The power blackouts continue

For the past couple of weeks, we have been without power once every four days, just for the evening. It was a little frustrating at the beginning. It seems to go off just as you are watching something good on television or working on something on the internet.

After a few blackouts though, you get used to it and it is actually a good chance to have a quiet candle lit dinner and just sit outside in the peace and quiet. As long as you don’t look at the clock, it somehow feels much later just using candles for light and it surprisingly easy having an early night.

Bea Cukai Mengamankan Bahan Peledak Selundupan

Perairan pulau mapor ( 18/11 ) Rabu, Bea cukai mengamankan bahan peledak dasar sebanyak 75 ton ammonium nitrat. Menurut kata Wakil Direktur Reserse Kriminal Polda Kepri, AKBP Wiyarso bahan peledak dasar sebanyak ini dapat meledakkan 1 pulau apabila dicampur dengan unsur kimia pendukung pembuatan bahan peledak.
Wiyarso juga mengatakan bahwa akan bekerja sama dengan pihak Bea Cukai untuk mencari pemilik dari barang selundupan itu. Apabila pihak yang berwajib dan bea cukai menemukan bahan – bahan pendukung lainnya yang dapat di gunakan sebagai bahan rakitan peledak maka pemilik barang selundupan tersebut akan di kenakan sangsi sesuai Undang-Undang Darurat No 12/1951, tentang Senjata Api, Ungkap Wiyarso. Penyelidikan ini akan di lakukan demi menjaga masuknya pemasokan bahan peledak yang di lakukan oleh organisasi teroris.

Pro & Kontra Mengenai Film 2012

Pro & kontra selalu ada dalam kehidupan, begitu juga dalam bidang usaha juga perfilman atau di dunia selebritis. Film 2012 adalah film terbaru yang di produksi oleh perfilman Amerika Serikat yang mana saat ini manjadi bahan pembicaraan asik di kalangan Agamawan. Sebagian besar penganut agama di Indonesia, menetang isi dari film 2012 ini, namun sebahagian besar lagi menyukai film 2012 ini.
Menurut sebagian kalangan agamawan, film 2012 ini tidak pantas di pertontonkan karena menganut ajaran sesat. Menurut sebahagian agamawan, film ini dapat memberikan sisi negatif kepada para penontonnya terutama yang masih muda. Menurut para agamawan, tidak seorangpun tahu kapan hari kiamat akan tiba & perfilman ini membuat efek buruk bagi kaum muda yang akan takut dan beranggapan bahwa kiamat akan tiba pada tahun yang di tentukan. Namun untuk sebagian besar kalangan, menganggap bahwa film 2012 ini hanya sebuah film yang dapat membuka imajinasi mereka. Bagi kalangan yang dapat menerima film 2012 ini, menyatakan bahwa film 2012 ini hanya film yang tidak perlu di tentang karena apapun makna dari film 2012 ini, semua tergantung pada individu masing – masing untuk dapat menyaring sisi baik & buruk dari isi film tersebut. Dan menjadikan film tersebut sebagai ilmu bukan untuk di takuti atau film 2012 di anggap sebagai pembuka imajinasi para kaum muda mengenai kehidupan dari sisi baik & buruk.

Pembunuh Model Cantik Setianti Dwi Retno Telah Tertangkap

Setianti Dwi Retno, ( 24 tahun ) model muda dan cantik yang di temukan tewas di apertemennya ( 9/11 ) senin akhirnya mendapatkan titik terang.
Dari jasat korban yang telah membusuk saat di temukan pihak yang berwajib di apertemennya, di duga di bunuh sesuai dari hasil pemeriksaan korban dan TKP.
setelah di usut oleh pihak yang berwajib, akhirnya menemukan jejak tersangka yang akhirnya bisa di lumpuhkan ( 17 /11 ) selasa di banjarmasin, kalimantan selatan.
Jhonny, tersangka pembunuhan yang menyatakan tega melakukan hal keji tersebut karena ingin menguras uang milik korban dan juga karena dendam pribadi yang mana korban kerap berjanji akan di rias oleh jhonny namun selalu batal.
Jhonny sosok pria yang bertubuh gemulai ini mendapatkan tuduhan atas pembunuhan berencana dan minimal 20 tahun penjara atau maksimal hukuman mati.

