KHO News - March 2004

It has been announced, elections for legislative assemblies at national, province and regency/city levels will be held on Monday, 5 April 2004, which shall be a holiday.

Current President Megawati Soekarno Putri of the PDIP party.

General elections will include voting for the new Regional Representative Council (DPD), using a system known as Single Non Transferable Vote (SNTV).

Voters will vote for one candidate only. The entire province is a DPD electoral district. Each province will elect four DPD representatives – the four highest vote winners in the province. In June, the presidential election will be held, if no candidate receives a majority a further election will be scheduled. It is thought that Megawati's PDIP

party will form a coalition with Soeharto's old Goldkar party, now headed by Akbar Tunjung.

Belt up in Bali

Bali Police booking driver

From Jan. 1 all drivers and front seat passengers must wear seat belts in Indonesia. Max. fine is Rp1 million A$155. Although if your stopped just give donate Rp50,000 for the policeman's family. to buy food.

The KHO Jeep is now in full compliance with retractable belts.

Mariah Carey

The poor had the last laugh on Sun. Feb. 16 as pop diva Mariah Carey wrapped up her concert here in only one hour, leaving dozens of fans who had paid up to Rp 1.7 million. (A$280) for tickets

That is almost three times the capital's minimum monthly wage. The disappointing brief performance was at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Central Jakarta. It is believed the concert was cut short so the police could seal the area for a political meeting by the President Megawati Soekarno Putri of the PDIP party.

Kerobokan Home Office News

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Indonesia VoA

(Visa on Arrival)

Daily there are reports of extended delays in the Bali airport. One Australian woman last week was told the fee was A$100, she protested and was then charged the correct fee. US $25 (+/-A$32)

Fast Track Tip

When coming to Bali bring with you $25 per person in US cash, this will speed up your processing.

Lombok now included

Lombok Vice-Gov. Dr. H. B. Rayes, has announced that Jakarta had approved a request to add Lombok to the number of gateways able to issue US$25 visas for 30 days upon arrival. (VoA) Lombok was initially omitted from the system causing numerous protests from the Island's tourism community and numerous cancellations in international bookings, also Air Paradise canceled their new Lombok-Perth direct service. replacing it with a direct Bali-Adelaide service. VoA Lombok expected to start March 1.

Latest Arrival figures

Arrivals in Bali rose 10.24 percent in January to 109,613.

A global pandemic of dengue began in Southeast Asia after World War II and has intensified during the last 15 years. In Southeast Asia, epidemic dengue hemorrhagic fever first appeared in the 1950s, now it had become a leading cause of death of people in many countries in that region.

366 DEAD

So far this year Indonesia has had 1000's of cases and over 300 deaths from Dengue fever. This is over double the annual average for Indonesia. The unusually long rainy season this year is thought to be the cause. Denpasar city has had 77 cases of dengue fever so far this year and is the worst hit area in Bali. The island of Bali has reported 117 cases in the past 2 months so far only 1 death.

The Nuclear Energy Control Board (Bapeten), a non-departmental government agency, says Indonesia should build a nuclear power plant by 2015 to meet the growing demand for electricity.

..expensive and risky

Planning chief Yusri Heni said the project would be very expensive and risky, but extremely beneficial to the general public as it would provide low-cost electricity.

Cheap Electricity

The government in the mid-1990's conducted a feasibility study into constructing 12 nuclear power plants, each with a capacity of 600 mW, but criticism from environmentalists and the regional economic crisis of 1998 resulted in the plan being shelved indefinitely. The government is still trying hard

to make the plan a reality and hopes at least one reactor will be up and running by 2015 to supply power to Java and Bali.

... few accidents"

Spokeswoman Heni said Indonesia has so far only experienced one minor accident at one of its four nuclear research facilities, which are located in Jakarta, Bandung (West Java), Serpong (West Java), and Yogyakarta.

... by human error"

She said most nuclear accidents are caused by human error in failing to abide by correct procedures in the operation of power plants.

Earthquake Zone

The entire archipelago of Indonesia was formed over millions of years by volcanos. The fault line known as "The ring of Fire" runs right through Java. Earthquakes are very common.

