Indonesia and World Tourism News

Four Seasons Hotels to open new hotel at The Pearl-Qatar

The Pearl-Qatar, the multi-billion dollar offshore island and one of the largest real estate developments in the country today announced that Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts will open a new Doha-based property at The Pearl-Qatar.

Add comment October 30th, 2006

Bali nightlife: Wednesday October 25th 2006

Right now its Idul Fitri in Bali, meaning half of Java is here celebrating the end of the month of Ramadan. Today many businesses were closed, but nightlife venues are all open. Here’s the rundown of nightlife events for the next couple of weeks, provided by the Beat Magazine.

•Wednesday Oct 25th:

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source : www.baliblog.com

Add comment October 27th, 2006

Pirated DVD’s affecting Australian economy

‘Affordably priced’ DVD’s, which are ‘creatively marketed’ here in Bali, are affecting the Australian economy, according to an article in the Bendigo News.

Bendigo, for those who don’t know, is where its all happening, its a virtual New York City of excitement. The latest craze is ‘Bali Parties‘, where stacks of ‘competitively price tagged’ DVD’s get sold at large discounts. The effect, is that local DVD stores, who rip the public off with their overpriced DVD’s, are losing money.

The Bendigo article does not say whether its arak, or Bundy & Coke that gets consumed at the ‘Bali parties’, but one thing is for sure, the distributors of the ‘differently valued’ DVD’s, do more to promote Bali, than the Indonesian Department of Tourism.

For visitors to Bali who are looking for ‘unusually cheap’ DVD’s, you can bargain and 100 for 10,000rp apiece, plus 70 for free.

source : www.baliblog.com

Add comment October 27th, 2006

Arriving in Bali and heading to Ubud

Most visitors to Bali, head to the Kuta / Seminyak area, on their first day here. Kuta is just 2 miles from the airport, and the big beachfront hotels in Tuban, are just a mile away. Some people however, like my friends from Oregon, have never been to Kuta, and instead head straight to Ubud, preferring the quieter pace. Just how easy is this to do stepping off a plane in Bali?

Actually its very easy. As you step out of the arrivals hall, into the fresh air, a taxi office will be 20 meters to your right. A taxi to Ubud from there will be about 240,000rp. Local bemo buses also run past the airport, what you’ll pay, who knows, its a haggle situation with them. It is possible to travel the length of Bali by bemo’s. Tell them where you are going, and they will tell you the connections you have to make. These buses serve locals, so are on an entirely different route schedule, than most tourists would take.

A better idea, is to take a taxi to Kuta for 25,000rp, check into one of the affordable guest houses on Poppies I or II. You can get a room for 50,000rp. At the bottom end of Jl. Legian is the Perama bus office. A ticket to Ubud will be 40,000rp. Buses leave at 6am, 10am, 1.30pm, 4.30pm. Perama will drop you in Ubud and the bottom of Jl Hanuman, downtown.

source : www.baliblog.com

Add comment October 27th, 2006

Pasar Badung market in Denpasar Bali

Denpasar means, ‘by the market’ and the biggest market in Denpasar, is Pasar Badung. Pasar Badung has 4 floors in a giant concrete structure that is rather like a parking structure. Different floors carry different goods, starting with the fruit and veg market outside. Inside the first floor is a large fish market and let me tell you, today it smelt like an Asian fish market.

Organized chaos reigns outside, with cars and motorbikes trying to find a place to park, people carrying bushels of produce of every kind imaginable. Come in the morning and check out the food vendors. Satay and hot spicy Balinese snacks are made right there by weather worn Balinese women, some who have been working the market for 30 years. Others come her to sell ceremonial offerings.

You might see the odd westerner here, but by no means is this a tourist destination. Above the fish market are floors containing spices and ceremonial equipment, including sarong and umbrellas. Parking for a motorbike here is 500rp.

Denpasar has a decent sized Muslim population, and they sell in the market too, along with Chinese traders. Pasar Badung is apparently open 24/7, although I have not been there at 3am to confirm this. To get to Pasar Badung from Kuta, drive on Jl. Imam Bonjol towards Denpasar. You keep going straight until you are forced to make a left or right turn at Jl. Gajah Mada. Turn right and its just around the corner. You know its the market when you see the huge building with all the activity around it.

