A NEW luxury hotel opening in Bali will help restore the resort island’s tourism arrivals and lift the economy following two terrorist bombings in the past four years, the Bali tourism board says.

Bulgari, an Italian brand famous for watches and jewellery, has opened its second luxury hotel in the world on the cliff hills of Bali southwest.

The company’s chief executive officer believes in Bali’s resilience.

“I believe that the bombings will hurt only for a short time, but eventually the tourism figures will go up again,” Francesco Trapani said.

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The Scientific and Guarantee Committee of the Alexander Langer Foundation, Bolzano, Italy/Italia, has decided to award the International Alexander Langer Prize for 2006 to Ms. Robin Lim, founder and advisor for the non-profit organisation Yayasan Ibu Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Hearth Foundation), based in Bali, Indonesia.

Robin Lim is a Certified Professional Midwife, with the North American Registry of Midwives, and recently joined the Indonesian Midwifery Association. She is Executive Director of Yayasan Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Hearth Foundation) and Health Director of the Tsunami Relief Clinic in Aceh. The Foundation started by Robin has recently built a small but well qualified and friendly clinic, maternal and child health centre and birth centre.

Robin Lim is called “barefoot midwife” for her efforts in promoting healthy pregnancy, gentle childbirth, serene welcoming of the newborn, and fighting poverty and malnutrition.

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Cockfights are staged in Bali on auspicious days in conjunction with Hindu ceremonies that require a sacrificial blood offering. The spilt blood is combined with a series of complicated purification offerings to appease the negative forces of the underworld. The Balinese believe that by performing such rites they are satisfying the hunger of the evil spirits that often disturb man and his environment. Chickens are used as they are one of the most accessible creatures from the animal kingdom that roam around village compounds with relative freedom in search of food scraps.

photo taken from flickr.com/photos/jtindall/

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Sunday, 24^th September, 2006

A crowd of spectators had the opportunity to witness a grandiose Balinese cremation ceremony in Ubud recently. The deceased was Ida Cokorda Istri Rai, daughter-in-law of the King of Peliatan, and the high-caste status of this royal family ensured that it was an elaborate occasion.

The cremation procession featured a Naga Banda, a mythical dragon-like creature with a 5-metre long tail, which is one of the elements that made this high-caste ritual such a spectacular event.

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Ericsson has been selected by PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk (XL) to build the latter’s 3G/WCDMA network in Indonesia by providing High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) to enhance the end-user experience.In a statement on Sept 21, Ericsson said it would also supply XL with its Mobile Softswitch Solution for nationwide deployment, as well as business consulting services.

Under the agreement, Ericsson will supply radio access products and be responsible for the performance and improvement of the radio network, as well as providing operations and maintenance services.

It said the 3G network deployment included Java, Bali and Lombok, with a focus on six major cities.

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‘AN anthropologist came to our village and I helped him take blood samples from all the villagers,” Sadra loves to explain gravely. “We sent the samples to laboratories in Europe, Australia and America. The results were all the same.”

He punches the air triumphantly: “We have blood from India!”

The villagers of Tenganan Pegringsingan have long believed this to be so and the test results validate their claim to be descended from one of Bali’s oldest races. Traditionally the home of warriors, the village, near Candidasa, on Bali’s east coast, has retained customs and beliefs now very different from the rest of the island. The best archeological guesses estimate that the village dates from the 11^th century, though not even Sadra, regarded as the local historian, can be sure.

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