Java 120Million+

Indonesia plans to import the reactor from Russia, who say they can build an earthquake proof nuclear reactor. Should there be a mishap, it would affect one of the most populous places on earth.

Kerobokan Home Office News

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The invitation to Ines' birthday (kucing : Indonesian - Cat)

Ines is one of the special people in the world who had the misfortune or fortune to be born on Jan 29, leap year day.

History

The Romans originally had a 355-day calendar. To keep up with the seasons, an extra 22 or 23-day month was inserted every second year. For reasons unknown, this extra month was only observed now and then. By Julius Caesar’s time, the seasons no longer occurred at the same calendar periods as history had shown. To correct this, Caesar added one or two extra days to the end of various months days. Also intended was an extra calendar day every fourth year (following the 28th day of Februarius).

However, after Caesar’s death in 44 B.C., the calendars were written with an extra day every 3 years instead of every 4 until corrected in 8 A.D. So again, the calendar drifted away from the seasons. By 1582, Pope Gregory XIII recognized that Easter would eventually become closer and closer to Christmas. The calendar was reformed so that a leap day would occur in any year that is divisible by 4 but not divisible by 100 except when the year is divisible by 400. Thus 1600 and 2000, although century marks, have a Leap Day. The calendar we use today, known as the Gregorian calendar, makes our year 365.2425 days, which amounts to only one day’s error after 4,000 years.

Dinner at the KHO

To start off the celebrations we had a small dinner party at the KHO on the previous Thursday to celebrate Ines' forthcoming birthday and Onney's arrival from Lombok. For the evening John baked a large beef and vegetable pie. Inscribed with a large 14 to indicate the number of actual birthdays Ines has celebrated in her life.

Ines cuts the Birthday pie

The pie was served with mashed potato, green salad and lashings of tomato sauce. Ines ate the lot.

Birthday Eve

Feb 28, a whole gang of us went to a new night club friends Rob & Win discovered in Denpasar "Melodi Kenangan" (Song Memory)

Ines serves the "birthday cake" noodles presented by the management.

Kerobokan Home Office News

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Ines Birthday continued...

Melodi Kenangan has a live band, singers and an excellent polished wood dance floor. It is owned by a Balinese businessman, who loves old songs and dancing

Win & Onney dancing

Jamal & Desy in the mood

The venue is out of the tourist area and attracts well to do middle aged locals. The cost is relatively low with meals around A$5 and large bottle of beer at A$3.70. They open around 7pm and finish at 11pm sharp.

Patrick & Arlett from France

John horrified by the prices, Ines "Oh this is so cheap - I'm so rich, you knoooooooooooooow!"

Kus & Onney

Ines sings in G#

Rob and John, sit one out

Has Ines found a new friend?

Jamal does a duet with resident singer Ayu

Still some puff in the old boy yet

Kerobokan Home Office News

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THE BIG PARTY

Feb. 29, 7.30pm 24 guests assembled at Warung Sobat for the big birthday party night.

Ines, Clive and Wendy

David & Desy

Yvonne and Wilhelm

Not another party

The inevitable Lucky Draw

Andi wins a prize

"Mummy wants big Banana" Ines' favorite game.

The Band, Onney & Dido

"It's my birthday and I'll sing if I want to" Thank God it's only every 4 years!

Ines' maid, gives Ines a roast

Sobat staff enjoy

Kerobokan Home Office News

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New KHO SW antenna

The KHO has now upgraded the short-wave antenna with a ground earth and lightening arrestor. The antenna is a traditional "long wire" design with a resonant frequency of 5 mega hertz, the lea- in comes to our home made mayonnaise jar lightening arrestor. The arrestor

uses a motor bike spark plug. Should the antenna pick up current from lightening it should jump across the spark plug contacts to ground earth. Protecting the short wave radio from being burnt. Of course the

The Prototype

arrestor cannot handle a direct lightening strike, neither could the house.

To start we constructed a prototype.

A metal stake was driven 1½ meters into the soil in the garden to make an earth path.

The spark arrestor was mounted on a breadboard and installed in the ceiling near the antenna lead-in. The final result was far better than expected. Due to the shielded lead-in and the earth, electrical interference is greatly reduced..

