Salacious film 'Koreana' bares Bali's all

After the recent release of the controversial documentary trailer of Cowboys in Paradise, another risque movie filmed in Kuta has been posted on the Internet.

Titled Koreana, the 22-minute film shows an uncensored oral sex scene between an Indonesian woman and a foreign man on a balcony of a hotel located on Jl. Pantai Kuta.

The film begins with shots of tourists strolling along Kuta Beach as well as a surfing competition.
The following scenes feature the woman drinking beer at the beach, before it moves to the hotel where the sexually explicit scene takes place.

Authorities on the resort island were quick to respond to the film, which is being circulated on the Internet, with the police probing the case and the Balinese Hindu community calling for calm.

Bali Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Gde Sugianyar, said Thursday the film was allegedly shot in 2003, but had only been distributed following the release of Cowboys in Paradise. 

"We are investigating this case. We are tracking down who released this film on the Internet and distributed the DVD's," Sugianyar said.

He said the film appeared to be shot by an amateur filmmaker for private viewing, but was then made public. 

Head of the Bali Cultural Agency Ida Bagus Sedhawa, said the film was being distributed illegally.

"Of course there is no permit allowing the film to be distributed. If the filmmaker asked for a permit, it would not be approved," he said. 

According to the 1992 Film Industry Law, a filmmaker must obtain an official permit from a related institution to release a film. 

In Bali, that authority falls to the Bali Film Board.

The agency consists of officials from the cultural agency, the police, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission, the regional office of the Religious Affairs Ministry and several other related institutions.

A filmmaker can be sentenced to one year in prison and fined Rp 40 million if caught distributing a film without a permit. 

However, Sedhawa said, it was difficult for the agency to strictly ensure the regulation was upheld amid rapid technological development.  

"It's difficult for us to supervise. Now people can simply use a mobile phone to watch a video recording," he said.

Head of the Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI) I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, said that such films were made to tarnish the image of Bali as a religious island.

He called on the Balinese people not to be easily provoked by the irresponsible parties that distributed such films.

"I ask the Balinese people to safeguard this island from irresponsible acts.

"Don't be easily provoked," said Sudiana.  Sudiana asked the police to impose strict measures against filmmakers who were deemed to tarnish Bali's image.

Ni Komang Erviani and Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Balinese pottery on show at Bentara Budaya

Cultural center Bentara Budaya Jakarta is showcasing an exhibition of pottery products from Bali's Pejaten craftsmen.

The exhibition, titled "Habis Genteng Terbitlah Kodok" (After Roof Tiles Comes the Frog) was opened Tuesday May 4. The exhibition of pottery made by craftsmen Wayan Kuturan, I Made Durya and I Putu Oka Mahendra, will run until the end of the week.

Pejaten is a village in Bali that has transformed from being a roof tile production center into a flourishing pottery factory, exporting its elegant products to Europe, Japan, Australia and the US. The title of the exhibition is a play on the title of Indonesian women's rights heroine Kartini, Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang (After Darkness Comes the Light).

In the exhibition, ceramic statues of frogs were lined up for show. Rows of coral green ceramic teapots and glazed mugs, vases, and plates were beautifully arranged.

Ceramic statues are also on display. The exhibition showcased figures playing traditional Balinese musical instruments and the statue of the Buddha.

The pieces are priced from Rp 50,000 (about US$5) to more than hundreds of thousands of rupiah.

Tickets to the exhibition range from Rp 25,000 to more than Rp 100,000. For this weekend, Bentara Budaya is offering a 20 percent discount.

Bentara Budaya curator Ipong Purnamasidhi wrote in the exhibition catalog that the village won the Upakarti award for distinguished performance in the SME sector in the 1980s from the government for its roof tile products.

Then Pejaten village leader at that time Made Tanteri introduced roof tile presses and later clay mills to the villagers. French ceramic expert Hester Tjebbes came to the village in 1985, which started the pottery revolution in Pejaten.

Ipong wrote that an idea to change the pattern of making roof tiles into functional ceramics emerged at that time. "Then came interesting designs of cups, plates and bowls with flora and fauna patterns.

Don't be amazed to see a little frog at the side of the cup or a gecko on a plate."

With Hester's help, the Dutch aid organization HIVOS supported the development of more complex pottery making.

Made Tanteri and Pejaten residents Wayan Kerta and Wayan Kuturan spearheaded the transformation.

