13 replies to this topic

[chanchank]

Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island.

With a population recorded as 3,891,000 in 2010,[2] the island is home to most of Indonesia's small Hindu minority. In the 2000 census about 92.29% of Bali's population adhered to Balinese Hinduism while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. Bali, despite being a tourist haven for decades, has seen a surge in tourist numbers in recent years.

The tourism industry is primarily focused in the south, while significant in the other parts of the island as well. The main tourist locations are the town of Kuta (with its beach), and its outer suburbs of Legian and Seminyak (which were once independent townships), the east coast town of Sanur (once the only tourist hub), in the center of the island Ubud, to the south of the Ngurah Rai International Airport, Jimbaran, and the newer development of Nusa Dua and Pecatu.

The American government lifted its travel warnings in 2008. As of 2009, the Australian government still rates it at a 4 danger level (the same as several countries in central Africa) on a scale of 5.

An offshoot of tourism is the growing real estate industry. Bali real estate has been rapidly developing in the main tourist areas of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Oberoi. Most recently, high-end 5 star projects are under development on the Bukit peninsula, on the south side of the island. Million dollar villas are being developed along the cliff sides of south Bali, commanding panoramic ocean views. Foreign and domestic (many Jakarta individuals and companies are fairly active) investment into other areas of the island also continues to grow. Land prices, despite the worldwide economic crisis, have remained stable.

In the last half of 2008, Indonesia's currency had dropped approximately 30% against the US dollar, providing many overseas visitors value for their currencies. Visitor arrivals for 2009 were forecast to drop 8% (which would be higher than 2007 levels), due to the worldwide economic crisis which has also affected the global tourist industry, but not due to any travel warnings.

Bali's tourism economy survived the terrorist bombings of 2002 and 2005, and the tourism industry has in fact slowly recovered and surpassed its pre-terrorist bombing levels; the longterm trend has been a steady increase of visitor arrivals. At 2010, Bali received 2.57 million foreign tourists. It is surpassed the target of 2.0-2.3 million tourists. The average occupancy of starred hotels achieved 65 percent (last year 60.8 percent), so still capable for accommodates tourists for next some years without any addition of new rooms/hotels,[20] although at the peak season some of them are fully booked.

Bali received the Best Island award from Travel and Leisure in 2010. The award was presented in the show "World's Best Awards 2010" in New York, on 21 July. Hotel Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran also received an award in the category of "World Best Hotel Spas in Asia 2010". The award was based on a survey of travel magazine Travel + Leisure readers between 15 December 2009 through 31 March 2010, and was judged on several criteria. The Ayana Resort received the designation; #1 Spa in the world by Conde Naste's Traveller Magazine for 2010 by their readers poll . The island of Bali won because of its attractive surroundings (both mountain and coastal areas), diverse tourist attractions, excellent international and local restaurants, and the friendliness of the local people.

you can read it more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali

[shiraishi_yukie]

i have been there once.. a long time ago

[ekay]

Bali is indeed a nice place.. "What happened in Bali?" hehe

[shiraishi_yukie]

Bali is indeed a nice place.. "What happened in Bali?" hehe

that's Ha Ji Won old dramas...hehe

[Nyl]

I guess after the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" this place going to be more popular with tourists. I went there once a long time ago but I still remember how beautiful it was.

[shugo]

Hope I can visit this place soon xD

[ezradja]

nice place to live ... and also for tourist too ... you can choice between a quiet journey through the villages and distant beaches or vast of coroulful and diverse types of entertainments, fashions, arts, cuisines etc. But not only in Bali you can find another exotic and wonderful places a ll over Indonesia, such as Tana Toraja in Celebes/Sulawesi Island, of course in Java Island you can go to Yogyakarta and many old and modern cities, not to mention Sengigi beach at Lombok Island near Bali Island, and so on and so on ... well sound like I'm work at ministry of tourism didn't I but the truth is that there a lot af wonderful places and venues in Indonesia that still uncovered and exposes to the world, with only 5-6 millions foreign tourist each year, this vast of thousand Islands of Indonesia archipelago is still not developed enough and big enough. MInd you, SIngapore which is small caountry compare to Indonesia has more tourists than Indonesia, about four five times more (which a lot of them is Indonesian btw ) ...

[aminah]

Been there before. Right after the 2nd Bombing. Nice place. But do agree with ezradja. Bali is not the only nice place. I like bandung - shopping and the cool weather. Visited there many times. I visited Yogyakarta last Jan. Like the place. Visited borubudoor, pottery making,silver, merapi watch tower and the old palaces. Even stayed in a village called Menggelam. Memorable experience - during our 2 days stay we were really fed by the villagers. Literally fed. Every house that we visited it is customary for them to serve - 1st the drinks(tea and soft drinks) and snacks(cookies, bread and crackers). Then the rice with local dishes(produce from their backyard - like catfish, chicken veges). Regardless of the time each house is the same. Imagine this we visited about 12 houses on day 1 and 7 on day 2. Really gained few kilos.

[taemoo]

I so wanted to go to bali for scuba diving, do an extended stay to immerse into the culture. But since 'eat, pray, love,' now seems too trendy...need to find another "off the beaten path" scuba destination.

[soracantabile]

I so wanted to go to bali for scuba diving, do an extended stay to immerse into the culture. But since 'eat, pray, love,' now seems too trendy...need to find another "off the beaten path" scuba destination.

just like ezradja said,,you can find many place in Indonesia to go to..

my most recommend one is Lombok..
I never been there, but my friends said it is much more beautiful than Bali..
If I have to choose to go to Bali or Lombok, I will definitely put Lombok as my choice..


and for the topic's title,,
you are not following the rules, but it is so true..
many people don't know that Bali is IN Indonesia..
when I said that I am from Indonesia, foreigner usually give a where-is-it look..then when I ask them if they know Bali,,then they will think that Indonesia is Bali's neighbor country,,

[ezradja]

Bali is the best island in Asia and second best n the World according to "TRAVEL+LEISURE" : http://www.traveland...st/2011/islands

[mickysbabe]

I'm from Bali....
Hehehehehe,,, i'm studying here in my last year....
Bali is a wonderful place, no doubt...

[LieLo]

pray for bali...

earthquake 13 oct 2011

hope everythings gonna be OK...

[ayrserya]

i like Bali!! u have to go to dreamland beach! lol
and if u want to go to indonesia u should visit raja ampat, Located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's West Papua province. its very beautiful..
check this out: