The Asian luxury travel and lifestyle magazine, DestinAsian has conducted its first "Readers' Choice Awards" in which the the Island of Bali and a Bali hotel gained recognition.

Voting for the first DestinAsian Readers' Choice Awards was held in the latter half of last year through a survey which sought readers' opinions on their favorite destinations, hotels, and airlines in the Asia-Pacific region.

Readers were required to nominate a winner in each category and provide a short explanation on the reasons for their choice.

The announcement of the inaugural winners at a special award luncheon today at The Peninsula, Hong Kong.

"These awards are particularly meaningful because they reflect the views of our readers who are seasoned travelers for business and leisure," DestinAsian Founder and Publisher, Ronald Liem said.

Bali gained the following distinctions in the First DestinAsian Readers Choice Awards;

• Best Leisure DestinAsian - The Island of Bali. Cited by readers for its people, food, culture and beaches.

• Best Hotel, Bali - Ritz Carlton, Bali Resorts and Spa. Cited by readers for its villas and wonderful views.

Our coverage on encounters of a primate kind and the invitation to share your Bali monkey stories [See: Avoiding Monkey Business in Bali] brought some interesting responses from readers.

A Bali-based reader, Vicky Baird, sent us the following email and accompanying pictures that paint a frightening picture about how an encounter with the monkey at Uluwatu has the potential of going tragically wrong.

Vicky wrote:

"My name is Vicky and along with my husband Richard we have lived in Bali for the past few years. Just recently my sister and her husband (from Australia) visited us and one of the tourist spots we took them to was the Uluwatu temple. Upon our arrival we were advised to remove any glasses and hair clips and given the usual warnings about protecting our possessions from the monkeys. My sister dutifully removed her glasses, but I rather foolishly forgot to remove my hair clip.

While appreciating the spectacular views overlooking the ocean we decided we would like to capture the scenery and proceeded to look for a 'good spot' to take a photo. My husband and I, along with our friend Ketut, perched ourselves on a wall behind which was a spectacular view and also a sheer drop of approximately 30 meters. We had watched earlier as a few groups of tourists had used this same location for their photo shoots. As the first of our photos was taken I turned to my left exposing my hair clip to a monkey to my right. A few minutes before taking our photos we had watched a monkey, just a few meters away, demolish a pair of tourist's sunglasses by snapping the arms of the glasses with his teeth

Within seconds of my turning to the left, this same monkey pounced onto my back and began tugging my hair rather viciously in an effort to get my hair clip. My head was pulled backwards as he tugged, but thankfully this monkey was not one of the more rotund ones that can be seen at Uluwatu. Fortunately I was able to counteract the monkey's tugging and leant forward giving my husband and Ketut the chance to fend off this clip grabbling monkey!!

The whole incident happened very quickly and had I not been able to counteract the tugging, and had the monkey been one of the larger ones I could easily have met my demise by being pulled backwards and falling down the 30 meter cliff.

We have had a few laughs since retelling the 'monkey attack,' but in reality it could have been disastrous. The culprit at the time may have appeared to have been the monkey but in actual fact, I myself was the culprit for not having paid attention to the advice given to all tourists upon their arrival. One careless moment of inattention could have easily ended in tragedy.

Yes, the monkeys at Uluwatu can at times be aggressive, but if visitors to the area take heed of the advice given, then their visit can and should be incident free."

Send us Your Bali Monkey Story!

Send us you Bali monkey encounter story [Email Link for Submitting Your Taming the Monkeys of Bali Story]. We'll publish the best emails and rewarded the author with peanuts, bananas and pairs of slightly-used sun glasses.

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As Bali joins the rest of the world to mark "Earth Day" on Tuesday, April 22, 2008, it is timely to reflect on the quality of the environmental stewardship, or lack thereof, that reigns on the island of Bali.

www.balidiscovery.com routinely carries reports taken directly from the local press of hotels and villas being built illegally in restricted green zones; violations of set-back rules along rivers and seashores; blatant disregard of building height ordinances; overbuilding that seal off mandatory open space open-ground areas needed to permit the rain to replenish a diminishing water table; and even the demolishment of religious temples to make way for a new holiday resort.

