The Indonesian National News Agency Antara reports that all of Bali’s four lakes are suffering some degree of pollution, requiring urgent action by the people of Bali to maintain the island’s environmental quality.
Speaking to Antara, Bali’s Governor Made Mangku Pastika said, “we will involve a team of experts on lake ecologies in order that the four lakes in Bali remain clean.”
Bali has four lakes – Lake Buyan and Lake Tamblingan in the Buleleng regency; Lake Beratan in Tabanan regency; and Lake Batur in Bangli regency.
Local boats and floating accommodation are suspected as possible causes of pollution on the lakes through leaking fuel oil.
’We will also be undertaking a study on whether or not motor boats are needed as transportation of tourism object support,” explained Pastika.
Lake Buyan Most PollutedOf the four lakes, Lake Buyan in Buleleng regency is considered to be the most severely polluted from among Bali’s four fresh wat er lakes and suffering from diminishing water depths. Pastiska warned: “If in the coming decade, the depth issue is handled satisfactorily, we are concerned that the lake’s water surface will disappear and be consumed by surrounding surface lands.”
The shallow depths of the lake are due to the erosion of soil from nearby mountains, the rapid uncontrolled growth of water hyacinth (enceng gondok) and use of fertilizers on surrounding lands.
Bali’s governor told the press that the “normalization” of Bali’s lake is an absolute necessity, with the government required to quickly devise a recover program for the island’s lakes.

Kompas reports that the two main fuel terminals in Bali at Manggis in the Karangasem and Pesanggaran in Bali’s capital of Denpasar are getting beefed up security following the explosion of the Plumpung Fuel Depot in North Jakarta on Sunday, January 18, 2009.
The Public Affairs spokesperson for the Bali police, Gde Sugianyar told the press on the day following the Jakarta explosions, “an increase in security will certainly be undertaken, whether or not we receive a request from Pertamina.”
The causes and circumstances behind the explosion and fire which destroyed the Plumpung Fuel Depot in Jakarta remains under active investigation by the police.
Sugianyar said that men from several police precincts across Bali have been deployed to keep watch over the island’s main oil storage facilities.
Internally, the Denpasar distribution area for Pertamina has undergone a thorough investigation, including tank and supporting equipment inspections.
The Assistant Retail Marketing Director for Pertamina in Bali, Pramono, said: “We have been ordered to be on guard by the head office. We have our own security system. We have also increased our internal measures.”
Pramono said the incident in Plumpung will not impact on fuel supplies for Bali. Bali’s derives its critical supplies of fuel from Surabaya in East Java.

Plans for the national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of a portion of its shares in the third quarter of 2009 will be postponed indefinitely due to the world’s current economic state of affairs.
Quoted by Bisnis.com, Garuda’s CEO, Emirsyah Satar, said, “The (current) shareholders have decided to delay the IPO for Garuda until conditions are more favorable.” Satar said the current financial market condition is less encouraging than it was a year ago and if the IPO was held as scheduled the shares of Garuda would be sold too cheaply.
Plans are for an IPO of a portion of Garuda’s shares will be undertaken to help reduce the airlines current level of debt. Last year, the government targeted to acquire Rp. 4.2 trillion (US$378 million) via the planned IPO. From the targeted cash resulting from the IPO, Rp. 2.5 trillion (US$225 million) would be used reduce debt while the remaining amount dedicated to acquiring new aircraft for the airline’s armada. The airlines current level of debt stands at around Rp. 2.5 trillion.
Garuda plans for a gradual introduction of 50 new Boeing 737 NG aircraft starting in mid-2009 and 10 Boeing 777-300ER in 2010.
Emirsyah told the press that the delay in the IPO would not necessarily affect the introduction of new aircraft as there are alternate sources of financing available for this purpose.
Passenger Growth Predicted in 2009
The CEO of the Indonesian national carrier said his airline remains bullish on 2009, expecting passengers numbers to grow 24% with a total uplift of 10 million travelers. “Based on the addition of 18 new routes, increased frequencies and our new armada there will be a growth of passengers of as much as 24%,” explained Emirsyah.

Craig Simon writing for the widely syndicated Cox News Service visited Bali last month together with his food-writer wife.
They discovered a island with outstanding accommodation, great food and much to offer the tourist visitors.
In these difficult economic times, perhaps their best discovery is that the dollar still buys a very affordable Bali Holiday.
To read Craig Simons trip review and find out which hotels, restaurants and tour service he recommends [See; Tropical Appeal at a Good Price]

BeritaBali.com quoted the Bali branch of the Indonesian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (ASITA) as projecting a drop of between 30-40% in American and European visitors to Bali in 2009. The growing financial crisis in Europe and the U.S.A. is seen by ASITA as certain to cause visitors from these markets to cancel or delay a holiday abroad.
In 2008, according to ASITA, an average of 4,000-5,000 American and 35,000-40,000 European tourists came to Bali each month.
The Chairman of the Bali Chapter of ASITA, Al Purwa, told BeritaBali.com that in addition to the current financial crisis, the high cost of transportation was also playing a major role in the expected downturn in American and European tourists to the island. “The biggest drops will come from Europe, America and Canada because the airfares are so expensive.
Citing the effect of the global economic crisis, the Bali Tourism Authority recently reduced its target for foreign tourists in 2009 from an initial 2.1 million to a more realistic 1.8 million. Total foreign tourist visitors to Bali in 2008 hit a record 1,968,892.

