Bali News

Bali Police locate dishonest currency exchanges

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Bali money changer scam

In response to an Australian couple becoming victims to a money changer scam in Legian last week, Bali Police have stated that they aim to locate dishonest currency exchanges in the island’s tourism hotspots and bring them to justice. As previously reported, a husband and wife from down under who were traveling on the Island … Read more

A Sea of Plastic in Bali

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Bali has been a tourist hotspot for many years, with millions of visitors flocking to the Indonesian island annually. While beautiful beaches and culture are everywhere – so is plastic. One British diver recently showed just how bad the problem is on a diving trip off the coast of Bali.

The video, featuring Richard Horner, shows plastic waste, bags, plastic baskets, straws, buckets, sheets, cups, bottles, and more, scattered throughout the sea. There appeared to not only be a thick layer of plastic waste on the water’s surface but covering the reefs as well.

Richard, who went diving to catch a glimpse of manta rays which use the area as a cleaning station, was horrified by what he saw. During his entire experience, he only sighted one ray.

According to Richard, who posted his video on Facebook, the manta rays probably “decided not to bother”.

“Surprise, surprise, there weren’t many mantas there at the cleaning station today,” he said.

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30-year-old Woman Arrested for Allegedly Stabbing Father to Death

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In the West Nusa Tenggara province of Lombok in Bali, a 30-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly stabbing her father to death with a kitchen knife.

According to the Mataram Police Chief, Saipul Alam at a recent press conference, the suspect’s father died after being stabbed at least one dozen times in his chest, head, and eyes. The incident took place at the beginning of June.

So far, Police have not been able to establish mental illness as the cause for the attack. Instead, they believe the alleged assailant was entirely aware of her actions.

The woman, who Police have only referred to as ‘HN’, had initially been involved in a verbal argument with her mother on the Saturday the incident took place. HN’s father had heard the commotion from another area of the family’s home and went to investigate.

Upon arriving, his daughter had already made her way to her own bedroom, closing the door behind her. Her father knocked on her door and asked her to perform the Asr prayer. The Asr prayer is the third prayer out of five daily prayers for practicing Muslims.

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Brazilian MMA Fighter Dies in Bali

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MMA Fighter

A Brazilian MMA fighter and instructor has died in Bali following a late night motorbike accident. The incident happened on Pantai Berawa in the greater Canggu area on Bali’s West Coast on Monday, December 5, 2016. Silvio Romero da Silva was the owner of a martial arts studio in Bali where he was an instructor. He was riding … Read more

Kiane Sabet – Amokrane Dead

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Kiane 'Amokrane ' Sabet

Canggu Bali resident and French national Kiane Sabet aka ‘Amokrane’ was shot by police after attacking and fatally stabbing one of the police officers from the North Kuta Police force, identified as Anak Agung Putu Sudi.

On Facebook a post from someone who says ‘I lived in the same region as this guy – Canggu Bali for a couple of years. Complete nut case. Many people I know had scary confrontations with him in the last couple of years. Banned from most of the gyms in Bali”.

Kiane Sabet Amokrane - BaliHe also went on to say, “I read a book by Kate Kray (ex-wife of prolific London gangster Ronnie Kray) a couple of years ago called “Ultimate Hard Bastards – The truth about the toughest men in the World” that he was featured in under his real name Kiane Sabet – along with the likes of ex-IRA soldier Johnny Adair, Britain’s most notorious high security prisoner Charles Bronson, Albert Reading and one of the UK’s most violent members of the underworld, Roy ‘Pretty Boy’ Shaw.”

“In the book he comes off as being a pretty normal type of guy – not crazy – but every time I ran into him in the last few years he was yelling absolutely crazy shit and kept repeating that he was Jesus Christ” – then commented “not sure what happened in between – but I also read that the police in London had petitioned to have him banned from all licensed premises due to the violence at several venues where he was in charge of security. I have read lots of posts on FB in Bali community groups today & yesterday where bleeding hearts are saying he was harmless. Pig’s ass he was. Any sympathy should be kept for the poor copper & his family”.

