Book Now for a Memorable Night of Wine and Food on Saturday, July 21, 2007 at the Amanusa Resort.
Take three chefs from three of Bali's most prestigious hotels, lock them in a single kitchen, add only finest ingredients and add a generous helping of ultra-premium French wines - and what do you get? A traumatized, shell-shocked and inebriated kitchen brigade? Quite possibly. But what's for certain, you'll also get a classic, memorable meal served in the Amanusa Courtyard on the evening of Saturday, July 21, 2007.
Calling on the culinary talents of Craig Diss of the Amanusa, Gary Tyson of Amandari and Hamish Lindsay of Amankila the following outstanding menu paired with ultra-premium French wines awaits:
Menu - Aman Chefs' Dinner at Amanusa
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TARTARO
Tartare Of Yellow Fin Tuna With Salmon Caviar And Asparagus
2004 Vieilles Vignes blanc, Domaine Gauby
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GAMBERI
Pan Fried King Prawn With A Crisp Stuffed Zucchini Flower And Confit Tomato Salsa
Italian Style Trifle With Chocolate And Mixed Berries
2000 Rivesaltes Tuile, Domaine des Chenes
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COFFEE - TEA
Petit Fours
WINE NOTES
2004 Vieilles Vignes blanc, Domaine Gauby
Gerard Gauby produced his first wines from vines on the famous terroir Calce, in Roussillon, Southern France. An advocate of bio dynamic farming, which uses indigenous yeasts and a very attentive maturation in oak, Domaine Gauby's wines possess a rare balance and elegance. The Cuvee "La Muntada" is widely considered one of the greatest wines of France
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2002 Le Clos des Fees
Award winning sommelier Herve Bizeul acquired a few hectares of old vines in Vingrau, one of the best areas of Roussillon, to fully pursue his passion for wine. His first vintage immediately placed his Domaine at the top of the southern France fine wines hierarchy. His wine making and maturation has only improved since. La Petite Siberie, his 2001 tiny cuvee from 100 years old Grenache grapes.
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Prieure Saint Jean de Bebian
Prieure Saint Jean de Bebian is perhaps the greatest wine of the entire appellation of Coteaux du Languedoc. This wine is irrefutably one of the two reference point red wines of the Languedoc Roussillon region.
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Bookings and Reservations
Seating is strictly limited and immediate booking is recommended. The cost for the entire evening including cocktails at 6:30 p.m. followed at 7:00 p.m. by dinner and wines at the Amanusa Resort is Rp. 900,000, plus 21% tax and service per person (approximately US$121).
For more information and bookings call Ms. Yudhi at ++62-(0)361-772333 or use the email link provided.
Player Update: Commonwealth Tennis Classic in Bali
Top Women Tennis Players to Converge on Bali September 9-16, 2007.
Two of this year's most exciting players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour are looking forward to being Bali-bound this September to Play in the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (formerly known as The Wismilak International Bali).
Jelena Jankovic and Daniela Hantuchova have both been busy racking up victory after victory on the current women's tennis tour, and are anxious to add Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic title to their list of achievements when play gets underway at the Grand Hyatt Bali, Nusa Dua, in September.
Jelena, who is returning to Bali for the first time since 2004 when she fell in the first round to Angelique Widjaja, has proven herself a pace-setter this year. She currently leads the race for the Sony Ericsson Championships where the top eight players for the year will gather in Madrid at the end of the season.
Little more than a year ago the bubbly Serb was in despair and ready to retire from the game after a virus robbed her of the will to compete. At that point she had lost nine first round matches in a row. But, now, things have turned around for her where, since her appearance in Rome, she successfully reached the quarter-finals.
Looking back a single year, this year could not have been in greater contrast. She began the season by winning the Auckland title, and reaching the Sydney final where she held match point before surrendering in the closest of battles to Kim Clijsters. Later, she reached the semi-finals in Dubai before having to retire with an ankle injury. The semi-finals in Doha saw a strong performance before losing to the eventual champion Justine Henin.
