotels.

In wakes of self-pity and head shaking, we decry the aftermath of such wholesale destruction, all agreeing that there must be "a limit" to growth. But please remember just one thing, make sure that any such limit does not interfere with our shared desire to sell familial land to a foreigner at inflated prices or any latent desire to become rent takers from a row of shopkeepers now in business where Bali's ancestors once farmed rice.

"Gue-Gue-Lu-Lu"

Locally dubbed as the "gue-gue-lu-lu" or "me-me-you-you" approach to selling Bali's soul and heritage, nobody seems prepared to accept any external limitations to the personal greed which fires the island's current unhappy state of affairs.

Someday, Bali will possess leaders with the vision and courage to undertake a study to determine the implications and impose absolute limits to growth. Someday, those same leaders will be prepared to introduce and enforce strict guideline that will ensure the island's children a future with the promise of a reasonable quality of life.

Someday. But, apparently, not any day soon.

For Now - More Promotion is Better than Less

Like it or not, recent world events and the limited capacity of key infrastructure items - such as Bali's airport, do impose absolute limits to tourism growth on the island. And, at least on that level, there is the promise of the stagnation that Drs. Sunarta so adamantly desires.

Given this natural limit to growth, Bali's only sensible development policy is to promote itself heavily, maximizing the number of tourist visitors with the highest average per diem expenditure and the longest average length of stay as a means to maximize revenues and tax dollars in Bali's current context of limited supply of tourism product.

Drs. Sunarta's ludicrous suggestion to stop tourism promotion would only guarantees a continuation of the status quo: members of the tourism community competing ruthlessly for tourists - a group declining steadily both in terms of quantity and quality.

Oz Launches A New Carrier

Will Bali Be Proactive In Seeking A Strategic Alliance with Australia's New Discount Carrier?

QANTAS Airways have announced that their new discount carrier Australian Airlines will take wing sometime in the third quarter of 2002.

Simple and straightforward, the new carrier will offer discount flight connections between Australian cities and destinations in Asia. According to the Airline's CEO, Mr. Denis Adams, the airline will fly only one type of aircraft, Boeing 767-300's which haul 270 passengers, and operate on routes abandoned by its mother company, QANTAS, as commercially non-viable.

Initial service will be based from Cairns, Queensland flying to Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Singapore, Taipei and Hong Kong. In keeping with the airline's "no frills" image, service will be limited to a single class.

The airline will operate completely independently of QANTAS and plans to initially fly some 12 aircraft.

Bali currently has no direct connection with Cairns and local tourism operators are waiting to see if a Bali tourism delegation will approach Mr. Adams to encourage flights to Bali.

The new Airline's distinctive flying kangaroo logo against an ochre background was designed by Australia's leading design company, Hulsbosch Communication by Design.

Klungkung Looking for Port Investors

Estimated US$ 5.9 M Needed for Pier Construction.

The Klungkung Regency Government is looking for investors with an estimated Rp 59 billion (approximately US$ 5.9 Million) to build piers at Klungkung and Nusa Penida Island.

Detailed Engineering Plans are reportedly already in hand for the proposed two piers and will be given to prospective investors, according to the Bupati of the Klungkung Regency, Mr. Tjokorda Gde Ngurah. The plans and feasibility study for the proposed project to improve communication between the mainland and its offshore island were carried out by experts from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)

Meanwhile, Bali's Governor Mr. Dewa Made Beratha has confirmed the readiness of the Provincial Government of Bali to purchase a cargo vessel to complement the proposed piers and provide a regular link with the island some 15 miles from Bali.

Tanah Lot Shore To Be Completed in 2003

Massive Japanese Engineering Project to Save Bali's Most Famous Landmark Slated for Completion in 2003.

One of Bali's oldest and most famous temples will continue to be surrounded by a massive crane perched atop a temporary dock until 2003 as a multi-million dollar Japanese foreign aide contract works to save the island monument from the encroachments of the Indian Ocean.

When completed, some 6,000 giant cement tetra pods will be positioned around the temple to tame the waves that threaten to complete erode the temple's base. Placed with carefully calculated engineering precision, tetra pods of 6.3 and 16 tons will eventually form a breakwater structure some 185 meters long and 70 meters wide.

The project commenced in July of 2001 with the construction of a temporary pier to support a crane and delivery road for the 6,000 tetra pods now waiting on shore for their eventual deepwater assignment. Experts claim the successful completion of the project will see the tidal energy threatening the 15th century monument by more than 66%.

Once the project is completed, the pier and crane structure now obstructing one of Bali's most memorable panoramas will be removed and the natural beauty of the Pura Tanah Lot both restored and preserved for future generations.

More information: Take a Tour to Tanah Lot

One Woman's Spiritual Odyssey

Odyle Knight's 'Bali Moon - A Spiritual Odyssey' Recounts a Spiritual Journey of Discovery on the Island of the Gods.

Bali's innate and all-pervading spirituality seems destined to be shared with the world primarily by female writers. Arguably, the female psyche shares a special affinity with Bali's earthy seductive charm as evidenced, in varying degrees, by Vicki Baum's A Tale from Bali, K'tut Tantri's fanciful Revolt in Paradise, and Diana Darling's compelling The Painted Alphabet.

The latest entry in the growing list of books relating Bali from a feminine perspective is Odyle Knight's Bali Moon - A Spiritual Odyssey.

