Benoa Port developed to welcome more cruise ships

Benoa Port

Infrastructure at Bali’s largest port, Benoa, is currently being developed to accommodate more cruise ships that could significantly contribute to the island’s tourism, the port’s management said Monday.

The development included expanding the wharf, deepening the yacht basin and improving the terminal, said Iwan Sabatini, general manager of PT Pelindo III Benoa, the state-owned company that manages the port.

“We are targeting being able to accommodate more and larger cruise ships. Our total investment for this multi-year project is Rp 600 billion [US$62.2 million] until 2015,” Iwan told Bali Daily.

This year, the project has seen deepening of the basin from minus 10 meters LWS (low water spring) to minus 11 meters LWS to enable the mooring of larger cruise ships with a length of more than 300 meters.

“The most costly part of the project is the deepening and expanding the wharf,” Iwan said, adding that the project would also include building a mooring dolphin.

To improve the cruise terminal, the port would provide more X-ray machines, check-in counters, waiting rooms, as well as other facilities, including preparing officers for customs, immigration and quarantine.

All these improvements were being carried out because this port was a pilot project for the first “turn-around port” in Indonesia, which was one that conducted embarkation and debarkation, Iwan said.

Previously, the port only functioned as a destination port, where cruise ships only made a stopover for several hours to allow the passengers to go sightseeing on the island.

By being a turn-around port, the passengers or tourists taking a tour package, have to wait for several days before embarking. This could increase hotel occupancies and spending that would bring a greater contribution to the island’s tourism.

“If each tourist spends at least $100 per day and they stay in Bali for several days, there would be a significant profit for the tourist industry,” Iwan said.

Next year, 13 cruise ships are scheduled to turn around in Benoa, including Classic International, Companie du Ponant, Crystal Cruise, Orion Expedition Cruise, Seabourne Cruise and Voyage of Antiquity.

The port management recorded that the number of tourists visiting Bali on cruise ships through Benoa in 2011 reached 42,000 people.

This year, the number is estimated to reach 50,000. As of November, there had been 48,600 tourists entering Bali through the port. Next year, the number is targeted to reach 60,000 tourists through 30 cruise calls.

The tourism and creative economy ministry has targeted 300 cruise ships docking in ports all over Indonesia. The ministry’s data showed that the number of cruise calls to the country’s ports had increased from 176 in 2011 to 214 this year. Next year, the number is targeted to reach 300 calls.

Benoa was one of the main ports in the country and contributed 24 percent of total cruise calls and 40 percent of total passengers. It had also been popular in the world as a tourism hub port, Iwan said.

“Our priority is to ensure that all cruise ships could dock in Benoa safely and securely, and all the embarkation and debarkation activities in the terminal could run smoothly with all these improvements,” he stressed.

source: Bali Daily

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Letkol Wisnu airstrip upgraded to commercial airport

Letkol Wisnu Airstrip

While the plan to build an international airport in Buleleng remains stuck in an administrative limbo, the regency administration has embarked on an initiative that required much less funding: upgrading the existing Letkol Wisnu airstrip to a small commercial airport.

Located in Gerokgak village, some 30 kilometers west of the Buleleng capital of Singaraja, the airstrip currently serves as the main training facility for the students of Bali International Flight Academy (BIFA).

The upgrade, which has been ongoing throughout this year, has seen the airstrip’s runway extended from 700 meters to 900 meters, as well as the construction of a 180-meter-long taxiway and a 2,400-square-meter apron.

Currently, work is being finished on the construction of the air traffic control tower and the installation of a new navigation system.

Made Arya Sukerta, head of Buleleng transportation office, told that the facility improvement was made possible under a joint cooperation with BIFA.

“The construction of new facilities, including the navigation system and a monitoring tower, is aimed at upgrading the airstrip’s safety system and its comfort,” Sukerta said.

A firefighting team and an ambulance will be ready at all times on site.

“The upgrading will be carried out gradually. For the air traffic control tower construction, we plan to complete this by early January 2013 and will start operations soon after its completion,” he said.

