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Rainy Season has arrived in full force in Bali.  Many houses leak, but poor Ines has a huge leak right over her bed which her landlord refuses to fix. Every night she has to try and sleep avoiding the wet-spot, she has even thrown a tarpaulin over the bed canopy to no avail.
November 25, 2003
Idul Fitri is celebrated by Muslims at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Indonesia's 200 million Muslims are no exception. The custom for Idul Fitri is not unlike our Christmas celebration. Most people try to return home to their  village from the cities where they migrate to work. The giving of gifts and a celebratory meal are the order of the day. 
Jamal Returns home
Train, bus and plane tickets are always in high demand for the Idul Fitri holiday. Although Jamal tried booking 10 days ahead, already all economy class travel was fully booked.
Eventually Jamal found a ticket for himself and Dede. Thurs Nov 30 at 3.30 Jamal and Dede set off on the Railways Bus from Denpasar. They crossed on the ferry to Java, then at 2100 departed on the overnight Mutiara Timor to Surabaya, arriving at 0400. 0700 they departed on the 1st class Argo Willis express to Bandung arriving at 1700.
Jamal's mum,  "he is thinner"
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From John & Jamal and all at the KHO Bali
Limp Bizkit – the world widely - known hip metal band gears up to boast their best performance in Bali. The band is scheduled to do the gig in Lotus Pond of Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park, on December 5, 2003, 
from 20.00 pm onward.  The band’s concert is in the frame of their newest album – Result May Vary – promotion, entitled “Box Lives Back 2 Basic Tour”, which is also planned to rock several countries around Asia. According to Tommy Pratama, the spokesperson of  Original Production –  the promoter of the gig, the concert is estimated to be crowded by around 10,000 people. He said that the band have personally chosen Garuda Wisnu 
Kencana (GWK) as the venue of their gig. The entrance ticket for the gig, is sold Rp 150,000 (AU$ 25) per piece for the festival class, and Rp 250,000 (AU$41) per piece for the VIP class. STOP PRESS: The concert cancelled by the lead singer who decided at the last minute he did not want to perform in Bali. Oh Dear!
Meg Holls in Bali
President Megawati spent 5 days in Bali for the Idul Fitri Holiday it is reported that she stayed at the Sheraton Laguna (swamp) Hotel.
Hamzah in Bandung
Jamal reports that Vice President of Indonesia Hamzah Haz spent the holidays with his family in Bandung.
Want to be a Millionaire?
Yes! - just $160 Aus will buy you    1 million Indonesian Rupiah. Last year would have cost you $208.
Ian Davey 60
Dec 5, 2003 Ian Davey celebrated his 60th birthday. He decided to something he has always wanted and has bought himself a train carriage which he plans to have moved to a block of land he has bought in the Dandenong ranges. The carriage still has wheels so he has also acquired some track.
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New Low Ex-Australia Bargains
Fly with Air Paradise - Bali's own International Airline
MELBOURNE - BALI
from $679 adult $449 child
 SYDNEY - BALI
from $629 adult $399 child
PERTH - BALI
from $579 adult $349 child
All fares are return and on sale until Dec. 09 2003. Check your Travel Agent for details.
Many Packages available
Now is the time for a holiday of a lifetime, not only are Air Paradise offering amazing packages for right now and after Jan 9, so are Qantas, Australian Air and Garuda. 
What to see in Bali
The Barong Dance is performed often in Bali, check with your hotel for performance times. The dance tells the story of the final fight between the Barong (good) and Rangda (evil) is preceded by a play
Called Calonarang a legendary queen who was accused of practising black magic. She killed her husband by pointing with the left hand at him, in others, he just plain deserted her. Anyhow, she becomes known as the Widow (Rangda) and turns into a terrible  Leyal (witch -monster) that is finally killed by a saint who assumes the form of the Barong.
The most famous of the Balinese dances is the Kecak, (pro. Kechak) the originated from the Sanghyang dance choir, who chant a distinctive 'kechak-kechak' accompaniment. 
The theme is taken from Ramayana and tells the story of Rama, who, with help of the monkey army, tries to rescue his wife from the clutches of the evil King Rawana. 
