Healthy, Tasty or Both?

Every morning he drinks coffee made by his wife. It is a habit. He thinks he has been addicted. If one day he does not drink a glass of coffee, he will feel sick. He likes Balinese coffee. Most of Balinese people have the same habits as him, he guesses. In every celebration, ceremony, like wedding party, tooth filling, three-month baby ceremony and the others, the neighborhood, relatives and best friends of the family will be invited to come to do ngeeb bawang for the men, done early in the morning to slice union, garlic, ginger, and the other kitchen spices for the food prepared to the guests, and ngajang banten for the women to take the offerings from the offering maker that is called jero tukang. They place the offerings on their head and walk to the house of the person that conducts the ceremony. Those men and women will be served by given a glass of coffee and Balinese rice cake.

After trying many brands of coffee since he was young, this man decided the most delicious coffee for him. He consumes it every day until now; his first daughter has been married. The information he read in the local newspapers about brown rice coffee raises his curiosity. What he knows about coffee is it is made of coffee seeds that is dried and by using a certain machine; it is processed to be coffee powder. And his wife pours hot water to the glass and mixes it with a tea spoon of coffee powder and sugar, and serves it to him every morning.

Coffee made of brown rice. This coffee is the Arabica coffee that is mixed with brown rice from Jatiluwih, Tabanan regency. This new type of coffee is made through special grain to maintain the wholeness of the husk, aroma and micro nutrition. He is a little bit surprised when he read the advantages of the brown rice coffee. It is said that this coffee can make good blood circulation and improve the stamina, especially after illness. The Chinese believes the charcoal of brown rice is good to overcome the digestion trouble, diarrhea, maag or stomach ache. When the brown rice is fried without oil, that rice is believed contain substance that can inhibit the development of cholesterol in the human’s liver, and it also contain saturated oil.

The coffee commodity has important role in North Bali. Currently, Buleleng is said to be the central of coffee production. There are 15,520 ha areas in Buleleng used to plant coffee; 3,921 ha for Arabica coffee and 12,599 ha for Robusta coffee. They are in Busung Biu, Sawan, Sukasada, Kubutambahan sub districts. The productions are some 2,000 to 3,000 ton per year on average. With that wide area and supported by many factors, Buleleng regency actually can manage eco tourism. It can be one alternative of places of interest in North Bali. The tourists see directly coffee plantation area, the production process and try the product. He thinks it such a great idea.

He sips his coffee and imagines how the taste of the brown rice coffee is. The Balinese coffee he consumes every day has special taste and high quality. Can the taste of the new coffee make him change his favorite? He knows the answer, of course, after he tries the new one. The brown rice coffee has a lot of advantages to the human being. Unfortunately, he cannot try it soon because the distribution is still only in South Bali. He promises himself, when the coffee has distributed to this regency, he will buy it soon. He likes drinking coffee, and he likes to be healthy too.

*Source: http://www.bali-information.com/bali-news.php/story/42/bali-kopi

MOST Malaysian property buyers are a discerning and sophisticated lot nowadays, with the more affluent ones casting their sights on properties overseas.

S.K. Brothers Realty chief executive officer Charlie Chan sees Australia, Singapore and Britain as popular countries for Malaysians investing in properties overseas.

“With the growing affluence of Malaysians, investing in properties overseas is one way to hedge their investments. They want to put their eggs in different baskets,” he said.

Chan said those who had invested in properties in Britain years ago would be enjoying capital appreciation and foreign exchange gains, thus encouraging them to invest further.

Australia is also a favourite place – especially Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Gold Coast – for Malaysians to buy property as many have children who are studying there.

“I don’t see these investments affecting our local property market. People are still buying properties here to stay and invest in.

“We are also attracting foreign buyers into our market, especially after the recently introduced policies such as the abolition of the real property gains tax,” Chan said.

He believes these cross-border property investments are good for the country.

“People are looking for security and good returns on their investments,” he said.

General manager Chan Ai Cheng said investors were always on the lookout for new opportunities.

“Land investment in Britain is also something worth considering. Investors can expect a return of 300% to 700% over a five to 10-year period,” she said.

Strategic land investment involves buying land with agricultural status or brownfield land which would be converted into residential, commercial or industrial land in future.

The strategy is simple – buy an undeveloped piece of land, wait until its price goes up (with planning permission) and then sell.

When the land is sold, a capital gain is made, but since the British government only taxes people who live or work in Britain, Malaysians will not pay this tax.

“We have clinched a deal worth over RM500,000 from a single investor before,” Ai Cheng said.

Khong & Jaafar Sdn Bhd managing director Elvin Fernandez noted that one of the hottest sectors in the property market in Asean was the high-end luxurious condominium in Singapore.

“That market has been hot for the past one year. International buyers including Malaysians – high net worth individuals – are buying into the sector for capital appreciation and rental income,” he said.