Wiradharma Bagus Oka, chief executive officer of BIFA, told journalists that BIFA had the obligation to maintain facilities at the airstrip.

Previously, the flight academy rented space at the airstrip for its training classes and air training.

The academy pays a meager amount of only Rp 30 million (US$3,108) per month.

“At present, under the joint cooperation, BIFA has to spend Rp 300 million for maintenance of all the airstrip’s facilities and its operational costs,” Bagus Oka said.

He went on to say that BIFA had already constructed the additional 200 meters for the runaway, making it the present 900 meters long.

“Ideally, an airstrip should have a runway that is at least 1,200 meters long,” Bagus Oka said.

In practice, instructors and students of BIFA prefer to use facilities at Belimbingsari airstrip in Banyuwangi in East Java because it has better facilities.

Sukerta said that Buleleng administration would accelerate the process of upgrading Letkol Wisnu airstrip to a commercial airport. The administration has obtained full support from Buleleng Legislative Council.

“We need approval from the Transportation Ministry,” Sukerta added.

Previously, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika had expressed his exasperation over the plan to build an international airport in Buleleng.

“It has been so difficult to get a comprehensive report from the Transportation Ministry regarding the plan. The change of minister may have contributed to the delay and lack of clarity for the plan,” the governor said.

The idea to develop a new international airport in Buleleng was promoted several years ago by Jero Wacik, then-minister of tourism and culture, on the grounds that the planned airport would gradually take over from the current Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban, which itself would become the second international airport.

Regardless of the major renovation program, Ngurah Rai Airport faces crucial problems with a lack of land that has prevented the airport management, PT Angkasa Pura I, from expanding facilities, especially the runaway, in line with projected requirements. Data from PT Angkasa Pura I demonstrates that the number of passengers keeps increasing. In 2012, passenger numbers reached 12.77 million consisting of 6.59 million domestic passengers and 6.18 million international passengers

source: Bali Daily

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Subak inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List

UNESCO has officially acknowledged Bali’s traditional subak agricultural system on its World Heritage List during the organization’s annual meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 29. Subak, along with other historical sites such as the Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route in Bethlehem in Palestine, the Nahal Me’arot/Wadi el-Mughara Caves in Israel, as well as Rock Island’s Southern Lagoon in Palau, were all named as World Heritage Sites.

UNESCO recognized subak as a Balinese cultural landscape of rice terraces and their water temples that cover 19,500 hectares.

Subak reflects the philosophical concept of Tri Hita Karana, which brings together the realms of the spirit, the human world and nature. The subak system of democratic and egalitarian farming

practices has enabled the Balinese to become the most prolific rice growers in the archipelago, despite the challenge of supporting a dense population.

Included in the UNESCO-recognized landscape are the 18th-century royal temple of Pura Taman Ayun in Badung, the Batukaru mountain reserve in Tabanan, the Pakerisan watershed in Gianyar and Lake Batur in Bangli.

The UNESCO acknowledgement, however, needs to be followed up by real action to preserve the sites. Many people will come to the sites. The government should manage them to anticipate the damage to the sites because of tourism

The government should immediately draft regulations to prevent land conversion, as well as to protect the farmers. Nowadays, the government doesn’t have regulations about managing subak sites, causing massive land conversion

Bali Cultural Agency head Ketut Suastika said that the government would follow up the UNESCO acknowledgement by drafting regulations to preserve subak and to develop a management system for the sites.

“Together with the regional administrations, we will divide the sites and the surrounding areas into several zones. The regulation will cover zoning of the areas,” Suastika said, adding that the Bali administration had drafted a by law on subak as part of its attempt to preserve it as a central pillar of the Balinese culture.

The government, he said, would also establish a special board to manage the world heritage sites. The board, he said, would meet stakeholders from all parties, such as the government, subak members, the tourism sector and academics.

Meanwhile, many domestic and foreign tourists have visited the world heritage sites.

via the bali daily

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Indonesia for Airport Open Sky

The Indonesian government is now preparing five major international airports to implement the ASEAN open sky agreement, which will become fully effective in 2015.