A few weeks later she claimed her second title of the year, in Charleston, before going on to reach the semis in Warsaw and the quarters in Berlin, once again yielding to Henin. Next came Rome, the scene of her renaissance in 2006, and this time she went all the way, winning the title without dropping a set and beating three-time Bali champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.
Reaching the semi-finals in Strasbourg, before surrendering the match because of illness, Jelena recovered in time to enjoy her best-ever French Open campaign, reaching the semi-finals before losing to Henin again.
Moving to grass surfaces, her game came into its own winning a title in Birmingham with victory in the final over Maria Sharapova.
All that success meant that Jankovic became the fastest player to reach 50 wins in a season since Chris Evert in 1974.
"I've changed my attitude and I look at things in a positive way," Jankovic said of the reason for her success. "I always try to learn and don't try to look for excuses when I lose a match. I try to analyze my mistakes and what I can do better to keep improving and becoming a better player each time."
Daniela has also been enjoying her best season for years, returning to the top 10 in June after reaching the quarter-finals in Birmingham.
After a decent run at the Australian Open, she reached the semi-finals in Doha, beating Martina Hingis before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova, and then she beat all-comers to lift the title at Indian Wells - beating Hingis along the way before beating Kuznetsova in the final.
A quarter-final at Amelia Island and then a semi-final in Rome followed, and after the French Open and her success in Birmingham she went all the way to the semis in s'Hertogenbosch.
Jankovic and Hantuchova are just two of the many world-class players that will compete in Bali at the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic between September 10-16, 2007.
Chief of Tourism for Bali's Badung Regency Warns Villa Owners He Will Put Them Out of Business if They Fail to Register Before August 29, 2007.
The Head of the government tourism office for the regency of Badung in Bali has warned that owners who fail to properly register their commercial villas before the August 29, 2007 deadline can expect to have their properties put under seal. Drs. I Made Subawa made that threat on July 9, 2007, following a meeting with the Provincial House of Representatives.
Reminding villa owners of his promise to process permit application from all private villas filed before the deadline, with the exception of those built in prohibited "green zone," Subawa warned that villa owners can expect a strict enforcement of the rules if they fail to take advantage of the generous grace period. To date, 450 of the estimated 711 villas operating in Badung remain unlicensed and will come under the promised crackdown, including the "sealing" of the umregistered villas. Sealing typically involves the posting of an official "do not use" poster on the errant properties gate and a sealing of the villas entrance.
As reported on balidiscovery.com [70% of Bali Villas Illegal], the large number of illegal villas operating in Bali and the growing popularity of this type of accommodation with local visitors results in a substantial loss of local tax revenues.
Bali: We're the Tops!
For the Sixth Consecutive Year Bali Named the World's Best Island by Travel and Leisure Magazine.
Each year Travel + Leisure magazine polls its sophisticated readership and then names the World's Best in cities, hotels, islands, airlines, cruise lines, tour operators + safari outfitters, and car-rental agencies - including the Top 100 Hotels Worldwide.
Bali's the Best
For the sixth consecutive time in the twelve year history of the poll, Bali was named the world's best island.
Bali Hotels - A Slipping Presence?
In this years Travel + Leisure poll, Bali hotels continued to make their presence felt in the list of the best hotels in the world and the best hotels in Asia. Somewhat concerning, however, is what appears to be a diminishing presence by Bali hoteliers in the final results of theis prestigious poll.
In 2006 three Bali hotels were named to the top 100 hotels in the world, while in the latest poll only the Four Seasons Jimbaran made the list, ranking at #71 in the world, much lower that its #5 ranking just one year before.
Similarly, while four hotels were named to the top 50 hotels in Asia in the Travel + Leisure 2006 Poll only the Four Seasons Jimbaran and the Ritz Carlton Bali Resort and Spa made this years list ranking in at #12 and #39 respectively. Both these hotels managed to rank in the top ten hotels in Asia in last year's poll.