Some high-end luxury condos are said to be selling at about S$3,000 per sq ft.

Elvin pointed out the need for good rental returns for a well-supported luxury high-end condo market.

“We will need a strong expatriate market to push up rental income for Malaysia so that the local luxury high-end condo can benefit from the spillover effect from Singapore,” he said.

He added that there could be more foreign workers in the country with projects from the Ninth Malaysia Plan rolling in and this would strengthen the luxury high-end condo market, as they would be looking to rent the condos.

Colliers International Property Consultants Sdn Bhd deputy managing director Lee Vun-Tsir reckoned the prices of luxury high-end condos in Singapore had doubled in the last eight months.

Lee expects a bigger expat workforce in Singapore, especially with the construction of Genting Inter- national’s Sentosa integrated resort, which will have the region’s first Universal Studios theme park and a casino.

He said this would help boost the property market there and make it even more attractive for foreign investors.

“Indonesia, especially Bali, is also one of the places Malaysians invest in – cash-rich individuals looking to buy resort developments, private villas and other such properties.

“Bali’s resort developments are a favourite as they are relatively cheaper compared with the other resorts in the region – for example, it is one third the price of resort properties in Phuket. We also speak a similar language,” he said.

Lee said the company was not aggressively moving into the overseas property market but rather catered to a niche market with resort properties such as the Angsana Resort and Spa in Bali.

Denpasar (ANTARA News) – The Bali provincial government has set aside Rp1.6 billion in funds to reforest 500-600 hectares of denuded land this year.

“The funds taken from the regional budget will be used to reforest denuded land in forest areas,” Head of the Bali Provincial Forestry Service Anak Agung Ngurah Buana said here on Friday.

The provincial government is determined to reforest denuded land inside and outside forest areas, he said.

“The reforestation program this year will target 500-600 hectares of denuded land inside forest areas. A variety of drought-resistant trees will be grown there,” he said.

To date, the province has 25,338 hectares of denuded land found in eight of its nine districts. The denuded land is mostly found in Karangasem, Klungkung, Karangasem and Bangli districts.

Through the reforestation program the denuded land can hopefully be reforested in stages, he said.

He said various kinds of trees typical to the province, such as mahogany, trembesi, and panggal buaya will be grown through the reforestation program to meet wood demand from small-scale handicraft industry.

Bali now has 130,686 hectares of forest consisting of 95,766 hectares of protected forest (73.28 percent), 26,293 hectares of conservation forest (20.12 percent) and 8,626 hectares of production forest (6.60 percent).

The forest is made up of 22 percent of the province`s land territory. Ideally, the forest should account for 30 percent of the land territory, he said.

*Source: Antara News

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/1278654434/bali-allocates-rp16-b-to-reforest-denuded-land-this-year

In a move toward developing sustainable natural resources in Bali, hundreds of people, who are concerned with the state of the island’s environment and agriculture, on Saturday declared “Bali as an organic island”.

The declaration, initiated by an agricultural student at Udayana University, aims to raise awareness to recover the degrading quality of farming lands throughout Bali by applying organic agriculture methods.

“We as the krama *people* of Bali, are fully aware that we have to manage this small island based on a unified ecosystem, and we have to adhere to the traditional teachings and principles that we inherited from our predecessors,” the declaration read.

“Organic agriculture is one way to recover the condition of our nature. Therefore, we declare Bali as an organic island.”

The declaration is supported by environmental groups and several NGOs, farmers, organic product consumers, local administrations and the Agriculture Ministry.

Ni Luh Kartini from Udayana University, who initiated the declaration, said that the condition of agriculture lands in Bali had degraded due to conventional ways of farming using chemical fertilizers.

“The condition of agriculture resources in this island has been very alarming, especially concerning land fertility and water availability.”

She cited that the concentration of organic substances in many farming lands was very low, causing severe drought in dry season.

“Low concentration of organic substance is due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers.

“Therefore, we have to encourage farmers to use organic fertilizers.”

Other worrying conditions were that water level in many rivers had receded, and groundwater reserves had decreased due to exploitation.

Lakes have also been polluted, she added.

“But farmers and related stakeholders have not been fully aware about this condition.

“If this persists, farming lands will continue to degrade, and it will threaten our food resilience.

“We expect that the declaration will revive their awareness of how to manage farming lands while preserving nature.”

If the organic farming system could be applied successfully throughout Bali, it would also positively impact on the island’s tourism sector, because people could develop agriculture and eco-tourism, she added.

Organic farming systems have been applied in several areas in Bali, including Baturiti in Tabanan, Gianyar, Buleleng, and Kintamani in Bangli.

However, Bali farmers still face a short supply of organic fertilizers.