The five airports include Ngurah Rai airport in Bali; Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta; Ir. Juanda airport in Surabaya, Sultan Hasanudin airport in Makasar and Polonia in Medan.

The ASEAN open sky agreement is an air transportation liberalization scheme that took effect in December 2008 and is scheduled to be fully implemented by 2015. The agreement will allow regional air carriers to make unlimited flights to all 10 ASEAN member states — Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The agreement will practically remove all barriers for foreign carriers to serve the domestic market, but they will still have to comply with the IATA (International Air Transport Association) regulations.

Indonesia had previously requested that full implementation of the open sky policy be postponed, saying the domestic airline industry was not ready.

When the agreement takes full force, it is likely to start a new era of low-cost regional flights and change the course of countries that protect their domestic markets by barring low-cost foreign carriers.

However, ASEAN member countries are still following a bilateral agreement to regulate the operation of foreign carriers on domestic routes in any member country.

Herry Bakti, director general for air transportation at the Ministry of Transportation, said that both national and local carriers, as well as airport managements, must be ready to enter the new open sky era by improving their facilities and services to compete with regional counterparts.

He said that the five international airports in Indonesia are now ready to take part in the open sky policy.

“We are now implementing major renovations at Ngurah Rai International Airport to accommodate large-body aircraft. If necessary, we will include more airports in the coming years,” Bakti told reporters in Denpasar on Tuesday.

Currently, Indonesia has 29 international airports and 204 domestic airports; around 16 airlines are now plying 220 domestic routes across 107 cities.

There are 11 national carriers, which cater to international routes connecting 12 cities in Indonesia with 23 cities in 13 countries.

“The competition will be very tough, especially with regional carriers such as Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines,” he said.

Bakti said that there are limitations in every airport in Indonesia. Ngurah Rai airport, for instance, only has one runway to fly 20 million passengers annually.

The airport’s annual growth in passengers stands at between 12 and 15 percent.

“Despite the ongoing renovation project, Ngurah Rai airport can no longer be expanded,” he said.

The planned development of a new international airport in Buleleng regency might be the only option for Bali if it wants to attract more airlines and passengers to the island.

“We are hoping that the development of Buleleng airport will start no later than 2017.”

Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya, chairman of the Bali branch of the Indonesian Tourism Association, said the inclusion of Ngurah Rai airport to support the implementation of the open sky policy would have a positive impact on the island’s tourism.

“The government, as well as the airlines, has to open new routes connecting Bali with remote regions, especially in the eastern part of Indonesia. This will really support our ‘Bali and Beyond’ tourist programs.”

Separately, Didi Triatmojo, general manager of Garuda Indonesia’s Bali office, said that the company is planning to open new routes from Bali to several cities in easternIndonesia.

“We will use 100-seat capacity aircraft to serve these routes, hopefully by November this year.”

Source: Bali Daily

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Gambir Cake, a Typical Balinese Taffy

Not only rice wine and salted nuts favored by domestic tourists as typical souvenir of Bali, a number of snacks such as gambier snack is also responded positively by these circles. Gambier cake wrapped in leaves turns into a unique snack that can draw the intriguing interests of consumers to try.

“Gambier Cake can be said as typical souvenir of Bali that is no less attractive than rice wine, and salted peanuts,” said Ayu, a manager of souvenir shop providing typical souvenirs of Bali located around Denpasar not long ago.

Furthermore, she explained, as other regions in Indonesia, Bali also had a lot of typical and tempting snacks to enjoy. So far, she added, the current dominant market share for distinctive snack of Bali came from domestic tourists. Evidently, quite many tourists purchased gambier cakes, and this even increased when entering the holiday season.

According to Rini, another souvenir seller, the gambier cake itself was wrapped with typical and attractive leaf as the one used for taffy. When eaten, people would taste a tenderly ground peanut sauce inside. She said it was very unique and delicious as the batter of black sticky rice processed into rubbery taffy cake was encapsulated by ground peanut. That’s why many domestic tourists such as from East Java, Jakarta and Bandung were always interested to purchase it as snack souvenirs when they paid a visit to Bali.

