Coman Etha
Author Archives: Coman Etha

Miss World In Bali

Miss World

The Miss World Contest started yesterday and will now be conducted entirely on the island of Bali.

The contest opened on Sunday and later rounds were due to take place in and around Jakarta, with the winner originally set to be crowned at a venue outside the capital on September 28.

Indonesia said on Saturday the final of the Miss World pageant later this month would take place on the Hindu-majority holiday island of Bali instead of near the capital, after days of Muslim hardline protests.

Although the Miss World organizers had already promised to replace the contest’s trademark bikinis with Balinese sarongs for its beach fashion segment, thousands have taken to the streets this week to denounce the decision to hold the contest in Indonesia.

You can read the full story at news.yahoo.com/miss-world

 

 

Boom Boom Bar In Ubud

Ubud has always been known as a quiet retreat where visitors go to kick back, relax and get away from it all.  It is nothing like the beach side areas of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak where the hundreds of clubs and bars are alive until early hours of the morning.

Only a couple of short years ago the only place to go for a little entertainment in Ubud was the Jazz Club.

Things have changed a little, and now visitors have a choice of a few places to have a drink and enjoy some live music.  It’s still nothing like Kuta with the live music in most places finishing well before midnight.

One of the latest bars to open and is enjoying some good success is Boom Boom Bar and Restaurant.  They serve some good food and have live music every night.

The staff are friendly and make you feel welcome. The waiters can always be seen entertaining their guests with some magic or party tricks.  The bar staff also put on show with their cocktail mixing, juggling and fire tricks.

There are seven different bands so unless you’re there for more than a week, you won’t here the same band twice.  The music varies from night to night and includes Reggae, Blues, and Pop Rock.

Probably the most popular band is the Friday night group called Kawitana.  Here is a video of Kawitana playing Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits.

So if you are in Ubud for a night or two and want a fun place to relax with a cold drink and enjoy some music, you should check out Boom Boom on Monkey Forest Road.

Ceremony For Coman’s New House

Coman has been working hard over the past few months building his new house in his family compound in Tabanan.  The house is almost complete, but they cannot live in it until they have a ceremony to bless the house.

Early in June the family and a few guests were invited to join the blessing ceremony. It was held in the middle of the day and went about 3 hours.  Some fabulous local food was served for lunch, and together with some cool drinks and great conversation it was a nice afternoon.

Now Coman only needs a few finishing touches and he, Putu and the kids will have somewhere they can call “home”.

Tourist Dies After Falling Into Volcano

 

Mount BaturA SWEDISH tourist was killed yesterday when he fell 150 meters into the crater of Mount Batur, an active volcano on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.

The 25-year-old man slipped as he tried to peer into the crater after a dawn trek to the summit, which climbs to 1700m on the north-eastern side of the island, police said.

“He was looking into the crater, slipped and fell 150m,” local police chief Made Oka said.

He said emergency responders were at the scene and were trying recover the tourist’s body using ropes.

Full story at News.Com.Au

Bali Visitors Fingerprinted

Airport Delays Expected As Authorities Introduce Fingerprinting Of Tourists

(17/4/2010) The Jakarta Globe carries the news that visitors to Bali can now expect yet another delay in the notoriously long lines at customs and immigration at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport with the introduction of a mandatory fingerprinting for tourist visitors.

The head of immigration’s sub directorate for Information-systems, Rohadi Iman Santoso, has announced the new requirement to be introduced at Bali’s airport, with subsequent implementation planned at all international gateways in Indonesia.

The fingerprinting, carried out with ink-less electronic fingerprint readers, will only be required for those using short-stay visas. Foreigners who have permanent or temporary stay permits and who have already been fingerprinted in the process of obtaining their residency in Indonesia are exempted from the new requirement. Children under the age of 14 and those traveling on diplomatic passports are also exempted from the requirement.

Rohadi also announced that tourist visitors would also be photographed using a system that completes the process in 2 minutes.

Rohadi acknowledged that the new requirement would add to the delay for those processing through Bali’s immigration and customs process. Only 10 of the 23 immigration counters at the airport will be initially equipped with the fingerprint scanner.

The system will be introduced nation-wide by July 2010 with scanners then in place at 21 airports, five seaports and at the border crossing between Malaysia and Indonesia at Entikong. The trial introduction now underway is fingerprinting visitors arriving in Bali, Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Solo.

The immigration department has apparently seen little need to socialize the new fingerprinting system with Surya Dharma, a spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and Ngurah Wijaya, the head of the Bali Tourism Board, claiming no knowledge of the new system.

Biometric screening procedures are already in effect in a number of countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and the United States.

This story is reproduced with the permission of Bali Discovery Tours         http://www.balidiscovery.com

Eat Pray Love Trailer

The movie Eat Pray Love starring Julie Roberts is due for release in August 2010.  It was filmed in Italy, India and Bali during 2009.  The filming in Bali took place on various parts of the island in September and October 2009.

The movie is a big-screen adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling book “Eat Pray Love”

Here is the trailer for the movie Eat Pray Love.

Visa On Arrival

passportRecent changes to the Indonesia’s visa on arrival, has seen the 7 day visa scrapped.

Previously there were two options available, the US$10 visa which was good for 7 days and the 30 day visa for US$25.  From January 26 2010 there is only one option which is US$25 for a 30 day visa which can be extended for a further 30 days.

These changes were introduced to encourage visitors to stay longer, and to combat corruption within Indonesia’s immigration department.  The changes have drawn criticism from some circles who believe that it will increase the cost for frequent short stay visitors.

Julia Enjoys a Splash While Filming EPL

Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem shook off controversy over their new movie as they filmed a romantic scene in Bali yesterday.

The Oscar-winning actress, who turns 42 this week, stripped down to a string bikini as she cosied up to her on-screen lover for their new film Eat, Pray, Love.

The pair resumed filming after locals in the village of Bentuyung attempted to disrupt the movie in a row over pay.

Roberts has been filming the big-screen adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling book in Italy, India and Indonesia in recent weeks.

Read more at Mail Online >>

Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem

Can’t Find Julia

It has been reported that Julia Roberts is in Bali for the filming of Eat Pray Love.  Everyone is quite sure she is here, but no-one has seen her.

A village north of Ubud was overtaken by a film production crew on Friday and Saturday, but roads were closed and the security was very tight.  The film crew moved out late Saturday and headed south.

It is understood that further filming will be done in the Ubud area, as well as Uluwatu and Nusa Dua, but none of the details are known.

The media hounds are having a rough time of it.  It seems the locals are all prepared to give information, but it always ends up at a dead end.

Roberts Expected in Bali Mid October

Julia in RomeFamous movie star Julia Roberts is expected in Bali for the filming of “Eat Pray Love” to commence on 16 October.

According to Jakarta Globe, permits have been issued for the filming in Bali, with Roberts due on set from 16 October to 6 November.

“We have issued the permit to shoot in Gianyar. Their preparation is complete,” said Ida Bagus Puruvita, the Gianyar cultural office’s chief of permits and films.

The shoot is planned to take place at the traditional markets and Monkey Forest in Ubud, along with the nearby villages of Demayu and Tegalalang, and in Badung, Uluwatu and Nusa Dua.

Permits for these locations were obtained by the official representative of the production crew, Tino Taroengallo.

Roberts has finished the filming in Rome, and is currently in India.  The picture of Roberts was taken during the filming in Rome.

Read the Full Story from the Jakarta Globe

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