“We expect the government to supply us with organic fertilizers, or provide livestock so that we can produce our own fertilizers,” said farmer Wayan Sumadra, from Pancasari village, Buleleng.

He criticized the government for subsidizing state-owned companies to produce organic fertilizer, as those companies would then sell it to farmers, instead of directly subsidizing the farmers.

Desy Nurhayati , The Jakarta Post , Buleleng | Mon, 11/23/2009 1:38 PM | Bali

*Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/11/23/bali-declares-itself-organic-prevents-land-degradation.html

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country’s 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island.

With a population recorded as 3,551,000 in 2009, the island is home to the vast majority of Indonesia’s small Hindu minority. About 93.2% of Bali’s population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music.

History

Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian and Chinese, and particularly Hindu culture, in a process beginning around the 1st century AD. The name Bali dwipa (“Bali island”) has been discovered from various inscriptions, including the Blanjong pillar inscription written by Sri Kesari Warmadewa in 914 AD and mentioning “Walidwipa”. It was during this time that the complex irrigation system subak was developed to grow rice. Some religious and cultural traditions still in existence today can be traced back to this period. The Hindu Majapahit Empire (1293–1520 AD) on eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in 1343. When the empire declined, there was an exodus of intellectuals, artists, priests and musicians from Java to Bali in the 15th century.

Tanah Lot, one of the major temples in Bali

The first European contact with Bali is thought to have been made in 1585 when a Portuguese ship foundered off the Bukit Peninsula and left a few Portuguese in the service of Dewa Agung. In 1597 the Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman arrived at Bali and, with the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in 1602, the stage was set for colonial control two and a half centuries later when Dutch control expanded across the Indonesian archipelago throughout the second half of the nineteenth century (see Dutch East Indies). Dutch political and economic control over Bali began in the 1840s on the island’s north coast, when the Dutch pitted various distrustful Balinese realms against each other. In the late 1890s, struggles between Balinese kingdoms in the island’s south were exploited by the Dutch to increase their control.

The Dutch mounted large naval and ground assaults at the Sanur region in 1906 and were met by the thousands of members of the royal family and their followers who fought against the superior Dutch force in a suicidal puputan defensive assault rather than face the humiliation of surrender. Despite Dutch demands for surrender, an estimated 1,000 Balinese marched to their death against the invaders. In the Dutch intervention in Bali (1908), a similar massacre occurred in the face of a Dutch assault in Klungkung. Afterwards the Dutch governors were able to exercise administrative control over the island, but local control over religion and culture generally remained intact. Dutch rule over Bali came later and was never as well established as in other parts of Indonesia such as Java and Maluku.

In the 1930s, anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, and artists Miguel Covarrubias and Walter Spies, and musicologist Colin McPhee created a western image of Bali as “an enchanted land of aesthetes at peace with themselves and nature”, and western tourism first developed on the island.

Balinese dancers show for tourists, Ubud.

Imperial Japan occupied Bali during World War II, during which time a Balinese military officer, Gusti Ngurah Rai, formed a Balinese ‘freedom army’. The lack of institutional changes from the time of Dutch rule however, and the harshness of war requisitions made Japanese rule little better than the Dutch one. Following Japan’s Pacific surrender in August 1945, the Dutch promptly returned to Indonesia, including Bali, immediately to reinstate their pre-war colonial administration. This was resisted by the Balinese rebels now using Japanese weapons. On 20 November 1946, the Battle of Marga was fought in Tabanan in central Bali. Colonel I Gusti Ngurah Rai, by then 29 years old, finally rallied his forces in east Bali at Marga Rana, where they made a suicide attack on the heavily armed Dutch. The Balinese battalion was entirely wiped out, breaking the last thread of Balinese military resistance. In 1946 the Dutch constituted Bali as one of the 13 administrative districts of the newly-proclaimed State of East Indonesia, a rival state to the Republic of Indonesia which was proclaimed and headed by Sukarno and Hatta. Bali was included in the “Republic of the United States of Indonesia” when the Netherlands recognised Indonesian independence on 29 December 1949.

The 1963 eruption of Mount Agung killed thousands, created economic havoc and forced many displaced Balinese to be transmigrated to other parts of Indonesia. Mirroring the widening of social divisions across Indonesia in the 1950s and early 1960s, Bali saw conflict between supporters of the traditional caste system, and those rejecting these traditional values. Politically, this was represented by opposing supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI), with tensions and ill-feeling further increased by the PKI’s land reform programs. An attempted coup in Jakarta was put down by forces led by General Suharto. The army became the dominant power as it instigated a violent anti-communist purge, in which the army blamed the PKI for the coup. Most estimates suggest that at least 500,000 people were killed across Indonesia, with an estimated 80,000 killed in Bali, equivalent to 5% of the island’s population. With no Islamic forces involved as in Java and Sumatra, upper-caste PNI landlords led the extermination of PKI members.