Rated by Harpers Magazine as among the six top literary events in the world - Ubud Writers and Readers Festival returns to the hills of Ubud for its sixth running October 7-11, 2009.
Founder and force behind the event, Janet de Neefe confirms that writers are being invited, budgets being prepared and sponsors sought for what has become a major event on the literati calendar.
Last year’s event drew record numbers of audience members who flocked to Ubud to participate in more than 50 events led by more than 100 writers. In all, some 43 intimate venues across Ubud were employed for panel sessions, book launches, performances, readings and literary lunches. Among the more popular events was a filled-to-capacity “conversation session” at the Neka Museum led by Vikram Seth drew an audience of nearly four hundred readers and writers, who listened ardently to Seth chat jovially about his life growing up in India.
Suka-Duka: Compassion & Solidari ty
The 2009 theme Suka-Duka: Compassion & Solidarity is an Indonesian philosophy that translates as the togetherness or mutual help in joy and suffering. In 2009, the enduring power of the human spirit over suffering and hardship will be explored alongside stories that have changed lives and tales of profound wisdom. Environmental issues and the rise of fundamentalism will be further debated with globalization, censorship of media and world poverty. The art of storytelling will be celebrated together with discussions on writing about travel, food, poetry and song.
This year’s Ubud Writers & Readers Festival will continue its culinary tradition via visiting chefs descending on the kitchens of some of Ubud's hotels and resorts. They will join forces with our leading literary stars to present the kind of languorous lunches and dinners for which the Ubud festival has become famous.
among those invited to participate this year are Nobel Prize winners J.M. Coetzee and Wol e Soyinka; Kate Grenville, Abdourahman Waberi, Mohammed Hanif, Laura Esquivel and Hari Kunzru.
[Ubud Readers abd Writers Festival Website]

While Bali is home to a host of quality Chinese restaurants, our Editor was so impressed during a recent visit to a recently opened member of that dining fraternity that he returned to dine again on two successive nights.Chinese Food with Difference
Chinoiserie promotes itself as a “Modern Chinese Restaurant,” but somehow that description fails to describe the dining experience that awaits. Run by an enterprising young Singaporean, Bernard Foo, who hired Chef Fui, a native of Malaysia - the Chinese cuisine on offer incorporates all the flavorful nuances of ‘Straits Cookery.” Hundreds of years before the term “fusion” came into vogue, the eclectic and catholic culinary tendencies of the Chinese diaspora who settled in peninsular Southeast Asia freely welcomed indigenous Malay, Indian and Thai ingredients and cooking methods into their kitchens. The resulting free-wheeling approach to cooking felt no compunction at combining chilies, curries, sambels with any of the core Chinese culinary traditions, such as Sichuan, Cantonese and Beijing styles. Reflecting this “if it taste good, why not?” attitude, the peranakan or Straits style of cooking has earned a well-deserved class of its own among world cuisines.
While the Chinoiserie does not qualify, strictly speaking, as peranakan restaurant, there are numerous items on their menu with these roots, certain to catch the attention of those in search of new taste sensations. Some of our favorites :
• Pork Ribs in Wine Sauce – tender and so sweetly succulent that everyone was unabashedly licking their fingers.
• Kung Po Chicken in Sichuan Dried Chili Sauce - Not as spicy as it sound, this Sichuan standard include a sweet chili sauce, lightly fired air dried chilies and chunks of diced chicken.
• Sliced Fish with Ginger Infusion - an opening soup course, highly aromatic and delicious.
• Salt & Pepper Prawns - a delicious and inexpensive alternative to the several lobster dishes which are a specialty at Chinoiserie
• Hot Plate Sambal Squid- Served bubbling hot on a cast iron plate, tender squid slices in a delicious sauce are presented atop a fried egg.
• Baked Lobster Fried Rice with Cheese - a house specialty.
• Minced Beef and Ginger Stir Fry - essentially a rice course, grains of rice are delicately infused with ginger and cubes of beef. So good, we ordered a second round.
The above is just a sampling of an extensive menu that warrants a number of return visits in search of yet—to-be-discovered delicacies.
A Sophisticated Ambience
Up market in presentation but not in price, Chinoiserie the restaurant is sub-divided into four sections where service is provided by waiters and waitresses all dressed in black:
• Bar – run by a talented “mixologist,” a long bar just off the entrance offers all the standard range of drinks. But we suggest you go straight to the list of specialty cocktails, all concocted in the same spirit as their food offering aimed at rewarding the adventurous gourmand.
• Main Resto - fan-cooled at the center of the complex, diners sit amidst water fountains with views to the busy open kitchen.
• VIP Area - Air conditioned with seating for 40, large flower arrangements, over-stiffed lounge seating, and long-stemmed wine glasses set a tone for a leisurely evening of conviviality.
• Upper Deck Located on a raised back terrace overlooking a rice field, this area also converts nicely for private parties through the use of a dedicated bar.
• Al Fresco A garden-like setting under the stars capable of seating 30 diners.
Located on the Sunset Road and easily accessible from Kuta, Sanur and Nusa Dua - Chinoiserie is readily identified by the red Chinese lanterns that adorn its entrance.
Chinoiserie Fining – Lounge
Jal an Sunset Raod No. 7, Kuta, Bali
Telephone ++62-(0)361-8088777.