Pasar Badung
•Where it is: Its in Denpasar of off Jl. Gajah Mada
•When it is open: Open all the time, but different activities happen depending on the time.
•Best time to visit: A day its not raining, between 8am-12 noon. Plenty of snack food vendors.
•How much does it cost to get in: Free. 500rp for motorbike.
•What’s there for a westerner: You might find a sarong or tishirt on the 3rd floor for a girt. Great photo opportunities.
•Distance from Kuta: Taking Jl. Iman Bonjol it takes maybe 15-20 minutes to get there, depending on traffic.

source : www.baliblog.com

Add comment October 27th, 2006

Shopping for wedding gear: Pasar Badung market, Denpasar Bali

This afternoon at Pasar Badung market in Denpasar, I went up to the 3rd floor, to look for a Balinese jacket, to wear at Wayan’s wedding. A lady in Global Xtreme, told me I could pick up one for 50,000-100,000rp.

Pasar Badung is tightly packed with narrow alleyways of merchandise, piled up high. Store owners eagerly pointed me to one of their friends, who sold the jackets and I tried one on. Here in Indonesia, when something doesn’t fit, they will insist it does, and looks terrific. I liked the color of the jacket and the udeng (headgear), but wanted a bigger size. A couple of stores down the alley, another lady had a jacket that fitted me better. The udengs were not so nice though and she wanted 150,000rp for the jacket alone. Tossing in a bit of Bahasa Indonesia, really helps in these situations. I know I’m going to pay over the odds, but am prepared to walk away, and don’t invest too much energy in the process.

We worked an agreement where I got the bigger jacket and the udeng for 120,000rp, both satified. The color of the jackets does not have any real significance and they come in a multitude of colors, including white, cream, black and navy blue. I got blue as it goes well with the brown sarong I have. Hope Wayan appreciates all the trouble this bule went to, for her wedding.

source : www.baliblog.com

Add comment October 27th, 2006

Warung ExtraBlatt: Legian Bali

Some places come as a surprise. Others can be a total shock. A friend of mine recently took me to a German Warung in Legian, which was a little piece of the Fatherland, in the middle of no-mans land.

This evening I went back and sampled the food once more, the World Cup in Berlin, creeping back into my conciousness. Warung ExtraBlatt ( I think it means something like ‘extra page’), is located on Jl. Nakula, across Jl. Legian from Jl. Double Six. The road there is like the surface of the moon, the only things I had noticed there before, were massage parlours, petrol racks and the odd local food stall.

Warung ExtraBlatt has some bench seating outside and about 3 other tables. Both times I have been there a group of German speakers, including the owner, have parked themselves out in front.

The staff are all Indonesian, the menu German and the portions large! I had sliced pork with dumplins, in mushroom sauce for 29,000rp. I added a side portion of mashed potatoes, just to fulfill the European food urge. Everything was great and I’d recommend it. The other time I came, my friend devoured a giant plate of pork ribs, (even though he’s Jewish), which seemed like they’d never end.

The menu includes:

Meat Loaf - 25,000rp
Grosse Bratwurst - 25,000rp
Weiss wurst - 25,000rp
Hirten wurst - 22,000rp
Hamburger knacker - 22,000rp
Nurnberger - 22,000rp
Swiss Cervelat - 25,000rp
Beef Frankfurter - 25,000rp
Cury Sausage - 22,000rp

Pork steak - 23,000rp
Zurick - 36,000rp
Kassler - 23,000rp
Schwein Braten - 29,000rp
Pork Rib - 29,000rp
Pork Schnitzel - 25,000rp
Gemischter Braten - 32,000rp
Sliced Pork - 29,000rp

There is a ton of other stuff including 2 fish items and 2 chicken items. German food is after all, pork and bread. They have some basic desserts.

If you get the munchies for a brat, you can call for delivery.

Warung ExtraBlatt
Jl. Nakula
Legian
Bali
(0361)732982

source : www.baliblog.com

Add comment October 27th, 2006

Evening in Seminyak Bali

Here in Seminyak, sitting in an empty internet cafe on Jl. Dhyana Pura, I’m ready to go home. The time is 9.50pm, and sexy dancers are due at Galaxy at 11.30pm, but I just don’t have the stamina to stay awake that long, (what would I do if I ever got hold of a sexy dancer?).