As a result of the 1965/66 upheavals, Suharto was able to manoeuvre Sukarno out of the presidency, and his “New Order” government reestablished relations with western countries. The pre-War Bali as “paradise” was revived in a modern form, and the resulting large growth in tourism has led to a dramatic increase in Balinese standards of living and significant foreign exchange earned for the country. A bombing in 2002 by militant Islamists in the tourist area of Kuta killed 202 people, mostly foreigners. This attack, and another in 2005, severely affected tourism, bringing much economic hardship to the island. Tourist numbers have now returned to levels before the bombings.

Geography

Topography of the island

The island of Bali lies 3.2 km (2 mi) east of Java, and is approximately 8 degrees south of the equator. Bali and Java are separated by Bali Strait. East to west, the island is approximately 153 km (95 mi) wide and spans approximately 112 km (69 mi) north to south; its land area is 5,632 km².

Bali’s central mountains include several peaks over 2,000 metres. The highest is Mount Agung (3,142 m), known as the “mother mountain” which is an active volcano. Mountains range from centre to the eastern side, with Mount Agung the easternmost peak. Bali’s volcanic nature has contributed to its exceptional fertility and its tall mountain ranges provide the high rainfall that supports the highly productive agriculture sector. South of the mountains is a broad steadily descending area where most of Bali’s large rice crop is grown. The northern side of the mountains slopes more steeply to the sea and is the main coffee producing area of the island, along with rice, vegetables and cattle. The longest river, Ayung River, flows approximately 75 km.

The island is surrounded by coral reefs. Beaches in the south tend to have white sand while those in the north and west have black sand. Bali has no major waterways, although the Ho River is navigable by small sampan boats. Black sand beaches between Pasut and Klatingdukuh are being developed for tourism, but apart from the seaside temple of Tanah Lot, they are not yet used for significant tourism.

The largest city is the provincial capital, Denpasar, near the southern coast. Its population is around 491,500(2002). Bali’s second-largest city is the old colonial capital, Singaraja, which is located on the north coast and is home to around 100,000 people. Other important cities include the beach resort, Kuta, which is practically part of Denpasar’s urban area; and Ubud, which is north of Denpasar, and is known as the island’s cultural centre.

Three small islands lie to the immediate south east and all are administratively part of the Klungkung regency of Bali: Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. These islands are separated from Bali by the Badung Strait.

To the east, the Lombok Strait separates Bali from Lombok and marks the biogeographical division between the fauna of the Indomalayan ecozone and the distinctly different fauna of Australasia. The transition is known as the Wallace Line, named after Alfred Russel Wallace, who first proposed a transition zone between these two major biomes. When sea levels dropped during the Pleistocene ice age, Bali was connected to Java and Sumatra and to the mainland of Asia and shared the Asian fauna, but the deep water of the Lombok Strait continued to keep Lombok and the Lesser Sunda archipelago isolated.

Ecology

The Bali Starling is found only on Bali and is critically endangered.

Bali lies just to the west of the Wallace Line, and thus has a fauna which is Asian in character, with very little Australasian influence, and has more in common with Java than with Lombok. An exception is the Yellow-crested Cockatoo, a member of a primarily Australasian family. There are around 280 species of birds, including the critically endangered Bali Starling, which is endemic. Others Include Barn Swallow, Black-naped Oriole, Black Racket-tailed Treepie, Crested Serpent-eagle, Crested Treeswift, Dollarbird, Java Sparrow, Lesser Adjutant, Long-tailed Shrike, Milky Stork, Pacific Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Sacred Kingfisher, Sea Eagle, Woodswallow, Savanna Nightjar, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Yellow-vented Bulbul, White Heron, Great Egret.

Until the early 20th century, Bali was home to several large mammals: the wild Banteng, Leopard and an endemic subspecies of Tiger, the Bali Tiger. The Banteng still occurs in its domestic form, while Leopards are found only in neighboring Java, and the Bali Tiger is extinct. The last definite record of a Tiger on Bali dates from 1937, when one was shot, though the subspecies may have survived until the 1940s or 1950s. The relatively small size of the island, conflict with humans, poaching and habitat reduction drove the Tiger to extinction. This was the smallest and rarest of all Tiger subspecies and was never caught on film or displayed in zoos, while few skins or bones remain in museums around the world. Today, the largest mammals are the Javan Rusa deer and the Wild Boar. A second, smaller species of deer, the Indian Muntjac, also occurs.

Monkey Forest, Ubud.