Witari, another perpetrator of similar business, expressed the same opinion. She said that gambier confectionary had become one of the targets for a number of domestic tourists visiting Bali so far. During their visit to Bali they considered it incomplete before enjoying and bringing along gambier cake as souvenirs. Nevertheless, she admitted that the gambier cake business was inseparable from some problems. One of them occurred when the price of ingredients such as sticky rice increased.

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Jaja Bendu: Tasting Splendor of Balinese Cake

Other than exploring the beauty of nature, culture, and food, perhaps you are also eager to know about the Balinese cakes. As a religious community, Balinese have a wide treasure of cakes mainly offered in ritual activities. By and large, this diversity may be shown in terms of the making, look and presentation.

The easiest way to have a closer look at such diversity is by visiting traditional market nearby. A variety of cakes used to fill in the oblation in temple festival or individual worship, ranging from the ordinary up to the unique kinds are sold there. Busy people will prefer to purchase them. One of those unique cakes is the bendu cake. Except used for ritual need, this cake is also nice to savor as refreshment.

Ingredients required to make this cake are 500 gram of white sticky rice flour, ½ coconut (grated), 100 gram of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of grated coconut mixed with 100 gram of palm sugar for sauce and a little oil to smear the pan.

Mix the flour with sugar, grated coconut and salt evenly, and knead them for a while. However, do not do it until sticky. Preheat the pan in small flames. Next, smear the pan by oil so it will not be sticky. Take some three tablespoons of batter and put in the center of pan. Then, spread it evenly until reaching a diameter of some 10-15 centimeters while pressing it by vegetable spoon. When it has been cooked, turn over and put the sugar sauce onto it. Ultimately, fold it in triangular form. Alternatively the sugar sauce can be placed after the piece of cake is taken out from the pan. Afterward, it is folded as above. Now, it is ready to serve!

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Lempet, unique delicacy from Klungkung

Lempet is a kind of traditional Balinese sea food which is famous in the eastern part of the island namely Klungkung Regency. Limpet is made from the fish that often being catch by the local fishermen. The food is made from fish which is already being cleaned so there are no bones left on the meat. The ingredients are similar with the other traditional Balinese food which uses chili, red sugar, garlic and onion.

The special thing about the food is the way to cook it. After all of the ingredients are mixed then the meat is blended with it. We must always remember that everything must be joined together and mixed properly so the taste will be delicious. After that, it is warp with banana leaf. The leaf chosen is the young one so it will not break easily. Then the lempet will be grilled but must use fire from coconut shells. It is said that the coconut shells can give a unique taste for the dish.

The burning process will take around 15 to 20 minutes. In order to get the best result, the fire must be small so the fish inside of the leaf will not burn. In Bali, this way of cooking is usually called “pesan” and in Bahasa Indonesia, it is called “pepes”. The limpet can be eaten with rice or without. The aroma of the burnt banana leaf will give special taste in the cuisine. The unique taste made the lempet often demanded by the customers. In Klungkung, limpet sellers can be seen on the way to Kusamba Beach through the border with Karangasem Regency. Kusamba is well known for its black sand and the high number of the fish that can be catch there.

After the fishermen come from the sea, lempet sellers will crowd to the boat to find the fresh fish. The quality of the fish is also determining the taste of lempet. The sellers are trying to find the best possible fish they can because the tight competition between lempet sellers. The high demand for the food made many people want to get profit from it so many of them turn to sell lempet.

For the people of Klungkung, lempet is their daily meal. They always buy the food everyday because it is very cheap and could last for over two days. That is why they love lempet, in addition to the delicious and unique taste of the food. It is also usually served during ceremony or other rituals in the regency.

Lempet is only existed in Klungkung Regency so for those who want to try it must come to the region which is only 1 hour from Denpasar. Bali has many unique cuisines which can attract tourist to come. It also could become other promotion tool so Bali is still the most designated island for tourists. For repeater guests who often come to Bali, the cuisine could become an alternative choice after they visit the tourism sites throughout the island. The cuisine also could become the souvenirs for those back home.

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