New Lamps in Lounge

We now have 2 new wall lamps in the lounge made from a wooden mortar and pestle.
	purchased for A$2.50 at the local supermarket. The mortar was first cut in half.
A 5w lamp holder fitted inside & an aluminum back plate was made, then varnished to match the mirror.

Award winning?

New Fence

Melbourne: John's house in Saint Kilda is now sporting a new fence. The old fence built by subjects of Queen Victoria was removed and a new, environmentally friendly reforested fence installed.

Before

After

If you have not already done so, check out the KHO Homepage

CLICK-HERE

Kerobokan Home Office News

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Wine tasting at Ku De Ta

Friday Feb 6, we attended a wine tasting at the very exclusive & very expensive, Ku De Ta restaurant, one kilometer from the KHO. The wine tasting was to launch Yellow tail wines in Bali.

Would you like to try?

Jamal and the official party

The sell

Some of the booty

Pak Made, Jamal & Suyana from the Nusa Dua Beach hotel.

Yellow Tail is the most successful launch of an Australian wine brand in the history of the Australian wine industry. There’s been no other wine brand that has achieved such rapid growth as "Yellow Tail”, said John Soutter, Riverina-based Casella Estate’s general manager.

Mr Soutter said Yellow Tail’s label (designed by Adelaide’s Barbara Harkness) had definitely played a significant role in the wine’s stunning success.

But, he added, it’s “the juice in the bottle” that keeps consumers coming back after that initial grab from the shelf. According to Mr Soutter there are no big secrets to Yellow Tail’s success, which will see the family owned Casella Estate sending 4 million cases worldwide in 2003. Just good timing and following the “five p’s” of marketing: product, people, packaging, price and promotion. Yellow tail has been a huge success in the US. We believe it will also be in Bali. In the US the wine sells for A$8. In Bali around A$18. For further information contact Rocky Lando.

Old friend & Ku De Ta waiter Dewa gives an old man a light

Ku De Ta Restaurant looking from the beach

Sunset from Ku De Ta

Kerobokan Home Office News

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Warung Sobat, just gets busier and busier, sadly many nights people are turned away - wise these days to book on 73 8922. Poor Pak Made is overworked and has had to reluctantly resign his school lunch contract. This month there have been guests from France, Spain, South America, South Africa, Holland, Germany, England, Ireland and Australia.

Made, Jamal, Cass, & Aprodite

Old Bali hand Aphrodite from Adelaide arrived in Bali mid month. She came with travel agent friend Cassie also from Adelaide. At the welcome party - . Aphrodite gave us an actuality report on the new visa procedures at the Airport. In a word or two, ABSOLUTE CHAOS!. They were kept waiting for over 2 hours.

The Sulivanone family,

from Spain with son Alfredo in Balinese costume - regulars at Warung Sobat whilst holidaying in Bali in February.

Farewell for Rob & Win, before they embark on an extended shopping tour of Thailand - Win explains to Erna and all and sundry, that India has excellent shopping and is just over there and not so far from Thailand. "so close you can take a bus." I think we forgot the "Air" prefix Win.

David, Tim & Dessy

Jamal's old friend David was back in Bali late Feb. to visit his longtime girl friend Dessy. With him his 30 year old son, Tim, who is on holidays from his job in the Army contract catering in Iraq. His company served the thanksgiving meal for George from Texas in Nov. 2003 when he visited the troops in Baghdad. Tim will return to Iraq on Emirates Airlines in 3 weeks.

George praying they may find just one or two little weapons of mass distraction - soon

Haokon and Ziv from Norway enjoying a romantic night at Warung Sobat. First time in Bali, they plan to visit again soon.

Locals Kus, John & Edi

At Sobat, Jamal with Frederick from Notingham. UK, claims he is related to the "Maid Marion"

Kerobokan Home Office News

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Rob & neph. Hendrik, at Melodi Kenangan Cafe & Club

Jamal sings

Kus & Ayu follow

Reunion

Some of the Banyuwangi boys who built the house opposite the KHO, 2 years ago drop in.

Jalek, Adlan, Kus, Roman, Onney & Jamal

Old friends Soeharto & Mahathir meet in Jakarta.