These reports sadly remind that gone forever are the days when a strong Bali Governor compelled developers to build their resorts in Balinese-style architecture and even required staff to wear Bali-inspired uniforms. Those Bali-stlye hotels of yesteryear are becoming a rarity in "modern" Bali; lost behind an avalanche of Golden Arches, Seattle coffee shops and nondescript strip malls.

And, while reports of violations of the rules established to protect the Island's heritage appear in the local media on almost a daily basis, the actual instances in which developers are brought into line and made to rebuild or demolish structures to conform to local rules are as rare as a Bali Starling in downtown Denpasar.

Bali's tourism business has been pejoratively likened to a "soccer match conducted without benefit a referee." In Bali, zoning laws and environmental codes are held in deep contempt and rapaciously disobeyed by many. Disingenuous developers know that the key to unrestricted building is to break rules as quickly as possible; once caught, to smile sheepishly while being scolded by posturing officials; and to then wait for the inevitable official exemption to the rules, generally issued with the speed of an opening wallet.

Adding to the turmoil overtaking this once beautiful island are the many local lawyers and colluding notaries only too willing to create complex agreements that assist foreigners wishing to hold permanent claim to Balinese lands; contravening the absolute prohibitions on foreign land ownership that exists under Indonesian law.

Meanwhile, land prices rise and water table drops with no one seemingly overly concerned as to how the next generation of Balinese will be able to afford to live on their increasing crowded and waterless island.

Perhaps the ineffectiveness of local officials and the tragic consequence of such bad governance is no better demonstrated than at the once popular destination of the Kintamani volcano in Central Bali. Local businessmen who have erected illegal commercial building that now almost completely obscure the majestic volcanic-lake panorama have been "reprimanded" and then given a ludicrous "15 years" to remove their offending structures. Nearby, unregulated local vendor harass and, in some instances, even physically attack visitors who refuse to buy their birc-a-brac. Not unexpectedly, the word has spread with an increasingly fewer number of tourist visitors interested in visiting what once had the potential to be a world-class tourist attraction.

Sustainability Takes a Back Seat to Greed

Whether or not these visitors will ever return to Kintamani remains an open question. Perhaps in 15 years or so, after wiser men and women assume positions of power and decide to enforce the rules for the common good, can Kintamani begin the long-delayed job of reviving its endemic natural splendor.

Returning to our earlier soccer analogy, it seems there may be deeper and more profound insights into what ails Bali tourism no further away than the next televised Indonesian soccer match. The uninitiated witness to an Indonesian soccer may be shocked by the regularity with which players and spectators brutally attack referees, the reluctance of the abused officials to enforce the rules, and the resulting general state of havoc which prevails at football matches played across the archipelago. On a very real level, the state of play of Indonesian soccer sadly mirrors the current state of tourism development on the island of Bali. Rules do exist. But no one is prepared to enforce them.

In the firm belief that pictures have the power to speak a thousand words, we include some recent images of developments now underway on along the Bukit Peninsula in South Bali.

These pictures were taken at an area once known as "Dreamland," on a an island once called "Paradise."

Listen to the wind, you can sometimes hear the sound of the Island crying.

Earth Day – April 22, 2008.

Editorial

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The Ritz-Carlton, Bali Resort & Spa's sumptuous Ayana Villa was the venue for a very lavish appreciation party for the travel industry held on Friday, April 18, 2008.

The three-bedroom private villa perched atop a high cliff over the Indian Ocean was transformed into an Arabian theme of "1,0001 Nights." Middle-eastern culinary specialties, sultan's tents, belly dancers and specially-prepared cocktails all helped to add to the merriment as guests explored the private villa that boasts a private spa and gym.