Hati – hati penipuan lewat internet

Semaraknya penipuan lewat email, adalah karena kurangnya ilmu pengetahuan di bidang komputer dan terutama karena kurangnya ketelitian kita dalam menyaring setiap berita yang di bagikan oleh teman – teman penulis blog.
Pada dasarnya dan pada umumnya, masyarakat hanya menggunakan internet sebagai alat komunikasi dan persahabatan jarak jahu. Namun tanpa di sadari, kejadian yang sering terjadi di lingkungan ataupun melalui sms di handphone, begitu lah kejadian yang saat ini sangat marak terjadi di dunia maya internet.
Banyaknya orang yang tidak menyadari semua hal bentuk penipuan yang sering di lakukan oleh orang – orang yang tidak bertanggung jawab seperti sms berhadiah atau apa saja, itulah yang menyebabkan masih ada juga banyak orang yang akhirnya tertipu dan di perdaya oleh orang – orang yang tidak bertanggung jawab lewat email atau media internet.
Sebagai bahan pelajaran kepada seluruh masyarakat, tentunya yang baru memahami kecanggihan dan kemajuan dunia maya internet agar di harapkan berhati – hati atas penipuan yang saat ini kerap terjadi. Penipuan melalui internet yang kadang di kirimkan lewat email anda seperti meminta tolong kepada anda untuk ” mengambilkan uang miliknya di bank yang di tentukan olehnya dengan dalih akan memberikan upah bila dapat membantu mengambilkan uang miliknya di bank, atau dalih yang menyatakan ” butuh bantuan untuk korban bencana alam atau korban di afganistan atau korban di afrika, atau ada juga dalih yang menyatakan bahwa anda akan mendapatkan hadiah lotree dari yahoo atau dari email atau dari apa saja. Biasanya mereka akan meminta username ( ID ) atau password ( kata sandi ) anda juga nama lengkap, alamat lengkap,dll.
jangan pernah memberikan data apapun apabila anda tidak merasa mengikuti kuis apapun lewat internet, dan jangan pernah memberikan data apapun walaupun mereka memberikan janji uang atau apa saja.
Karena biasanya para pelaku kejahatan komputer ( hecker ) akan menggunakan data anda untuk di jadikan data mendapatkan apa yang mereka inginkan. Mereka akan menggunakan alamat email anda dan juga menggunakan nama anda untuk melakukan sesuatu yang jahat, hingga akhirnya bisa menyebabkan anda bermasalah di hukum nantinya.
Selain itu, bagi anda semua juga di harapkan untuk berhati – hati dengan username dan password anda, jangan sampai kecolongan oleh orang lain. Karena orang lain yang mengetahui username dan password anda dapat menyalahgunakan alamat email anda nantinya. Ada baiknya apabila anda selalu menukar password anda apabila merasa penting atau merasa ada orang ketiga yang mengetahui password anda.

TuneHotels opens in Kuta, Bali

Tune Hotels have opened a new hotel in Kuta. I go down to Kuta every so often for shopping and a change of scenery, so I might consider staying there some time in the future.

I am checking out their website now. The booking interface is similar to booking an airline ticket on a budget airline, where you choose from different options depending on your needs.

Here are some of the options you get and the prices. This is for a double room, where I selected it for two people.

Air Conditioning (12 hours credit) IDR 49,500
Air Conditioning (24 hours credit) IDR 82,500
Towel Rental + Free Essentials toiletries kit (additional IDR30,000 refundable deposit will be collected upon check-in) IDR 16,500
Wireless Internet Access (24 hour period) IDR 77,000

I could probably bring my own towels to save a bit of money, but I would prefer to have wireless internet. 12 hours credit for air conditioning is probably enough.

The total cost is 126,500 for one night on November 20, which is pretty cheap for hotels in the area. There is no pool however and it doesn’t include breakfast.

Syuting Film Eat, Pray, Love Julia Robert Di Bali

Syuting film terbaru julia robert, yang di angkat dari novel Eat, Pray, Love yang di lakukan di bali tepatnya di lokasi Pantai Bebali, Tabanan, Bali ini ternyata tidak bisa dengan leluarsa mengambil berita. Beberapa wartawan yang bertugas sebagai pencari berita sangat kesulitan untuk mendapatkan wawancara dengan artis kenamaan ini, yaitu Julia Robert yang memerankan peran utama wanita dari film EPL.
Selama syuting berlangsung para wartawan hanya di perbolehkan menunggu dan melihat dari jarak jahu. Lokasi pantai Bebali ini juga telah di kawal dengan sangat ketat bahkan 1,5 kilometer dari lokasi syuting beberapa anggota dari Polsek Selemadeg telah berjaga – jaga hingga pintu masuk pantai Bebali dan juga lokasi pantai tempat artis kenamaan ini syuting.
Permintaan maaf dari pihak keamanan terhadap para wartawan dan berharap pengertian para wartawan atas tugas mereka untuk menjaga ketat syuting artis kenamaan ini selama di bali.

Balinese bartender sentenced to 6 months jail for killing NZ tourist

A Balinese bartender Nengah Mustika, has been sentenced to 6 months jail for his part in the death of killing New Zealand tourist Sean Headifen. The bartender threw a glass at the Kiwi tourist after an argument started at the Bounty nightclub in Kuta, Bali.

From the NZ Herald:

Mr Headifen’s girlfriend Sarah Whitburn, 19, labelled the six-month sentence “sickening”.

“For smuggling drugs into the country you get hung or shot or jailed for life.”

Mr Headifen’s mother, Merrill Headifen of Levin, said the sentence was unjust.

“We’re in shock, we’re disgusted, we’re devastated.

The nightclub’s security staff Nani Aplonius Efson Tafui and Indonesian boxer Andreas Seran are still waiting trial for their part in the death of the New Zealand tourist.