Kus & Edi drop into the KHO

Leo & Erna Depart

March 1, Leo & Erna returned home to Holland after their annual four month stay. They will return to Bali in November. We will miss you.

Pak Made's wife Kadek with Erna

A roof leak at the KHO being fixed by Kus and Adlan

Catastrophic

Jamal had a sad month with the killing of 2 of his cats by a now restrained neighbors dog.

"Lilly" who had been with us for 3 years and had given birth to 2 kittens, one of which was killed also. Just one kitten "Loui" survives.

Loui

Last week the house cat "Suzi" caught a bad dose of scabies and was also traumatized by the killings Suzi was given an injection by the vet. The next day Suzi disappeared. After 2 days absence Jamal was sure Suzi had died. Then on the third day she turned up for breakfast, Jamal was so happy. The scabies have now cleared up.

Jamal and Suzi

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Bintang, the most popular beer in Indonesia, is a locally brewed version of the Netherlands’ Heineken beer. Connoisseurs

say the pilsner-style lager, which is 5% alcohol, goes down well with spicy Indonesian food. The popular Bali myth that Bintang contains formaldehyde might have been borne from the assumption that some heavy drinkers are attempting to donate their bodies to science by preserving them in alcohol. Bintang itself points out

that its product contains no additives and advises consumers to drink plenty of water, especially before sleeping, to avoid a

hangover. It retails at around A$1.60/700ml bottle. PT Multi Bintang Indonesia, 83% owned by Heineken NV, also manufactures under license Guinness Stout and Green Sands Shandy. The other players in Indonesian are Anker and Bali Hai. Both affiliated to San Miguel Corp. of the Philippines.

Indonesian maid falls

An Indonesian maid was hospitalized after falling from a fourth-story Singapore flat while hanging out the washing on Tuesday. She was reported in stable condition. Her employer told local media the maid lost her balance and fell out the window. The maid plunged head first & was bleeding profusely, a witness said.

96 Maids dead

Ninety-six Indonesian maids have died in Singapore since 1999, most falling from windows while cleaning them or hanging out the laundry. Many come from rural areas and have no experience with high-rise living.

Compulsory tests for new maids from Indonesia will start next month, the maids will take an oral test in basic English and a

An Indonesian maid

practical one on various household tasks, such as hanging out the laundry and taking care of children, during their day in the nearby island. Labor is a huge Indonesian export.

BALI: Nyepi (Silent Day) Balinese New Year will fall this year on

March 21, 2004

The Balinese Hindus use two kinds of calendar systems, the Saka calendar and the 210-day Pawukon calendar. The Saka calendar is a lunar system and each of the 12 lunar months ends on a new moon. The calendar begins the day after the new moon that ends the ninth lunar month. This always coincides with the Gregorian calendar's March. The Balinese Hindus 'celebrate' the coming of the new year of saka calendar in

silence, which is called Nyepi Day. The Saka year numbering system is 78 years behind the Gregorian year. The Saka calendar originally came from India.

No Ogoh Ogoh

This year there will be no Ogoh Ogoh procession on Nyepi eve, due to worries of rival villages conflicting as tensions escalate with the forthcoming national election.

Nyepi Survival

The silence begins at 5 a.m. on 21 March ending the following day at 5am. The airport will be totally closed on 21 March, all airlines have altered their schedules. Everything is closed, it is forbidden to go outside your house. Don't make any noise or show any light. Stock up well with supplies beforehand.

Alternatives

If you can't cope, take one of the Nyepi packages being offered to Lombok, Java or Singapore.

At the KHO,

we board up the back bedroom window, remove the furniture and place mattresses on the floor and move in the small fridge for drinks. We will enjoy a buffet dinner, wine and a movie with a couple of house guests. The room has A/c & a Tv.