Thursday night is not a main party night in Seminyak anyway, but there will be people out later. The 2 main places on this street to hit if you are straight, are Bahiana and Santa Fe. That is, both have either a band, or dancing and both are good place for single guys. If you are not straight, keep walking to Q Bar, Kudos, Mixwell, and other places down the street.

source : www.baliblog.com

Add comment October 27th, 2006

Tibetan Buddhism

Buddhism has two sects : MAHAYANA BUDDHISM and HINAYANA BUDDHISM. Mahayana Buddhism was introduced into regions inhabited by the Han people, about the first century. It emphasizes the existence of many Buddhas. It focuses attention on Buddhas in heaven and on people who will become Buddhas in the future. It believes that these present and future Buddhas can save people through compassion and grace.

Hinayan Buddhism was introduced from Burma, about the 9th century. Into regions inhabited by the ethnic minorities in Yunnan Province. It emphasizes the importance of Buddha as a historical figure, the virtues of monastic life, and the authority of the Tripitaka. Lamaism is a form of Buddhism intermingled with indigenous Tibetan religion known as Bon. Tibetan Buddhism slowly adopted some of the Bon rites, while Bon eventually took on Buddhist teachings and disappeared. Lamaism mainly gained its Buddhist knowledge from Han Mahayana Buddhist sources.

Of the various sects that eventually developed within Lamaist Buddhism, the main ones are Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug. A basic understanding of Buddhism is essential to getting beneath the skin of things in Tibet. Buddhism’s values and goals permeate almost everything Tibetan. To explore the monasteries and temples of Tibet, to mix with its people and know nothing of Buddhism is like visiting Rome and knowing nothing of Christianity. Buddhism is perhaps the most tolerant of the worlds’ religions, and wherever it went it adapted to local conditions, like a dividing cell, creating countless new schools of thought. Its basic tenets have remained very much the same and all schools are bound together in their faith in the value of the original teaching of the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni.

The following is a brief guide to some of the vast Tibetan Buddhist pantheon as well as important historical figures. Sanskrit names are given first ( with Tibetan names provided in parentheses ).
 
 Sakyamuni (Sakya Thukpa)
 
The “Historical Buddha”. Born in Lumbini in southern Nepal in the 5th century BC with the name Gautama, he attained enlightenment under a pipal tree and his teachings set in motion the Buddhist faith. In Tibetan-style representations he is always pictured sitting cross-legged on a lotus flower throne. His hair is dark blue with a halo of enlightenment around his head. Buddha is recognized by 32 marks on his body, including a dot between his eyes, a bump on the top of his head and the Dharma wheel on the soles of his feet. In his left hand he holds a begging bowl, his right hand touches the earth in the “”witness” mudra. He is often flanked by two disciples of bodhisattvas.
 
 
 
 Maitreya (Jampa)
 
The “Future Buddha”. He is passing the life of a bodhisattva until it is time to return to earth in human form 4000 years after disappearance of Buddha ( Sakyamuni ). He is normally seated, with a scarf around his waist, his legs hanging down and his hands by his chest in the mudra of “turning the Wheel of Law”.
 
 
 Amitabha (Opagme)
 
The Buddha of Infinite Light who resides in the Pure Land of the West. The Panchen Lama is considered a reincarnation of this Buddha. He is red, his hands are held together in his lap in a “meditation” mudra and he holds a begging blow.
 
 
 
 Avalokiteshvara (Chenresig)
 
“Glorious gentle one” - he is the Bodhisattva of Compassion and his name means ” he who gazes upon the world with suffering in his eyes”. The Dalai Lama is considered a reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara and pictures of the two are interchangeable. The current Dalai Lama is the 74th manifestation of Avalokiteshvara.

His body is white and he sits on a lotus blossom. He holds rosary beads and a flower of compassion and clutches a gem to his heart. A deer skin is draped over his left shoulder. There is also a powerful 11 headed, 1000 armed version. His head is said to have explored when confronted with a myriad of problems to solve. Each of his 1000 arms has an eye in the palm. His eight main arms hold a bow and arrow, lotus, rosary, vase, wheel and staff.
 