Squirrels are quite commonly encountered, less often the Asian Palm Civet, which is also kept in coffee farms to produce Kopi Luwak. Bats are well represented, perhaps the most famous place to encounter them remaining the Goa Lawah (Temple of the Bats) where they are worshipped by the locals and also constitute a tourist attraction. They also occur in other cave temples, for instance at Gangga Beach. Two species of monkey occur. The Crab-eating Macaque, known locally as “kera”, is quite common around human settlements and temples, where it becomes accustomed to being fed by humans, particularly in any of the three “monkey forest” temples, such as the popular one in the Ubud area. They are also quite often kept as pets by locals. The second monkey, far rarer and more elusive is the Silver Leaf Monkey known locally as “lutung”. They occur in few places apart from the Bali Barat National Park. Other, rarer mammals include the Leopard Cat, Sunda Pangolin and Black Giant Squirrel.

Snakes include the King Cobra and Reticulated Python. The Water Monitor can grow to an impressive size and move surprisingly quickly.

The rich coral reefs around the coast, particularly around popular diving spots such as Tulamben, Amed, Menjangan or neighboring Nusa Penida, host a wide range of marine life, for instance Hawksbill Turtle, Giant Sunfish, Giant Manta Ray, Giant Moray Eel, Bumphead Parrotfish, Hammerhead Shark, Reef Shark, barracuda, and sea snakes. Dolphins are commonly encountered on the north coast near Singaraja and Lovina.

Many plants have been introduced by humans within the last centuries, particularly since the 20th century, making it sometimes hard to distinguish what plants are really native. Among the larger trees the most common are: Banyan trees, Jackfruit, coconuts, bamboo species, acacia trees and also endless rows of coconuts and banana species. Numerous flowers can be seen: hibiscus, frangipani, bougainvillea, poinsettia, oleander, jasmine, water lily, lotus, roses, begonias, orchids and hydrangeas exist. On higher grounds that receive more moisture, for instance around Kintamani, certain species of fern trees, mushrooms and even pine trees thrive well. Rice comes in many varieties. Other plants with agricultural value include: salak, mangosteen, corn, Kintamani orange, coffee and water spinach.

Agriculture

Although tourism produces the GDP’s largest output, agriculture is still the island’s biggest employer; most notably rice cultivation. Crops grown in smaller amounts include fruit, vegetables, Coffee arabica and other cash and subsistence crops. Fishing also provides a significant number of jobs. Bali is also famous for its artisans who produce a vast array of handicrafts, including batik and ikat cloth and clothing, wooden carvings, stone carvings, painted art and silverware. Notably, individual villages typically adopt a single product, such as wind chimes or wooden furniture.

The Arabica coffee production region is the highland region of Kintamani near Mount Batur. Generally, Balinese coffee is processed using the wet method. This results in a sweet, soft coffee with good consistency. Typical flavors include lemon and other citrus notes. Many coffee farmers in Kintamani are members of a traditional farming system called Subak Abian, which is based on the Hindu philosophy of “Tri Hita Karana”. According to this philosophy, the three causes of happiness are good relations with God, other people and the environment. The Subak Abian system is ideally suited to the production of fair trade and organic coffee production. Arabica coffee from Kintamani is the first product in Indonesia to request a Geographical Indication

Tourism

The tourism industry is overwhelmingly focused in the south, while significant in the other parts of the island as well. The main tourist locations are the town of Kuta (with its beach), and its outer suburbs (which were once independent townships) of Legian and Seminyak; the east coast town of Sanur (once the only tourist hub); in the center of the island Ubud; to the south of the airport is Jimbaran and the newer development of Nusa Dua.

Another increasingly important source of income for Bali is what is called “Congress Tourism” from the frequent international conferences held on the island. The number of these events increased after the terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005, to resurrect Bali’s damaged tourism industry as well as its tarnished image. One such event was the 2010 World Geothermal Congress.

The American government lifted its travel warnings in 2008. As of 2009 the Australian government still rates it a 4 danger level (the same as several countries in central Africa) on a scale of 5.

An offshoot of tourism is the growing real estate industry. Bali real estate has been rapidly developing in the main tourist areas of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Oberoi. Most recently, high-end 5 star projects are under development on the Bukit peninsula on the south side of the island. Million dollar villas are springing up along the cliff sides of south Bali, commanding panoramic ocean views. Foreign and domestic (many Jakarta individuals and companies are fairly active) investment into other areas of the island also continues to grow. Land prices, despite the worldwide economic crisis have remained stable.

In the last half of 2008, Indonesia’s currency had dropped approximately 30% against the US dollar, providing many overseas visitors value for their currencies. Visitor arrivals for 2009 were forecast to drop 8% (which would be higher than 2007 levels), due to the worldwide economic crisis which has also affected the global tourist industry and not due to any travel warnings.

Bali’s tourism economy has not only survived the terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005, the tourism industry has slowly recovered and surpassed its pre-terrorist bombing levels and the longterm trend is a steady increase of visitor arrivals.