The North: Finding The True Heart of Bali

The following article is a guest post from Sarah from Damai Lovina Villas.

If someone were to put a pin in a map of Bali for each noteworthy attraction, you would quickly see a pattern very different from the spread of tourism on the island: most pins would be in North Bali, and it is indeed here, not in the south, that the traditional heart and mind of Bali lies. Just a few hours from the airport you feel light years away from the crowds and ready to experience the true Bali.

The main Northern city of Singaraja is a busy provincial town with 400.000 people going about their everyday life with hardly a thought to discoteques, hair beads, watersports or any tourist activities. It is a charming city, cleaner than most in Indonesia, and the wide, shady avenues lined with pretty white houses betray its colonial past. The city we see today was built by the Dutch as their government city, but already before their arrival, this was the island’s capital. The city’s name means ’The Lion King’ and once all of Bali’s kings paid tribute to the king in Singaraja. Today the powers of the kings are mostly ceremonial, but it is possible to get a glimpse into the world of the past. By special arrangement with the royal family in Singaraja, the small boutique hotel Damai Lovina Villas nestled in the jungle clad hills, can arrange special tours in the former royal palace, where members of the royal family will tell the stories of when the last kings ruled here.

Most people arrive to Singaraja by the winding road leading through Bedugul, Bali’s cool and fertile mountain highland. Vegetable, spice and flower farms line the road and in the busy market you can sample the produce and also get a taste of Balinese country living.

Temples and monasteries

The North is also where you find most of Bali’s most important temples. The most photographed of them all is probably Ulun Danu, the heartbreakingly beautiful water temple lying in serene splendor on Lake Bratan, one of the holy lakes of the Northern highlands. A visit here is surprisingly peaceful and uncrowded, despite the temple’s importance. The North is also the homeplace of Besakih, the Balinese Mother Temple on the slopes of Mount Agung, the largest of all Balinese temples. But most telling of the richness of history and culture in the northern region is perhaps an unassuming little clay monastery on the road leading up to hotel Damai in Lovina. No mention is made of it in any guidebook, most tourist pass it by, totally unaware of its existence, and even the immediate neighbours might have difficulty in explaining what the little temple with pretty clay domes actually is. In reality the building is a carefully made reconstruction of a small buddhist monastery built
by chinese traders in the exact same spot in the 7th century, perhaps as a small sister temple to the famous nearby temple in Banjar.

Villages and culture

Most hotels in the North are found in the area of Lovina, a stretch of small fishing villages and beaches along the North coast, mostly famous for their laid-back tropical charm and the dolphins that gather in the bay at sunrise. But just a few kilometers away the small village of Tigawasa harbours another cultural secret. The village is a ’Bali Aga’ village, the Aga people being ’Bali’s Aboriginals’, the people that was already inhabiting Bali when the hindu Majapahit culture, the present day Balinese culture, migrated here in the 15th century. The religion here is a mix of Balinese hinduism and animist beliefs which shows in the distinctly different carvings and offerings found here. The most prized secret here is the 1000-year-old stone sarcophagus from an ancient king, tiny because the king was tiny, hidden somewhere in the village’s hinterland.

A short drive from Tigawasa you experience the Balinese culture at its most charming. The small mountain village of Munduk grows some of the islands best coffee and only few tourists have discovered the joys of having a quiet cup while you enjoy views of amazingly beautiful rice terraces, perhaps with a traditional dance class for the village children just nearby.

Much more dramatic is the mountain village of Kintamani, balancing on the edge of a vast volcanic crater overlooking the stark beauty of Lake Batur. Her Bali’s volcaninc past and present is very obvious. Inside the volcanic crater a new volcano is slowly rising, literally a volcano within a volcano. And experiencing the mist-shrouded temple here will enrich any Balinese holiday.

Nature and landscape

North Bali is rightly famous for its natural beauty and varied landscapes. The region is home to the National Park, that sprawls over almost the entire north-western tip of the island. The park also extends beyond the island itself an includes the island of Menjangan which calm and crystal clear waters are recognized as the islands best dive and snorkeling site. The Botanical Gardens in Bedugul is a stunningly beautiful park, but in many ways the nature outside the park is just as beautiful. But like with the cultural attractions, many of North Bali’s finest natural sights are hidden gems, that still waits to be discovered. One example is the waterfall of Ambengan. It is just as tall, and perhaps even more beatiful, than its more famous cousin, the waterfall at Git-git. Hidden at the end of a winding jungle path, a 30-meter waterfall cascades into a cool mountain lake. On some mornings, monkeys come to play in vines around he lake. And unlike Git-git there will be no tour buses filling the parking lot in front. In fact there is no parking lot, only a local farmer, who is delighted to talk to people coming to visit him from far away and welcome them to the true heart of Bali.

The roof goes up

It’s been a while since I wrote about the house which my friend is building here in Bali. Building stopped for a while for the Galungan holiday. The construction of the roof is now under away and the house finally has electricity connected.

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