This is a very exciting dance to watch and is performed by a large group of chanting men sitting in a circle, waving their arms and swaying to and fro, in time with the chants. Performances at sunset.
Just a few kilometres up the coast a place to relax and watch the sunset.
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Tanalot Temple is one of Bali's most sacred. At low tide you can walk across the rocks to the temple.
Overlooking the temple are many café where you can enjoy a drink and watch the sunset.
Bali Shopping
Apart from the myriad of souvenir shops there are 2 excellent Matahari Department Stores in the Kuta area where you can buy designer clothes at a fraction of the price at home. A wide range of goods are available including souvenirs at fixed prices.
The first is at Kuta Square in downtown Kuta. 
The second is in the centre of Legian featuring a Timezone and a McDonalds for the kids
Who Was Matahari?
Real name: Margaretha Gertrude Mac Leod Codename: H21 Born 1876 died 1917 Although she claimed she was born in India, Mata Hari (the eye of the sun) was born on August 7, 1876 in Holland, the daughter of a hat maker named Adam Zelle. 
Mata Hari (the eye of the sun)
From 1898 to 1904 she was married to John Rudolf  Mac Leod and bore two children, one of which died mysteriously of poison in it's 
infancy.  During the early 1900's in the Salons of Paris, Mata Hari became a successful "belly dancer". She became an overnight sensation, and is known to have perfected the strip tease to an art form, but around 1910 when her success began to flounder, she became a prostitute and a plaything for wealthy military officers in Germany and France. As such she was enlisted by both sides during WWI to spy on each other. Although her secret work was rather ineffectual, she was arrested by the French and placed in front of a firing squad on October 15, 1917. Mata Hari's own fabrications on her childhood story, the French Secret Service believing she was the "spy of the century," and many years of rumours and exaggerations have made her life seem more mysterious than it actually may have been.
 Many people believe she was an innocent girl, duped into a world of sex and espionage. Whatever the case, she remains a legend and a beauty who continues to captivate the senses. 
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John spent 10 days "batching" at the KHO whilst Jamal went to Bandung. What a perfect opportunity for a "Spring Clean" and small renovations.
Communications Receiver Installation
The National Panasonic DR48 Communications receiver purchased second-hand from Rockhampton freighted to Melbourne, then bought to Bali by John, is now permanently installed in a rack in the computer room.
The DR 48 receiver
The DR 48 receiver was first produced in the 80's it uses a premix double superhetrodyne circuit. The beauty of the receiver is it can be manually tuned with a vernia 10-1 reduction drive. Far superior to modern digital button tuning.
Rack-mount brackets
We made 2 rack-mount style mounts from scrap aluminium using our newly acquired pop riverter. Finally the brackets were painted with flat black auto finish.
The finished brackets
Lastly a "L" antenna was installed on the roof of the KHO with a 75 ohm co-ax lead in cable.
The roof-top antenna
How does Short-wave work?
Short-wave radio transmission has been around since the time of Marconi, long before the implementation of satellites. Around the world reception is possible because short-wave radio frequencies (1.6-31 mhz)  bounce of the ionosphere. Reception is better at night when there is less interference from the sun.
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Re-varnishing time - what a mess!
Re-Varnising
The tropical climate is harsh. Essential every 6 months all the outdoor furniture is re-varnished in "ship quality" varnish. All the wooden window frames and doors are re-vanished annually.
Tv Remote Extender
Yet another project - The Remote control, remote extender. Allows the digital satellite receiver in the Tv room to be remotely controlled from the bedroom. 
The RED Light Emitting Diode (LED) acknowledges the reception of infa-red pulses. The infa-red lamp retransmits the pulses to the satellite receiver.
Designed by SILICON CHIP, Australia, the kit supplied by JACAR Electronics Melbourne.
The completed circuit board
Receiver unit below Tv
Remote  infra-red LED
The circuit - for tec minded
A new shelf above the piano for music stand and candelabra.
Office Paper Rack
Far nicer than plastic
Check our homepage The KHO is the affectionate name of our house in Bali, this a non - commercial site, to keep our many friends in touch with the local scene. Our aim is to help the local people through promoting tourism. The KHO web site: http://www.geocities.com/jbsymons_2000 Contributions and photo's welcome please email us at:jbsymons@indo.net.id
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