The Indonesian Tourism Ministry expects more visitors arrivals in 2010, whose target for visitor arrivals is aimed to be the highest ever.

Bali’s tourism brand is Bali Shanti Shanti Shanti. Where Shanti derived from Sanskrit “Shanti” meaning peace.

Bali, received the Best Island award from Travel and Leisure 2010. The award was presented in the show “World’s Best Awards 2010″ in New York, on 21 July. Hotel Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran also received an award in the category of “World Best Hotel Spas in Asia 2010″. The award was based upon survey results of travel magazine Travel + Leisure readers, during the period December 15, 2009 through March 31, 2010, and was based upon several criteria. The island of Bali won because its natural state is uniformly attractive (both mountain and coastal areas), tourist attractions are diverse and widely distributed, the excellent availability of restaurants food (international and local), and the friendliness of the local people to visitors.

Religion

The Mother Temple of Besakih one of Bali’s most significant Hindu temples.

Cremation procession

Unlike most of Muslim-majority Indonesia, about 93.18% of Bali’s population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, formed as a combination of existing local beliefs and Hindu influences from mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. Minority religions include Islam (4.79%), Christianity (1.38%), and Buddhism (0.64%). These figures do not include immigrants from other parts of Indonesia.

When Islam surpassed Hinduism in Java (16th century), Bali became a refuge for many Hindus. Balinese Hinduism is an amalgam in which gods and demigods are worshipped together with Buddhist heroes, the spirits of ancestors, indigenous agricultural deities and sacred places. Religion as it is practiced in Bali is a composite belief system that embraces not only theology, philosophy, and mythology, but ancestor worship, animism and magic. It pervades nearly every aspect of traditional life. Caste is observed, though less strictly than in India. With an estimated 20,000 puras (temples) and shrines, Bali is known as the “Island of a Thousand Puras”, or “Island of the Gods”.

Balinese Hinduism has roots in Indian Hinduism and in Buddhism, and adopted the animistic traditions of the indigenous people. This influence strengthened the belief that the gods and goddesses are present in all things. Every element of nature, therefore, possesses its own power, which reflects the power of the gods. A rock, tree, dagger, or woven cloth is a potential home for spirits whose energy can be directed for good or evil. Balinese Hinduism is deeply interwoven with art and ritual. Ritualizing states of self-control are a notable feature of religious expression among the people, who for this reason have become famous for their graceful and decorous behavior.

Apart from the majority of Balinese Hindus, there also exist Chinese immigrants whose traditions have melded with that of the locals. As a result, these Sino-Balinese not only embrace their original religion, which is a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, but also find a way to harmonise it with the local traditions. Hence, it is not uncommon to find local Sino-Balinese during the local temple’s odalan. Moreover, Balinese Hindu priests are invited to perform rites alongside a Chinese priest in the event of the death of a Sino-Balinese. Nevertheless, the Sino-Balinese claim to embrace Buddhism for administrative purposes, such as their Identity Cards.

Language

Balinese and Indonesian are the most widely spoken languages in Bali, and the vast majority of Balinese people are bilingual or trilingual. There are several indigenous Balinese languages, but most Balinese can also use the most widely spoken option: modern common Balinese. The usage of different Balinese languages was traditionally determined by the Balinese caste system and by clan membership, but this tradition is diminishing.

English is a common third language (and the primary foreign language) of many Balinese, owing to the requirements of the tourism industry.

Culture

The famous dancer i Mario, picture taken 1940.

Bali is renowned for its diverse and sophisticated art forms, such as painting, sculpture, woodcarving, handcrafts, and performing arts. Balinese percussion orchestra music, known as gamelan, is highly developed and varied. Balinese performing arts often portray stories from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana but with heavy Balinese influence. Famous Balinese dances include pendet, legong, baris, topeng, barong, gong keybar, and kecak (the monkey dance). Bali boasts one of the most diverse and innovative performing arts cultures in the world, with paid performances at thousands of temple festivals, private ceremonies, or public shows.

The Hindu New Year, Nyepi, is celebrated in the spring by a day of silence. On this day everyone stays at home and tourists are encouraged to remain in their hotels. But the day before that large, colourful sculptures of ogoh-ogoh monsters are paraded and finally burned in the evening to drive away evil spirits. Other festivals throughout the year are specified by the Balinese pawukon calendrical system.

Balinese dancers wearing elaborate headgear, photographed in 1929. Digitally restored.

Celebrations are held for many occasions such as a tooth-filing (coming-of-age ritual), cremation or odalan (temple festival). One of the most important concepts that Balinese ceremonies have in common is that of désa kala patra, which refers to how ritual performances must be appropriate in both the specific and general social context. Many of the ceremonial art forms such as wayang kulit and topeng are highly improvisatory, providing flexibility for the performer to adapt the performance to the current situation. Many celebrations call for a loud, boisterous atmosphere with lots of activity and the resulting aesthetic, ramé, is distinctively Balinese. Oftentimes two or more gamelan ensembles will be performing well within earshot, and sometimes compete with each other in order to be heard. Likewise, the audience members talk amongst themselves, get up and walk around, or even cheer on the performance, which adds to the many layers of activity and the liveliness typical of ramé.