 
 Tara (Drolma)
 
“The Saviouress” - a female bodhisattva with 21 different manifestations or aspects. She was born from a tear of compassion that fell from Avalokiteshvara’s eyes and is thus considered the female version of Avalokiteshvara and a protectress of the Tibetan people. She also symbolizes purity and fertility and is believed to be able to fulfill wishes. Images usually represent Green Tara, who is associated with night, or White Tara, who is associated with day.
  
 
 Guru Rinpoche
 
The “lotus-born” 8th century master from modern-day Swat in Pakistan who subdued Tibet’s evil spirits and helped to establish Buddhism in Tibet. Known in Sanskrit as Padmasambhava, he is regarded by followers of Nyingmapa Buddhism as the second Buddha and wears a red Nyingmapa-style hat. He has a curly moustache, holds a thunderbolt in his right hand, a skull cup in his left hand and a Khatvanga staff topped with three heads - one shrunken, one severed and one skull - in the crook of his left arm.
  
 
 Tsongkhapa (1357-1419)
 
Founder of the Gelugpa order and a manifestation of Jampelyang. He wears the yellow hat of the Gelugpas and is normally portrayed in a triad with his two main disciples Kedrub Je and Gyatsab Je. His hands are in the teaching mudra and he holds two lotuses. He was the founder and first abbot of Ganden Monastery and many images of him are found there.
 
 
 Fifth Dalai Lama (Gyawa Gnawa, 1617-82)
 
The greatest of all the Dalai Lamas, who unified Tibet. Wears the Gelugpa yellow hat and holds a thunderbolt in his right hand and bell in his left. He may also be depicted holding the wheel of Law (symbolizing the beginning of political control of the Dalai Lamas ) and a lotus flower or other sacred objects.
 
 
 King Songtsen Gampo (618-49)
 
Early king who unified Tibet and introduced Buddhism to the country. He has a moustache and wears a white turban with a tiny red Amitabha Buddha poking out of the top. He is flanked by his Chinese wife Wencheng on the left and his Nepalese wife Bhrikuti on his right.
 
source : www.asia-planet.net

Add comment October 19th, 2006

Turkmenistan Regions (Akhal Velayat)

The Akhal Velayat (region) is situated in the center of the southern part of Turkmenistan at the border of the Kara Kum desert its climate is sharply continental with hot and dry summers. The area of Akhal equals 98000 square km and its population is about 700.000 inhabitants.

The center of this velayat is an important industrial are Bezmein and Tedjen. The Akhal velayat is an important industrial region of Turkmenistan, having such major industries as natural gas extraction and textile production (the biggest in the world factory of denim, knitted and cotton fabrics have been put into operation in recent years in Geok depe and Kaka), as well as the production of building materials.

In agriculture the priority is given to cultivation of fine-fibered cotton vegetables and stock-breeding. The tourist itineraries about the Akhal velayat are diverse and intresting, providing acquaintance with historical and architectural monuments of such towns-fortresses as Khivabab, Abiverd, the ancient town of Serakhs and pilgrim routs to the sacred places of Ak-Ishan, Dawgala, Zendi-baba, Kyrk-gyz, Archman-ata, Shekshi islam, mausoleum of Abul-Seyid-Meikhene and the mosque of Saparmurat Khadzha.

Perfect rest and medical treatment can be offered at a hard resort of Archman known since the old times for its curative properties of radon mineral waters. Akhal area there is also unique underground lake Kov-ata with warm hydrogen sulfide water. The cave is 250 m long, 65 m deep and 50 m wide. The water of this lake remarkably clean and transparent, having admirable amethyst colour. Not far from the city Ashkhabad in a mountain ravine there are wonderful nice picnic in the open air and picturesque rest areas.

The Akhal velayat is a magi Archabil and Gokdere where one nificent and beautiful land can climb a mountain in a retaining successive ties company of skilful guide, with its ancient culture and nice a horse or go out for an aspiring to the future.

source : www.asia-planet.net

Add comment October 19th, 2006