An educator and counselor, Odyle first came to Bali some fifteen years ago with stops in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sulawesi along the way. Captivated by the island's mystical and magical traditions, her book tells of the loves and adventures of a young Australian woman, Lia, seduced by the island and by a Balinese man living in two worlds: One, the modern world of Bali's amplified and stage-lit night spots and, the other, the deeply ritualistic world of a Bali-Hindu traditional healer.

Biographical or a complete work of fiction?

Odyle's not talking. Mysteriously, she describes the book in oxymoronic terms as a "fictional autobiography."

But, by anyone’s standards - a very good read.

More information: 'Bali Moon' Purchase Link

Official Tourism Delegations Wasteful?

Bali's Top Economist Suggest Officials Should Stay at Home.

Dr. Nyoman Erawan, a leading economist from Bali's Udayana University has recently suggested that the means by which Bali's government promotes its tourism is ineffective.

In recent comments to the Indonesian-language Bali Post (12 December 2001), Dr. Erawan stated, "Bali's tourism promotion is very conventional. Sending arts groups abroad with the hope of stimulating group travel to Bali. It's time this entire approach was evaluated."

Suggesting that the promotion of tourism to date has not been based on clear data, he stated the general impression is that tourism officials have badly targeted their promotional trips. Citing his personal experience during a cultural mission to Hawaii, he explained how the U.S. audiences watching a Balinese cultural troupe perform responded in the negative to an informal survey trying to ascertain if the performance enhanced or detracted from their desire to visit Bali. Apparently, while the audience enjoyed the performance greatly, they somewhat surprisingly indicated they would now like to visit other destinations other than Bali whose dances they had not yet experienced. In short, the cultural presentation had the very opposite effect on the audience than that which was intended.

The respected professor of economics also called on both the Government and the private sector to make a more scientifically based approach to promotion. Changes in tourist flows must be studied and evaluated with research undertaken on-site in source markets offering potential growth in arrival statistics. To date, surveys have largely been conducted involving tourists already landed in Bali.

Finally, touching on the potentially politically sensitive area of including government officials in overseas cultural and promotion delegations, Dr. Erawan seemed to suggest that the presence of officials in such efforts was emblematic of the overall poor targeting of Bali's promotion efforts.

Bali Aviation News

3 New Flight Services Announced for Bali.

Garuda Indonesia have commenced service between Bali - Manado (North Sulawesi) and Taipei, operating four times each week as part of the airline's further development of Bali as a hub for its international flights.

AWAIR - one of the new players on the Indonesian aviation scene, have stated their intention to operate Bali-Bangkok and Bali-Perth services. That airline's plans to start passenger services to Europe have been put on hold, at least temporarily, opting to focus on Asian routes which have continued to produce good load levels.

Wakatobi Dive Resort in southern Sulawesi have opened a private airstrip on the resort and are offering two flights each month between Bali and the Resort. Service is provided on a twin-engine Beechcraft C-1900, covering the distance in 2.5 hour route.

Joy to One World

Bali's Hard Rock Hotel Launches A Charity Christmas CD.

Bali's Hard Rock Hotel is marking this holiday season with the launch of a festive CD of Christmas music with profits to support the Ekoturin Foundation's East Bali Poverty Project.

Gathering together performers from Hard Rock's Center Stage, the album features the musical talents of David Cazelet - an internationally acclaimed Elvis impersonator, Siluet Band, Pido and Take One, Gina Jeffreys, The Millennium Band and the students of Bali's International School. Money gathered from the project will go to supporting educational activities for children living in one of Bali's most economically disadvantaged areas.

Those purchasing the special album will also receive a Hard Rock collector's Christmas pin.

The CD is available at the Hard Rock Hotel Bali, the Bunga Café operated by the East Bali Poverty Project, and the Bali International School.

Telephone orders accepted at ++62 361 761 869 extension 8112 or by e-mail via the link below.

More information: Hard Rock Xmas CD by E-mail

More Prizes to Be Won!

2^nd Bali Dream Holiday Contest. SIA Flights, Four Season Estate stay, tours, helicopter flight, rafting & bike trips, spa programs and cooking lessons to be won by the lucky dreamer!

7 Nights in a millionaire's bungalow at the Four Seasons Private Estates Bali at Jimbaran Bay, return air fare to Bali from any on-line station from Singapore Airlines, tours and transfers from Bali Discovery Tours, bicycle and white water safaris from SOBEK, Balinese cooking classes from award-winning Chef Heinz von Holzen of Bumbu Bali, a helicopter joy flight by Air Bali, and 2 luxurious spa treatments by Mandara Spa - all part of a Bali Dream Holiday to be awarded to a reader of Bali Update.

All You Have to Do is Dream ... Dream ... Dream!

To enter just describe your idea of a perfect Bali Dream Holiday in 300 words or so. Weekly selections will be posted in the Bali Update starting in January 2002 through the end of April, with the winner announced in the first week of May, 2002.

Never been to Bali?

Don't let that stop you from entering! After all, we're talking dreams here which means you can base your entry on an actual holiday in Bali or search the Internet, your library or local travel agent for background in designing your dream trip to Bali.

To read all the contest details, link to the contest sponsors, and to read last year's winning submission click below!

More information: The Bali Dream Holiday Portal