Kerobokan Home Office News

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Steve & Shel have a son

Happy parents Sharelle & Steve

Nurse Denny with "Asho"

5 Dead at Rock Concert

JAKARTA (AFP): 5 people have been killed and dozens injured in a stampede during a rock concert in the South Kalimantan (Borneo) capital of Banjarmasin. The stampede happened Feb 23 as thousands of mostly young fans jostled to leave a soccer stadium after a performance by Yogyakarta rock group, "Sheila on 7"

Sheila on 7

Vocal : Akhdiyat Duta Modjo, Guitar : Eross Candra, Sakti Ari, Bass : Adam M. Subarkah. Drums : Anton Widi Astanto

Sheila on 7 have become the "most wanted" group in Indonesia. Starting in 1996, selling over 1.3M, hits inc: Kita, Dan, Anugerah, Yang terindah, Jadikan, Sephia,

Chinese Spring Rolls

First make the filling, mince pork, beef or prawns (shelled), mince 1 onion and 4 cloves of garlic. Mince the vegetables. Sir fry in a wok, meat, onions then vegetables add salt and seasoning. Let cool and add 1 egg and flour to thicken.

Secondly, mix 1½ cups of flour, a little salt and 3 eggs. Add water until you have a mellifluous batter. Pour enough to cover the base of a non-stick frying pan, lightly oil 1st with sesame seed oil on a tissue. Cook on low heat, don't brown.

While still warm roll up a spoon of the mixture in the pastry, tucking in

the ends. Let cool, deep fry until brown, dry on baking paper.

Look Out

Regular Bali visitor and avid KHO News fan, Dave from Boston US with his new motor bike in Bali.

New Subscribers

Old friends from Melbourne Lindsay and Prue with daughters Juliet & Lucy & Juliet's bf Guy.

Kerobokan Home Office News

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Now with Bali's own airline Air Paradise, you can enjoy an affordable holiday of a lifetime.

MELBOURNE

SYDNEY

ADELAIDE

from

$779

PERTH

from

$639

These fares include 4 nights accommodation, taxes not included.

All you need is a passport with at least 6 months validity remaining.

Australia	Finland	U.S.
South Africa	Denmark	Argentina
Brazil	Emirates	Hungary
Italy	Japan	UK
Germany	Canada	Norway
South Korea	France	Taiwan

Nationals of any of the above countries, you are eligible for the 30 day US$25 visa on arrival

Thailand	Philippines	Chile
Malaysia	Hongkong	Morocco
Singapore	Macao	Vietnam
Brunei	Peru

Nationals of the above countries receive a free 30 day visa on arrival. Passport holder not in the above 2 lists must obtain a visa at their local Indonesian Embassy or Consulate before departure.

BUDGET TIPS

Get more value from your package holiday by staying longer. Air Paradise package air tickets are valid for up to 30 days. So when you have used you 4 nights free accommodation, move to a cheaper hotel. There is a huge choice and you have 4 days to look around. Expect to pay A$20-40 per day for a comfortable hotel. The smaller hotels are the best value, as you are no longer a number, as in the larger international hotels.

Eating Cheaply

There are many cheap eats in Bali, Indonesian food being the best. We recommend: NIXON in main Rd. Seminyak, LUBUNG PADI, Chinese food, further north.

just before Batavia, which is also ok. WARUNG JAPUNG - (see article on the right) and of course our Bali favorite WARUNG SOBAT in Jl Batu Belig, Batu Belig.

Prices in Bali

The prices below are in Australian dollars based on Rp6,500=AU$1, These are shop prices, not those charged in tourist restaurants.

Beer	700ml	$1.50
Soap	Lux 100gm	23c
Marlboro	20 pak	$1.00
French Bread	50cm	60c
Wine Local	750ml	$6
Meadow Lea	500g	$2.92
Coca Cola	1 ltr	$1.30
Eggs	Dozen	$1.10
Coffee	1 kg ground	$2.76
Milk	1 ltr UHT	$1.23
Orange Juice	1 ltr loc UHT	$1.53
Petrol	1 ltr	28c
Haircut	Men's	$1.50
Doctor	Consultation	$9
Motorbike	Honda 90cc	$1384
Rent-a-Car	Suzuki p.d.	$15
ColourTv	21"	$380

A New Warung

Manu, Ketut & John

Manu runs a small warung restaurant in Jl Petitenget, just near the traffic lights and close to an internet café, called Warung Jepun, (Jepun - a Balinese flower). The prices are very reasonable with nasi goring starting at Rp5,000 A.76c, he serves beer, but only small bottles.

Location

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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