Interview: Marcia Jaffe - Seeking to Heal the World from Bali
Balidiscovery.com Catches Up with Marcia Jaffe of the Bali Institute for Global Renewal
Marcia Jaffe is the moving force behind the Bali Institute for Global Renewal and a World-wide Leadership Conference to be held in Bali July 31 - August 7, 2007. [See: Come to Bali and Make a World of Difference]. Up to 500 people are expected to converge on Bali in late July to experience leadership training, Balinese wisdom learning, and hands-on practicum experience -all designed to enhance actions to be taken back in their own communities.
Recently balidiscovery.com caught up with Marcia Jaffe, the lady who has helped put Ubud on the map of major leadership conference.
Interview: Marcia Jaffe of the Bali Institute for Global Renewal
balidiscovery.com: What is the Bali Institute for Global Renewal?
Marcia Jaffe: Our Institute started as the next step after creating and producing two "Quest for Global Healing" conferences that we held in Ubud in 2004 and 2006. We began asking ourselves what we were learning from doing these gatherings with so many people wanting to participate. The enormous energy of the Balinese culture mixed with people from around the world who are looking for a way to make a difference creates a transformative space where true leadership can emerge. That's our belief and the Bali Institute will serve primarily as a world learning center offering new forms of global leadership, dialogue, activism, conflict resolution training and other transformative learning mixed with Balinese indigenous wisdom. We also plan to have membership opportunities with universities, corporations, organizations and NGOs, and other institutes who hold meetings, conferences and workshops, so that we are helping to bring people into Ubud as a cultural learning experience.
balidiscovery.com: How will the Bali Institute impact Bali?
Marcia Jaffe: I think our most important mission is to help people come to Bali as a learning culture, not just a place to visit as tourists. Bali is such a unique place in all the world, and it is one of the few places where people come away inspired and more deeply engaged in what is "possible" in the world. There is something here that is like no other place on earth. We know we can help create a model of how indigenous cultures can be resting grounds for a new way for the world to learn/re-learn what is at the core of our collective and individual being. What an honor to be helping bring a more global voice to Bali as it speaks to the world about global healing and global action. We believe that Ubud will be a hub for transformative changes through dialogue and leadership training.
As part of this mission, we also want to create a brand new facility that will serve as a world "banjar"...imagine a world community center that could host world dialogues, global youth gatherings, and other meetings. We have some pretty big ideas and already a possible location, so we hope to make an announcement at the Gathering in Ubud in August.
balidiscovery.com: Tell us about your program this year.
Marcia Jaffe: Our third Gathering is called "Awakening Global Action: Leadership, Indigenous Wisdom and Dialogue for a Transforming World" and takes place in Ubud on August 1-7. Different than the last two Quests for Global Healing Conferences, we are emphasizing ACTION rather than "healing" as our entire team feels that the issue is moving people into their own leadership capacities rather than continuing to just dialogue about what needs to be healed on our planet. Our 7-day program will give people an opportunity to talk about specific issues regarding 5 areas of interest: transformative education, political and social leadership; spirituality, healing and indigenous wisdom; media as activism regarding film, journalism, performance and visual arts; global business and the link with NGOs; and deep ecology, environment and sustainability. Our delegates will have the chance to select from a variety of cultural experiences as well as amazing dialogues that weave together Balinese culture and global social issues -- visiting a banjar, a field trip with a leading Balinese environmentalist, a trip to new suicide prevention clinics, a morning with political activists, and much more. There are also great evening adventures that are open to everyone.
balidiscovery.com:Can local expatriates and others attend?