Haryadi Satriono, Director of Sales and Marketing, and David Wilson, General Manager, issued words of thanks to guests and distributed gifts, including two-nights free for six guests at the Ayana Villa.

To share in the fun, Balidiscovery.com includes some snapshots from the "1,001 Nights" party.

1,001 Nights at the Ritz-Carlton, Bali Resort & Spa

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According to Tempo Interaktif, once again Bali finds itself sittinh dangerously on the precipice of another power crisis due to a large number of power generating stations in Java closed or operating at reduced capacity due to maintenance and inspections issues.

A ten-day maintenance program at the 130 megawatt station at Gilimanuk from April 14-22 will cause a 40 megawatt shortfall in power supply for the Island of Bali.

A separate report in Bisnis Indonesia suggests a wider power crisis may loom with eight power generating stations on the island of Java currently operating at reduced capacities. The reduced capacity has prompted the State Power Company (PLN) to place the entire Java-Bali power grid on an "alert status" until power plants can be returned to near-full operating capacity.

Operating at normal levels the Java-Bali power grid has an overall capacity of 18,000 MW. Current maintenance programs have reduced that capacity to 16,000 MW, only marginally more than peak power demands of 15,675 MW

Summary of Java-Bali Power Stations Running at Sub-par Capacity

• Plaiton, Unit 8, Combined Gas and Steam Power Station – 600 MW – Major inspection.

• Tanjung Jati B, Steam Power Station – 600 MW – Inspection of boiler plates.

• Suralaya Unit 3, Steam Power Station – 400 MW – Urgent inspection and re-tubing.

• Cilacap Unit 1, Steam Power Station – 300 MW – Annual inspection

• Tanjung Priok Unit 2, Combined Gas and Steam Power Station – 120 MW – Inspection of gas turbines

• Tambak Lorok Unit 1, Combined Gas and Steam Power – 120 MW – Major inspection of the gas turbines

• Grati Baru Unit 1, Combined Gas and Steam Power Station – 100 MW – Fire inspection

• Tanjung Priok Unit 4, Steam Power Station – 50 MW – Inspection of turbine heaters

• Gilimanuk, Gas Power Station – 130 MW – Routine maintenance program.

The Situation in Bali

In normal circumstances Bali's power supply stands at 560 MW, now reduced to 430 MW (effectively 405 MW) due to reduced capacity at the Gilmanuk PLN facility. Peak power demand during night time hours in Bali can reach 445 Mw.

In order to avoid further exacerbating the current crisis, PLN authorities in Bali are asking hotels and restaurants to switch to gensets, when available, during peak usage hours. PLN is also asking all consumers to reduce power consumption, wherever possible.

The government says it will add 350,00 seats each year on the air segment between Singapore and Bali in order to meet growing demand and sustain ambitious official tourism targets.

As reported on Tempo Interaktif, quoted Indonesia's Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik who said: "from four trips each day we'll go to seven. In this way we will add 350,000 seats each year. Wacik's comments were made at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday, April 16, 2008, following a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

The Singapore-Bali air segment is presently flown on a direct basis three times each day by Singapore Airlines and once each day by Garuda Indonesia. Valuair operates four weekly direct flights between the two cities.

If the announced expansion in air seats is realized the number of available passenger seats served by Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia between Singapore and Bali will double from 350,000 to 700,000.

Singapore, as a major international travel hub, generates large reservoirs of passengers seeking flights to Bali. Emblematic of the huge backload in demand over the sector, Balidiscovery.com has received passenger reports citing "full planes" and inability to confirm air seats in August for booking requests made in April – a full four months before the intended date of travel.

It remains to be seen if the Department of Civil Aviation will cooperate with the Vice-President's and Minister of Culture and Tourism's wishes. Indonesia's Civil Aviation Authority has traditionally jealously guarded its air rights over the Singapore-Bali sector.