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Bali Visitors Fingerprinted

By admin on Monday, April 19th, 2010 | No Comments

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

By admin on Monday, April 12th, 2010 | No Comments

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.

Tourist Dies After Falling Into Volcano

By admin on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 | No Comments

Mount BaturA SWEDISH tourist was killed yesterday when he fell 150minto 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

Visa On Arrival

By admin on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 | No Comments

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

By admin on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 | No Comments

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

By admin on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 | No Comments

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

By admin on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 | 1 Comment

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

Tight Security for Julia Roberts

By admin on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 | 1 Comment

Security is expected to be extremely tight when Julia Roberts comes to Bali for the filming of the Movie “Eat Pray Love”.

During the filming in India, India eNews reported that she had 350 security personnel, including police and private security guards.

Almost 350 security men, bulletproof cars and a chopper too – that’s what it takes to secure Hollywood star Julia Roberts, who is here with her three children to shoot for the movie ‘Eat, Pray, Love’.

Read the full story from India eNews

Are Australians Computer Literate?

By admin on Monday, August 10th, 2009 | 1 Comment

I thought that Australians were fairly computer literate. That was until I was given this list of Australian computer terminology.

LOG ON:          Adding wood to make the Barbie hotter.

LOG OFF:          Not adding any more wood to the Barbie.

MONITOR:           Keeping an eye on the Barbie.

DOWNLOAD:           Getting the firewood off the Ute.

HARD DRIVE:          Making the trip back home without any cold tinnies.

KEYBOARD:          Where you hang the Ute keys.

WINDOW:          What you shut when the weather’s cold.

SCREEN:           What you shut in the mozzie season.

BYTE:          What mozzies do.

MEGABYTE:          What Townsville mozzies do.

CHIP:          A bar snack.

MICROCHIP:          What’s left in the bag after you’ve eaten the chips.

MODEM:          What you did to the lawns.

LAPTOP:           Where the cat sleeps.

SOFTWARE:          Plastic knives & forks you get at Red Rooster.

HARDWARE:          Stainless steel knives & forks – from K-Mart.

MOUSE:          The small rodent that eats the grain in the shed.

MAINFRAME:          What holds the shed up.

WEB:          What spiders make.

WEBSITE:           Usually in the shed or under the verandah.

SEARCH ENGINE:          What you do when the Ute won’t go.

CURSOR:           What you say when the Ute won’t go.

YAHOO:           What you say when the Ute does go.

UPGRADE:          A steep hill.

SERVER:           The person at the pub who brings out the counter lunch.

MAIL SERVER:          The bloke at the pub who brings out the counter lunch.

USER:           The neighbor who keeps borrowing things.

NETWORK:          What you do when you need to repair the fishing net.

INTERNET:          Where you want the fish to go.

NETSCAPE:           What the fish do when they find the hole in the net.

ONLINE:          Where you hang the washing.

OFFLINE:          Where the washing ends up when the pegs break.

Ubud Pothole Update

By admin on Saturday, August 8th, 2009 | No Comments

The pothole in the Ubud Main Road that first appeared in early July is being repaired.  10 days after it appeared an excavator was brought in to find the problem.  After digging a hole 8 metres deep, 8 metres wide and 20 metes long, the cause is quite clear.  There is a river running under the road.  3 weeks after the excavation, work has started to repair the damage.

Watch this video and see this monster pothole for yourself.

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