Marcia Jaffe: Absolutely. We actually have a special discounted rate for locals so that they can attend just for a day or two if they can't attend the entire gathering. We are working closely with Balispirit.com and they are helping us with local registration. Anyone interested can register beginning July 25th at the Balispirit Kafe on Hanoman Street. Or they can call us at 081558333258 and ask for Ryan.
balidiscovery.com:Who are the world leaders coming to Ubud this year?
Marcia Jaffe: We will be hosting a group of fascinating world leaders who represent more than 20 countries. We have just gotten word that Prince Cedza Dlamini, grandson to Nelson Mandela, will be bringing his own father, Prince HRH Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini who is an expert in local and international trade between developing and developed nations. HRH Princess Stella Signcau Bio, the daughter of His Majesty King Mpondombini of the Pondoland Nation in the Eastern Cape is also coming. She is a former Miss Kwazulu-Natal and Miss South Africa finalist of 1994, and currently works in the Department of Foreign Affairs in Pretoria. Other guests come from Colombia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Thailand, Cambodia, Argentina, Afghanistan, and other countries.
Changes Announced at Department of Transportation.
New Directorates in Keeping with Safety Recommendations of the ICAO.
The Indonesian Department of Transportation has announced its intention to establish three new directorates, each headed by its own director.
According to the Secretary General of the Department of Transportation, Wendy Aritenang Yazid, the structural changes at the Department are in response to recommendations from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to improve safety standards for commercial aviation in the country. The three new directorates will be charged with overseeing air navigation, security at airports and general airport operations.
According to Yazid quoted in the Indonesian-language Bisnis Indonesia: "A team from the Directorate General of Transportation is in the process of doing the groundwork for the set up of the new divisions. This year we will forward a proposal to the State Minister for Administrative Reforms."
Once approved by the State Minister, the Minister of Transportation will formally establish the three new divisions within his ministry via an official decree.
While the new directorates charged with navigation and airport safety represent new institutions at the Ministry, the third directorate charge with general airport operations will see the amalgamation of the existing Directorate of Airport Technical Operations and the Directorate for Technical/Electronic Flight Facilities.
The Director of Certification and Airworthiness at the Department of Transportation, Yurlis Hasibuan, told the press that preparations for the introduction of the three new departments are well underway with operating procedures now being formulated. Hasibuan went on to explain that the new Directorate of Air Navigation will be in charge of all aspects of air traffic control including operations, licensing and manpower training.
Department of Transportation Seeks More Funding
Meanwhile,the Department of Transportation has requested minimal additional funding from the Government of Rp. 689 billion (approximately US$76.2 million) for the current year.
The supplemental budget, according to Transportation Minister Syafi Djamal, is needed to address safety and infrastructure issues in the nation's land, sea and air transportation system.
While a detailed breakdown on how the requested funds will be used was not provided, Rp. 100 billion would be used to relocate railways tracks affected by the massive mud-flows near Surabaya in East Java with another Rp. 200 billion allocated for infrastructure improvements in the national transportation system.
Health and Hygiene Certification for Denpasar Restaurants
Denpasar Health Department Preparing to Issue Public Rating System of Bali Eateries.
Republika On-line reports that the Denpasar City Government is preparing a rating system for restaurants as a step to improve hygiene and sanitation practices. The rating system, scheduled to be announced in the near future, is aimed at improving sanitation practices for local restaurants while at the same time providing a protection to Bali residents and visitors who frequent the establishments.
The Head of the Denpasar Health Department, Dr. Luh Putu Sri Armini, explained, "if the health standards are met, the restaurants will be given a rating which will be announced to the public."
According to Dr. Armini, ratings will be given to restaurants after a program of thorough inspection is completed. Establishments found to maintain an excellent hygiene and sanitation standards will be given an "A" rating; "B" ratings for good standards; and "C" ratings for average standards.
Once a rating is given to a restaurant the program mandates routine re-inspections to ensure standards are maintained in accordance with the criterion of the rating system.