Wayan Kuturan produces pottery with his signature gecko and frog designs. The son of the late Made Tanteri, I Putu Oka Mahendra carries his father's pottery legacy under the name Tanteri Keramik. Its style is clean and minimalist, seen on its tea pots, plates, bowls and mugs. Made Durya produces large flower vases with holes with floral motifs.

French ceramic expert Hester Tjebbes came to the village in 1985, which started the pottery revolution...

Jakartapost

Enchantment Sunset at Dreamland Bali

On of the charm Of Bali or Pulau Dewata is a beach. Bali island surrounded by sea and facing to Indian Ocean, making the island is rich with famous beaches all over the world. Just mention Kuta Beach, Sanur, Nusa Dua, Dreamland region Pecatu Indigenous Village, Bali, which has attracted local and foreign tourists.

Sripo residing on the island of Bali, some time ago, 3-10 April 2010, the opportunity to visit some beaches and enjoy the eye sunset (sunset) among several beaches. Scenery as well as enjoyed by the Western and local.

Sanur Beach (Sanur Beach) which is not far from Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai, is a beach protected by coral reefs that are relatively safe for water sports. In the region there are also hotels, cafes and shops. Amongst the famous hotel is the Inna Grand Bali Beach. One of the rooms are never in the occupied by the Bung Karno when he became President.

Meanwhile, in Legian Kuta Beach, Kuta is a natural beach (natural beach). The waves that come rolling to make this beach ideal for surfing sports. The foreign tourists take advantage of the surfing from morning till evening. In place of Legian-Kuta area is also packed with world-class hotels and restaurants.

Contrary again to the beach in Nusa Dua area is relatively well managed. Famous hotel located in the region, one of the Grand Hyatt, Bali. Even in some parts of the coast, has been marked as a region included in the hotel area.

Nusa Dua Beach has waves that are not relatively large. With such a situation, even without the coral sea as a protector of Nusa Dua beach is relatively safe for a place to swim.

For Dreamland Beach is located in the surrounding area Pecatu Indigenous Village, no less beautiful. High cliffs and rocky reefs around the coast, making the region a beautiful Dreamland, especially in the afternoon with the golden sun. This place is visited every afternoon.

For the record, when you visit a tourist resort in Bali sebaiknnya using their own vehicles or hire so freely. It is difficult to obtain in Bali spelled public transport such as public transportation. Most charter a taxi or car. But do not worry, you easily get a rental car or rental. Costs range from USD 180-200 thousand per day (24 hours) plus the driver or your own that will drive traffic while enjoying the island of Bali. (Soegeng Haryadi)

 

Translate from Sriwijayapost

Bali Want to Enhance Tourists from Australia

Directorate General of Marketing, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, took 18 players in the Bali tourism promotion in four cities in Australia, 16 to 25 May 2010. Bali as the Indonesian tourism relationship is expected to maximize the tourists visiting the "land of kangaroos" is to boost the national tourism.

 

Four cities are Perth, Melbourne, Darwin, and Syney. Promotion to four-city program entitled Sales Mission to Australia. The 18 players of tourism on the island who had been invited to join the travel agents who are under the coordination of Bali Village, one of the stakeholders under the control of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB).

 

Representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Bali, Molly Prabawati in Denpasar, Friday (9/5/10) states, the target of Australian tourists to visit Indonesia this year targeted to reach 620 000 people. Over the past year the Australian tourist visits to the country is 530 000 people.

 

"Promotions directly to Australia to be one strategy to encourage more tourists the country. It is undeniable that we should invite Bali for more than 80 percent of Australian tourists coming directly to Bali," said Molly.

 

Molly is disclosed, the visit to Indonesia Australian tourists continues to rise. In the period January-March 2010 was recorded a fantastic increase to around 55 percent compared to same period previous year. Noted the number of Australian tourists to the country during the first three months of this year 142 654 people.

 

Translate from Kompas

Enjoying sunset in 'heaven'

The Pan Pacific Bali Nirwana Resort (BNR), owned by the family of millionaire Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie, and which recently merged with international hotel chain Pan Pacific, was basking in a heavenly sunset near the Tanah Lot Temple, 25 kilometers from Kuta.

Mixed beauty: The Pan Pacific's Bali Nirwana Resort, located close to the famous Tanah Lot Temple, sports an international-standard golf course designed by the legendary Greg Norman. JP/Wasti Atmodjo

Hundreds of foreign and local visitors had patiently waited for the sun to go down behind the temple.
Some had spent a leisurely afternoon at the newly opened Cendana restaurant, one of the many attractions of this five-star resort.