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Schapelle Corby Released

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shapelle corby

Shapelle Corby has been released from Kerobokan jail in Bali today. She has spent more than nine years in Hotel K on drug charges. She departed the jail in a van with a massive media contingent and chaotic scenes. Indonesia’s justice minister, Amir Syamsuddin approved Corby’s parole application late last week, and she is expected to be … Read more

Bali Mandara Toll Road is Now Open to the Public

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The opening of the Mandara Toll road to the public was met with great excitement. This toll road is going to make a difference of about 20 minutes from the Ngurah Rai airport to Benoa turning a 30-minute ride into a 10-minute drive. That’s exciting. The Bali Mandara toll road connect Nusa Dua with Ngurah Rai Benoa, Bali

It seems with the opening came some glitches and travellers were quickly reporting that there were significant traffic jams after the exit gates. These glitches are sure to be worked out over time as the excitement of the new route returns to normal and traffic patterns stabilize. Once the toll charges begin it’s likely locals will opt for the old way of commuting and that will take a great deal of pressure off the new Mandara toll road.

If you have not seen pictures of this toll, you should take the time to have a look. It is really quite an amazing achievement and visitors are not only going to save time, they are going to get a spectacular view as they travel this highway.

According to a recent news report, local officials are excited because their goal was to have the toll road open for the APEC Summit, which happens in October, and they did indeed meet their goal. According to government officials this toll road was built to help reduce traffic jams, support tourism infrastructure and to help make it easier to transport goods.

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Bali Government Wants to Preserve Traditional Bali Games

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When Balinese children attend school they learn the Balinese language, but they also learn traditional Balinese games such as Gala Gala, Tajog, and Bakiak/Terompah. However, the concern is that these traditional games are going by the wayside and thus an important part of Balinese culture could be lost. It seems these days Playstation and other video games are becoming more popular than traditional games. In fact, in some schools the children are no longer taught these traditional games.

These games are not just played by children, adults participate as well. After all, they are a real part of Balinese culture. But the concern is that these games are dying a slow death. Just recently, the Denpasar Culture Agency has asked for an inventory of the different traditional games that exist in the area. So concerned are they about the loss of these traditional games from their society, they have made this a priority.

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Marketing Bali: Image Ideas

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When you’re building a website about Bali vacations aimed at the tourist industry, what kind of image should you use to represent Bali? We’re talking about the overview here – designing your website, logo, banner, or business card.

The good news is that Bali is such a rich landscape of culture and natural wonder that you have a wide choice of iconic representations to choose from. What we mean by “iconic representations” is, for example, think of the Disney theme parks. The first image that came to mind was probably a set of mouse ears. Or think of the tourism industry for France – notice how the image of the Eiffel Tower immediately flashed through your mind? Things like that are iconic – they represent their place using a picture.

Here’s some possible inspirations for your Bali-travel business:

* Temples: You can’t throw a rock in Bali without hitting a temple. Half the tours in Bali have temple stops. Also, they have that distinct pagoda-style layered peaked roof shape, perfect for a logo.

* Watersport: Surfboards, snorkel gear, jetskis, and yachts are just perfect for a Bali tourism campaign that focuses on beach-side villa rentals. If you just represented a seaside attraction with sea shells and starfish, any old country with a coastline can boast those. But quality ocean-going leisure can only be had in places like Bali.

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Snowing in Bali Drug Trafficking In Bali

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snowing in bali

It’s snowing in Bali. What? Snowing? Never! Actually, when we are taking about snowing in Bali this is the code that is used by drug dealers when a very large cocaine shipment has landed in Bali. For the men who are in charge of Bali’s drug empires, it means it’s time for them to get rich.

This practice dates back to the 1980s, when smuggling cocaine to Bali entailed the use of South American surfers. This was certainly big business! The drug trafficker’s methods were alternated depending on what was being scrutinized by the authorities. A surfboard shaper would be paid $5,000 to embed the cocaine into the surfboard and then the surfer would travel to Bali with his/her board.

This method remained popular until the mid 1990’s when Frank de Castro Diaz, a South American surfer was arrested at Denpasar Airport in Bali with 4.3 kilos of cocaine hidden in his surfboards. The publicity around the case lead to a temporary halt in moving drugs this way.

However, that was short lived and before long, the cocaine was once again moving from South America to Asia using sports equipment, windsurfing equipment, surfboard bags and a blend of tourists. There’s no shortage of surfers that were willing to be a runner. That’s because it’s a lucrative business. The cost of the cocaine goes up with every border that it crosses.

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