Dr. Armini defended the need for the new rating system in order to provide a level of added protection and peace of mind for tourist visitors to Bali. She also assured all concerned that the standards applied would be objective with laboratory testing forming a part of the review method.
Explaining a new "get tough" attitude on introducing hygiene standards at local restaurants, Dr. Amini explained:"Raw materials will be inspected together with the quality of their sources, as well as the facilities used (for preparation) to make sure that all meet health standards. If quality is poor, then we will not issue a certificate."
Garuda: Selling Off its Bits and Pieces
Subsidiaries, Office Buildings, Lots of Land and Old Airplanes for Sale to Help Address Garuda's Growing Cash Crisis.
While plans to secure a strategic partner for Indonesia's financially troubled Garuda Indonesia have inexplicably been placed on back burners, it now appears that the cash-starved national air carrier will soon put "non-productive" assets on the sales block in order to raise US$75 million in cash.
Part of an ongoing economic restructuring, the planned sale of assets is targeted to take place in 2007-2008.
The financial director of Garuda, Alex MT Maneklaran, told the Indonesian-language Bisnis Indonesia that he hope the Company's shareholders would issue the necessary approvals to permit the sale of "non-productive" assets and subsidiary companies.
Among the Airline's assets expected to be put up for sale, include:
. The Company's headquarters on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan in Jakarta which will precipitate a planned move to Bali's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport scheduled for completion by November 2007.
. Five DC-10 aircraft.
. PT Garuda Maintenance Facility - Aero Asia(GMF)
. PT Aerowisata Catering Services
. PT Gapura Angkasa - a warehousing concern.
. A number of land parcels owned by the Airline.
Plans are also afoot that will see the management of Garuda's low cost carrier Citilink split off from the national carrier, expected to be completed by January 1, 2008.
Maritime Law Experts to Meet in Bali in October.
October Meeting in Bali to Review Border Issues in Timor Sea Between Indonesia, Australia and East Timor.
Australian and Indonesian maritime law experts are coming to Bali in October 2007 where they will seek to seek progress in a continuing boundary dispute over sovereignty for islands and the surrounding waters in the Timor Sea.
Formatted as a public hearing, the Bali meetings, to be held in Nusa Dua, will allow legal experts and fisherman to air their thoughts on how to amend an existing treaty between Indonesia and Australia.
At dispute are agreed boundaries demarcating Indonesian, East Timor and Australian territories
According to a report published in the Jakarta Post, Indonesian fisherman are frequently arrested and their boats confiscated for straying into waters claimed by Australia near Pasir and Cartier Islands in the Timor Sea.
Fred Tanoni, who is a member of the International Association of Jurists for Maritime Delimitation in the Timor Sea and Pacific Rim told the Jakarta Post: "the cooperation agreement between Indonesia and Australia, which judicially causes Indonesia to suffer losses, has to be brought in line with international maritime law based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1980 . . . Our dignity as a nation has been damaged. Aside from losing our rights in the Timor sea and Pasir and Cartier islands area, Indonesian fishermen have fallen victim to this agreement."
The 7 Million Arrival Target Just Got Bigger.
Culture and Tourism Minister Admits that Hitting 7 Million Foreign Visitor Target for 2007 has become Problematic.
Indonesia's Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, has reluctantly admitted that a current plague of problems confronting national tourism make it increasingly difficult for him to deliver on his pledge to generate 7 million foreign visitors for the year 2007.
Despite the added challenges posed by the EU blacklisting of Indonesian registered aircraft and rekindled negative travel advisories from Australia, Jero Wacik has called on all components of the Indonesian travel industry to continue in their efforts to hit this year's target for foreign visitors.
In comments made at a ceremony in Bali to mark the 60th anniversary of Indonesian cooperative movement, Wacik said: "We must all continue to strive (to hit the 7 million visitor target), making a contribution in accordance with our respective position and assigned responsibilities. We in the government will also continue with our best efforts."