"This is one of the best places to watch the beauty of the sunset. The sun usually goes down at the back of the temple creating a perfect scenery. Just now, the sky is very clear," said Dwi Lismiarni, marketing communication manager for the Pan Pacific Bali Nirwana Resort recently.

Nirwana means heaven in Sanskrit. The site is indeed a blissful place, with a fantastic view of the Bali Strait in the southern part of Bali and located near one of the holiest Hindu temples, Tanah Lot. The Cendana restaurant is part of the 103-hectare Bali BNR currently managed by the Pan Pacific Group.

PT Bali Nirwana Resort, a unit under PT Bakrieland Development Tbk, developed the resort twelve years ago.

"If you need a break from your busy schedule and the hustle and bustle of the glittering but noisy tourist destinations in Bali, Nirwana Resort is your best choice," Lismiarni said.

The resort has 278 rooms including 245 deluxe rooms, 20 executive suites, 12 villas and one presidential suite.

"We will gradually be renovating the interior of the rooms to adjust to Pan Pacific International Hotel standards and improving our services for our guests," said Hans G. Winsnes, the general manager of Pan Pacific BNR.

The Pan Pacific Group, he said, has been in Indonesia for many years, however, the group only manages one hotel, the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel in Jakarta.

"After long consideration, we decided to spread our wings to Bali by collaborating with PT BNR to manage this resort," Winsnes said.

He is sure that faithful guests of the Pan Pacific Group across the world will jump at the opportunity of spending their holidays here at its Bali resort.

"We have many guests from Australia, Japan and Korea, who keep coming back," added Lisminiarni.

Under the new management of the Pan Pacific Group, the resort feels confident it will draw many more visitors from different geographical zones.

Yudi Rizard Hakim, chief corporate affairs officer of PT Bakrieland, added that 85 percent of the 103-hectare resort area was "green and open" space, and included an 18-hole golf course as well as lush gardens.

"We have an international-standard golf course designed by the legendary Greg Norman. It was the recipient of the Best Golf Course in Indonesia and Asia award," Hakim said.

Hakim went on to say the company was proud to employ local residents and therefore contribute to the local economy.

"Around 60 percent of our 900 employees come from neighboring areas," Hakim said. The company's close relationship with the local community will remain the same, despite the change in the hotel's management. "Currently, we provide 15 hectares of land for local farmers," he added.

Bakrieland is currently focusing on developing hotels and resorts in Bali, Lampung and Bogor. The company plans to build a resort in Balikpapan in East Kalimantan too.

"We have other projects in Bali in addition to the Bali Nirwana Resort," he said.

Next June, the company will open the Pullman Bali Legian Nirwana, a four-star hotel and 300 apartment units in Legian, Kuta.

For those wanting a peaceful, relaxing holiday, the Bali Nirwana Resort could be considered an ideal choice. But people who prefer to be in the middle of the action are more likely to enjoy the planned Legian Nirwana in Kuta. Just one more month to wait. Have a nice holiday in Bali.

Wasti Atmodjo, The Jakarta Post, Tabanan

Trunyan: Where the dead lie

The island of Bali is generally thought of as an island full of life. When and where death does encroach, it often becomes a spectacle of cremations and elaborate ceremonies.  

One small part of Bali however upholds an unusual and apparently quite ancient tradition pertaining to death.
Sitting at the edge of Lake Batur in Northern Bali is a small cemetery known as Trunyan, where people from the nearby village of Kuban "bring" their dead to rest on top of the ground.

This unusual practice has become something of a macabre tourist attraction. Perhaps it is not really an "attraction" but a place that pricks peoples' curiosity. The local people, though, have clearly become used to tourists coming to this site and so haggling and near constant pestering for "donations" has to be dealt with.

Unusual ritual: Flimsy bamboo cages and cloths cover up the deceased. JP/Simon Gower

One can only reach this site by boat, a small fleet of which awaits visitors at the end of a wooden jetty where the stunning Mount Batur looks on.

Crossing the lake to Trunyan takes between 20 and 30 minutes and upon arrival a small huddle of men awaits any arriving boats.

The cemetery is small and there is little need or sign of maintenance. Although this is the final resting place for a number of people, a sense of respect for the dead does seem to be in short supply here.

