Check out these topics currently being discussed on the Bali Forum at BootsnAll:
Today in Tabanan, for a good while at least, I was the only ‘bule‘ in a crowd of Balinese locals. It didn’t matter, and was actually a bonus for me, as I didn’t have to listen to the whole ego routine, of ‘how great I’m doing in Bali’.
It occured to me today, that a Balinese local, is really directed through life, like a river reaching the ocean. Even at a young age, children are present at upacara (ceremonies) and there are many weddings to go to. In a Balinese village, everybody must be invited to a wedding, if you leave one person out, it is considered a major disrespect.
Basa Bali, the language of the Balinese has some similarities with Bahasa Indonesia. It is though, a separate language in its own right. For people coming to Bali, or living in Bali, is learning Basa Bali worth the effort?
Bali resident Monte Monfore, is a world record breaking distance swimmer, having swum the Bali Strait, between Bali and Java, and the Badung Strait between Nusa Lembongan and the Bali. Monte has added another feather to his cap, by swimming across Lake Batur. Here’s the official account of Monte’s swim.
Sunday morning I took off on the motorbike for a cruise in the Bali highlands. My route, Seminyak-Canggu-Beraban-Tabanan-Penebel-Baturiti-Lake Tamblingan-Pupuan-Sanda-Antosari-Tabanan-Canggu-Seminyak.
Indonesia is predomintantly Muslim but underlying that fact are a strong set of locally held beliefs, pre-dating Islam. The Balinese have made some of therse beliefs a part of their Hindu religion. The Muslims, however, have to run a double line, professing belief in Islam, while quielty going about their other proactices. An article in a guide book written by Bill Dalton talks about this.
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In 2001, Brent Blake had an idea: to build the world’s largest Lava Lamp in his home town of Soap Lake, Washington. “I had no ulterior motives,” he said, “other than to help the city and promote tourism and make everybody happy and increase the standard of living here a little bit.”
By the end of November, San Antonio, Texas’s colony of free-tailed bats will have flown south to Mexico. That’s when the city plans to seal off the roosts under the Houston Street Bridge, leaving the bats homeless when they return in the spring.
MEMPHIS, TN—Davidson Hotel Company, one of the nation’s largest hotel management companies, today announced that the company was named a “Preferred Management Company†by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. for their upscale and luxury brands, including St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Méridien® and the recently announced aloftSM and ELEMENTSM Hotels. The designation is by invitation only and places Davidson on a short list of elite operators approved to operate its licensed hotels.