Wacik confirmed to the press that he has held urgent discussions with Indonesia's Minister of Transportation urging him not to wait until the next safety audit cycle of September to clarify the safety situation of Indonesian aviation to the EU. "There's no reason to wait until September, that would be too late," explained Minister Wacik.
As regards negative travel advisories from Bali's second largest inbound market of Australia, Wacik hope that any downturn in business would be minimal and that a planned visit to Indonesian in late July by Australian Prime Minister John Howard would help persuade Australia's leader and his people that Indonesia is safe to visit.
Peace and Quiet to Reign on Bali's Party Strip?
Officials Confirm Jalan Abimanyu Bars and Restaurants are Breaking Local Noise Laws and are Not Licensed to Conduct Late Night Musical Events.
As reported in balidiscovery.com [All Night Long], local residents and accommodation providers along Bali's hard-partying Jalan Abimanyu ( a/k/a Jalan Dyanapura) have been complaining bitterly about the noise pollution emanating from dance and music clubs in Bali's night spot Mecca.
In a developing story, the Indonesian-language Bali Post reports that a meeting between Seminyak village elders and local business operators has yielded an agreement from the bar and restaurants on Jalan Abimanyu to tone down their noise and abide by local laws and regulations.
The agreement, reached at a meeting attended by 25 business operators, was announced on Tuesday, July 10, 2007, by the village chief of Seminyak, Wayan Parek, and the head of the neighbourhood association protesting the noise, Made Sukadana.
Investigations carried out by village officials have discovered that most of the business operating on Jalan Abimanyu only hold simple licenses to operate as bars and restaurants, prohibiting the high-spirited revelry running until the wee hours that precipitated the complaints from local residents and accommodation operators.
"There are no permits for holding musical performances or operating adiscothèques," explained Parek. Current regulation therefore only permit music to be played to accompany customers dining at the local businesses and strictly prohibit such music from being played at high noise levels to the extent they are heard outside the business premises.
Sukadana, who lead the community protests that prompted the crackdown, pledged to organize local residents to continually monitor businesses operating on the street to ensure the latest promise was not mere lip service.
A Documented Din
Separately, a team from the Environmental Health Unit of Bali's Health Department confirmed that recent sound tests conducted along the road discovered a bar producing noise levels registering 72 decibels at a distance of 100 meters from the business. Those tests, conducted on July 2, 2007, revealed two bars violating local law emitting sound levels of between 72 and 85 decibels, much higher than the legal limit of 45 decibels.
The health official urged that sound monitoring be undertaken on a regular basis to avert the psychological damage and potential hearing loss that can result from prolonged exposure to loud noise.
A Park So Nice, Mega Visited Twice
Former President Megawati Makes Her Second Visit in as Many Months to Taro's Elephant Safari Park.
During a nine-day visit to Bali, former Indonesian President Megawati Seokarnoputri included a visit to the popular Elephant Safari Park in Taro, north of Ubud.
The former President, who made a brief visit to the Park just two months ago, obviously enjoyed the initial visit sufficiently to prompt her latest return visit in the company of her husband, legislator Taufiq Kiemas; her 3 children; and 7 grandchildren.
Ibu Mega spent more 2 hours at the park while her children and grandchildren rode the elephants and watched the pachyderms go through their paces in a circus-like performance. Before adjourning to the Elephant Safari Park's restaurant and gift shop, the VIP group received a special bonus of a live painting exhibition by the Park's resident elephant artiste whose work is on sale at a leading art gallery in New York City.
Scheduled to leave Bali on July 17, 2007, Megawati used her Bali visit to also attend a political briefing of her party's cadres in preparation for the coming Governor's race on the island. Ibu Megawati and her party party stayed in Bali at the former Chief Executive's private residence in the village of Cucukan near Blahbatu in Gianyar regency.
Shown on balidiscovery.com are pictures taken during the visit of Indonesia's former president to the Elephant Safari Park.
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