Kaja and kelod are the Balinese equivalents of North and South, which refer to ones orientation between the island’s largest mountain Gunung Agung (kaja), and the sea (kelod). In addition to spatial orientation, kaja and kelod have the connotation of good and evil; gods and ancestors are believed to live on the mountain whereas demons live in the sea. Buildings such as temples and residential homes are spatially oriented by having the most sacred spaces closest to the mountain and the unclean places nearest to the sea.

Most temples have an inner courtyard and an outer courtyard which are arranged with the inner courtyard furthest kaja. These spaces serve as performance venues since most Balinese rituals are accompanied by any combination of music, dance and drama. The performances that take place in the inner courtyard are classified as wali, the most sacred rituals which are offerings exclusively for the gods, while the outer courtyard is where bebali ceremonies are held, which are intended for gods and people. Lastly, performances meant solely for the entertainment of humans take place outside the walls of the temple and are called bali-balihan. This three-tiered system of classification was standardized in 1971 by a committee of Balinese officials and artists in order to better protect the sanctity of the oldest and most sacred Balinese rituals from being performed for a paying audience.

Tourism, Bali’s chief industry, has provided the island with a foreign audience that is eager to pay for entertainment, thus creating new performance opportunities and more demand for performers. The impact of tourism is controversial since before it became integrated into the economy, the Balinese performing arts did not exist as a capitalist venture, and were not performed for entertainment outside of their respective ritual context. Since the 1930s sacred rituals such as the barong dance have been performed both in their original contexts, as well as exclusively for paying tourists. This has led to new versions of many of these performances which have developed according to the preferences of foreign audiences; some villages have a barong mask specifically for non-ritual performances as well as an older mask which is only used for sacred performances.

Balinese society continues to revolve around each family’s ancestral village, to which the cycle of life and religion is closely tied. Coercive aspects of traditional society, such as customary law sanctions imposed by traditional authorities such as village councils (including “kasepekang”, or shunning) have risen in importance as a consequence of the democratization and decentralization of Indonesia since 1998.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali

The law in Indonesia regarding title, deeds or ownership states that land cannot be owned by foreigners. A reliable and tested system has been developed to help foreigners purchase and secure property in Bali using Indonesia real estate laws. In very easy terms, there are three documents that have to be completed:

First
Loan contract is executed between you and your nominee.
The nominee has to be Indonesian as the law states. Bali Best Land staff can be this nominee. The contract shows that the property has been purchased with money provided by you, this will result in your name being registered on the title deed at the land office in conjunction with that of the nominee. Your claim over the land is officially referenced in public records.

Second
The nominee makes a formal binding agreement.
This gives you the unencumbered and exclusive right to the property.

Third
Declaration letter is filed by you and your nominee.
This declaration clearly outlines the relationship between the parties so that there can be no misunderstanding.

The combined effect of these documents is to clearly show that the Indonesian nominee has no financial interest in the property and stating categorically that the role they have is only that of your nominee. Your interests are well protected.

Certificate of Ownership (SHM / Sertifikat Hak Milik)

Certificate of Ownership is the type of certificate that the owner has full rights over land in certain areas with an area that has been mentioned in the certificate. In contrast to HGB certificates that have certain time limits, a Certificate of Land Ownership no time limit ownership. The certificate is issued by the National Land Agency.

Rights of Use (HGB / Hak Guna Bangunan)

Rights of Use is the type of certificate where the certificate holder could only use the land either for building or for other purposes, while ownership of land is state property. Titles have a certain time limit such as 20 years. After passing the limit of 20 years, the certificate holder must take care of her SHGB extension. Unlike the Property Certificate of ownership only to local citizens.

Buying and selling land is the thing that often happens in everyday life in society. If between seller and buyer have agreed to make a sale and purchase of land to the land that has been certified, several steps must be taken is:

1. Deed of Sale and Purchase (AJB)
The seller and the buyer must come to the Office of the Official Manufacturer Deed Land (PPAT) to make the deed of sale and purchase of land. PPAT is a public official appointed by the Head of National Land Agency has the authority to make the deed of sale in question. As for areas that are not quite the amount of PPAT, Village Head because of his position can carry out the task of making PPAT deed of sale and purchase of land.

2. AJB Terms
Required to make a Deed of Sale and Purchase of Land in the Office of Land Deed makers are:
a. Seller carry:
· Original certificate of the land to be sold.
· Identity Card.
· Proof of payment of land and building tax.
· Approval Husband / Wife for those who have a family.
· Family Card.

b. While the prospective buyer to bring:
· Identity Card.
· Family Card.

