Living in Buleleng in the north of Bali, you quickly realize that the tourist boom in the south hasn’t quite made it to the north of Bali. Of course, this is great for people looking for a quiet place to stay or live, but there’s not a lot of opportunity for the local population to find work or start a business.

So, it was good to hear the news that the Bali-India Foundation is planning to build Asia’s largest yoga center in Buleleng regency in north Bali.

The center will be built on 1.5 hectares of land near the village of Sukasada.

“The yoga center will be fully dedicated to social activities and the local community’s well-being,” said Dr. Somvir, an Indian professor who lectures in cultural studies and tourism at Bali’s Udayana University

I noticed the build up in a number of yachts and catamarans in Lovina over the past few weeks and just realized that they are part of Sail Indonesia 2009. Last night they had Balinese dancers on the beach and central Lovina was packed with people.

Sail Indonesia is a three month trip around Indonesia which leaves from Darwin Australia and also travels to Langkawi in Malaysia. I am sure it would be a great trip and it provides a good boost to tourism in the region.

From September 30 to October 4th there are a number of events and activities planned especially for the sailors.

Unfortunately there is not much information available on the events taking place other than this billboard on the beach.

I went out looking at some land in a small village called Kalisada yesterday. Foreigners are looking for more and more quieter places to live near the beach, and Kalisada looks like one of those few places where you can still buy beach front property in Bali at an affordable price.

There is even an eco village under construction which is due to open next year.

The Batak style house is based on traditional houses found around Lake Toba in North Sumatra. Lake Toba is generally fairly cool at nights, so I think transporting the style of house to north Bali where is hot and dry, is a little impractical.

North Sumatra Batak style house

Open style kitchen in the Batak house

Pool in front of the Batak house

Stairs on the outside of the Batak house

The beach at Kalisada