Human skulls are lined up on stonewall shelves, which makes for a quite eerie sight to begin with but then the men here will invite visitors to pick a skull up and presumably pose for a photo; all of the visitors to this site on this occasion were quite quick to decline this invitation.

The views across the lake to Mount Batur are quite stunning and despite the annoying attendants, this is a peaceful place.

In this final resting place, the bodies of the deceased are just covered in cloth and rudimentary bamboo cages. These cages are flimsy and practically leave the body out in the open to the elements.

This creates an obvious concern; dead bodies left out in the open will of course decompose and the potential for unwelcome odors and even health concerns is real. However here, apparently, the presence of a banyan tree, described as holy, has warded off such concerns.

The huge banyan tree seems to stand as a guarding and protective figure of  this cemetery. Its leafs carpet the ground around the gravesite and presumably this is part of the way in which the tree keeps the area free from unwelcome odors and so on.

Even with the hassle and haggling from the people that wait and wander about the cemetery, this is still a peaceful place that enjoys beautiful and powerful scenery. The lake dazzles in the Balinese sunlight and Mount Batur watches somewhat broodingly in the distance.

Returning across the lake local people are travelling by boat to the cemetery, it seems to pay their respects to the dead. They smile and wave as their boat glides on by; they seem to realize what a pleasant part of the world they live in and may rest in peace in one day.

Simon Marcus Gower, Contributor, Trunyan Jakarta Post

A quirky museum, a welcoming home

An impressive and imposing entranceway seems to stand guard as you approach the Antonio Blanco Museum located on a hill known as Campuan, in Ubud, Bali. Passing under this archway, the entrance road rises up steeply and there is a real sense of approaching something special but also a little reclusive.

Welcoming: The museum's mansion house looms large on Campuan Hill. JP/Simon Gower

It is said the King of Ubud gave the artist Antonio Blanco this land to build his home and which today stands as something of a monument to this renowned artist.

This land in Ubud is also said to sit at the confluence of two sacred rivers and so in a variety of ways is seen as an auspicious and special place.

It soon becomes clear that this is a place of restfulness and beauty: Gardens are beautifully kept, lawns are clipped and manicured, and statues are adorned with umbrellas and flowers.

The grounds of the museum immediately reflect this space is respected and worshipped. Signs over the entrance door into the grounds state that "Through these portals pass the most beautiful people in Bali".

Antonio Blanco was an artist of Spanish parentage born in Manila, The Philippines, in 1911. It is evident from the museum that the artist enjoyed a varied and truly international life. After his high school education in Manila, he went on to study art in New York and developed skills and a liking for figurative and portrait art.

While this sentiment was to prevail throughout his artistic life, his arrival in Bali in 1952 proved central to the rest of his life. He married a Balinese woman famed for her Balinese dancing, Ni Ronji. Her portraits kept in the museum add a very personal touch to the museum, almost making the visitor feel like being at home.

Perhaps first and foremost it is the home of Antonio Blanco. His spirit seems to linger throughout the mansion at the center of the place.

The mansion is large and ornate; perhaps a little too ornate and even gaudy for many a modern person's tastes, but it is important as it acts as a gallery space for so many of Blanco's paintings.

These are displayed in often highly decorated frames, some of which were also designed by the artist.

But it is in the artist's studio to the side of the mansion that visitors get a real sense of the artist's work.

Antonio Blanco passed away in 1999 but his spirit seems to linger on in his small but intimate studio, where numerous frames and paintings either line the walls or rest, stacked up against the walls. One feels like someone needs to finish the pieces or take up the brushes and use the paints left in the center of the room.

Today, visitors to the museum are invited to sit as the artist would have and have their photograph taken posing with artist's palette and brush in hand. Although this sounds almost terribly touristy, it is done in a fun way and the attendants are warm and welcoming.

 This is, perhaps, one of the nicest aspects of this museum; although the mansion house is grandiose and imposing — practically demanding attention — there is still something of an intimacy and warmth about the place as a whole.

Antonio Blanco's son Mario also became an artist, very much in his father's tradition, and so his studio resides right next to that of his renowned father's.

Antonio Blanco was one of many foreign artists to come to Bali and feel at home. His memory is, though, kept alive more powerfully than most with this museum that combines studios and a large mansion house.

The artist may have passed away more than a decade ago now and, to some extent, the times that he represents have passed; perhaps they were more stylish and genteel times. But this museum seems to look back on them with a fondness and warmth that is both simultaneously interesting to the mind and calming to the spirit.

The Jakarta Post