3. The process of making the sale and purchase in PPAT Office.

a. Preparation Preparation of Deed of Sale and Purchase.
1) Before making a deed of Sale and Purchase of Land Act Officer maker on the authenticity of certificates of inspection to the office of the Land.
2) Pejual must pay income tax (income tax) if the selling price of land in over sixty million dollars in the bank or Post Office.
3) Prospective buyers can make a statement that by buying the land he does not become the holder of land rights that exceed the maximum area limit provisions.
4) A statement from the seller that the land owned is not in dispute.
5) PPAT deed of sale Buy refused to manufacture if the land to be sold is in dispute.

b. Preparation of Deed of Sale and Purchase
1) Making deed must be attended by the seller and prospective buyer or person authorized by a written power of attorney.
2) Making deed must be attended by at least two witnesses.
3) Officials maker deed Deed Land read out and explain about the contents and the purpose of making deed.
4) If the contents of deed has been approved by the seller and potential buyers the deed signed by the seller, the prospective buyer, witnesses and officials Maker Deed Land.
5) Act created two original pieces, one copy is saved in the Office of PPAT and one other sheet submitted to the Land Office for registration (behind the name).
6) To the seller and buyer each given a copy.

4. What about the next step after making the Deed of Sale and Purchase?
a. When finished making the Deed of Sale and Purchase, PPAT and then submit the file to the Office of the Deed of Sale and Purchase of Land for the purpose behind the name of the certificate.
b. Delivery must be implemented no later than seven working days after the signing of the deed.

5. The files needs to handed over?
a. The letter behind the name petition signed by the buyer.
b. PPAT deed of sale.
c. Certificates of land rights.
d. Identity Card (KTP) buyers and sellers.
e. Proof of payment pembayaraan Income Tax (PPh).
f. Proof of payment of Customs Acquisition of Land and Buildings.

6. What is the process at the Land Office?
a. After the file submitted to the Land Office, Land Office to provide proof of receipt of the request back to the PPAT name, then by PPAT sign a receipt is submitted to the Purchaser.
b. The name of the old rights holder (seller) in the land book and certificate crossed out with black ink and initialed by the Chief of the Land Office or a designated official.
c. The name of the new rights holder (buyer) is written on the pages and columns exist in the land book and certificate by bibubuhi record date and signed by the Chief of the Land Office or a designated official.
d. Within 14 (fourteen days) the buyer has to take the certificate that has been on behalf of buyers in the land office.

Good news for property entrepreneurs. Revised Government Regulation No. 41 of 1996 on Right to Use Property by Foreigners would contain the rights to use foreigners for 95 years. Previously, foreign citizens have only use rights for 25 years and then have to renew again.

“The draft revisions had reached the House of Representatives, the first half of this year should already be approved,” said Minister of Public Housing (Kemenpera) Suharso Monoarfa (3 / 3). According Menpera various rules about ownership restrictions also kept simmering. One was about the minimum price of property that can be bought by foreigners. “The range of the average 150,000 dollars to 250,000 dollars,” added Suharso.

Suharso promised, during a meeting employers’ properties around the world are scheduled to take place in Bali next May, the institute will strive to launch the revised rules can be done. “It’s really so that we can announce to the world community property,” he said.

Chairman of Real Estate Indonesia (REI) Teguh Satria revealed that developers are eagerly anticipated revision of ownership rules on foreigners in Indonesia’s apartment. “Effect for apartment industry premium segment will be very big,” said Teguh.

DAVID James Haughton (46), an architect from Australia who is married to Indonesian women, said Indonesia has become a blessing for himself and his family. David working on many high-end residential project owned by businessmen and Indonesian officials in Jakarta and Bali.

Asked his opinion about the plan to revise the rules of foreign ownership in Indonesia, David James Haughton said that the plan was very good. He gave the example of many Japanese people have a property in Queensland, Australia. Similarly, in Indonesia. “Not a few foreigners who want to buy property in Bali, enjoying retirement in Bali and Indonesia,” he said.

Revised rules on foreign ownership would be more beneficial to Indonesia. “Imagine the Indonesian government and developers will gain taxes get fresh funds, foreign currencies such as dollars flowing into Indonesia. If the real estate business to grow, employment opportunities were wide open to people of Indonesia. And of course, the real estate business requires people like me, “says architect and interior designer was.

Meanwhile in Malaysia have to apply the rules of property ownership by foreigners since 20 years ago. Indeed, before Malaysia was afraid if many foreigners buying property. But the ban was only for the purchase of vacant land. Now the foreigners in Malaysia are allowed to buy apartments. Condominium built my company, many people bought foreign.

source: kompas.com