Why Sunset Wedding?

Holding a sunset wedding in Paradise Island of Bali is the most fitting venue to tie the knot and begin a life together. Sunset wedding has endless story of romance for a couple. It is a new idea of wedding for brides and grooms who want to begin their married life in a different way. Sunset weddings have many stunning things in store.

The sunset wedding needs no decoration as you have stunningly beautiful sunset for the background especially when you hold your sunset wedding on the beach. The gentle waters of the sea and the placid colors of the clouds serenading the deep blue sea produce wonderful scenery for sunset wedding. Nothing can be matched with the richness of the colors in the sky formed by the setting sun. The panorama of the sun slowly submerged into endless expanse of the dark blue sea gives the couple a most excellent backdrop for a picturesque sunset wedding.

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Bali Villas & Lombok Villas – A Private Piece Of Paradise

All luxurious Bali Villas in villas-bali.com have been filtered in order to provide you the best Bali Private Villa in experiencing holiday, bali wedding, honeymoon which guarantee Privacy and Outstanding Personalized Service.

Hotel di Bali Solusi terpercaya untuk semua kebutuhan perjalanan anda di Bali dan seluruh Indonesia

W Retreat & Spa Bali

The newest addition to Seminyak vibrant life, W Retreat & Spa Bali is a stylish glitz that redifine the word “accommodation”. W Retreat & Spa Bali is conviniently situated on the beach in Seminyak area where you can find Bali's best fine dining, chic restaurants, clubs, sunset bars, boutique and galleries and spas. Get the vibrant spirit of W Retreat & Spa Bali amidst the natural beauty of Seminyak sunset and exciting nightlife.

W Retreat & Spa Bali offers 237 guestrooms and villas with spectacular views, high-energy interiors, vivid design, cutting-edge technology and uniquely modern amenities. The room is a harmonious blend of stylish designs and traditional architecture creating a maximum comfort and privacy. There are several characteristics of the rooms that are aimed to suit your needs such as Ocean Front Room, Suites, Bi-Level Suite, Disability Accessible Room, Connecting Rooms, Oversized Room, Room with Sitting Area Non-Smoking Room and Soundproof Room

The rooms are equipped with :
iPod Docking Station, Bose CD/DVD Player, CD Player/Radio/Alarm Clock, CD Library, Internet access, W Pillow Menu, 350 Thread Count Sheets, Cribs (Upon Request), W Signature Bed, Spacious Bathroom, Rainforest Shower, Bliss® Bath Amenities, Double Basins, Hairdryer, Accessible Shower and/or Bath, Bathrobes & Slippers, Bottled Water, Munchie Box, Coffee and Tea Amenities, 24-Hour In-Room Dining, Nightly Turndown Service, Individual Climate Control, Chaise Lounge, Personalized Wake-Up Service, Baby Listening Device Available, Iron/Ironing Board, Welcome Gift

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Supported by:

Bali Villas & Lombok Villas – A Private Piece Of Paradise

All luxurious Bali Villas in villas-bali.com have been filtered in order to provide you the best Bali Private Villa in experiencing holiday, bali wedding, honeymoon which guarantee Privacy and Outstanding Personalized Service.

Hotel di Bali Solusi terpercaya untuk semua kebutuhan perjalanan anda di Bali dan seluruh Indonesia

Handcrafted Bali Guitars a Sought-After Success

Pairing Western technology with traditional wood carving has proven successful for one workshop on Bali, with global musicians seeking out its unlikely product -- guitars.
Canadian Danny Fonfeder, himself an avid guitar player, realised during a visit that the lack of good guitars on the resort island, known more for music featuring gongs and flutes, and the skill of Balinese wood carvers could lead to a new business venture.
After recruiting Wayan Tuges, a master wood carver from the hill town of Ubud, and luthier George Morris from Vermont, he began Blueberry, a guitar shop that marries East and West, six years ago."Originally I'm a woodcarver," said the 55-year-old Tuges, who didn't know how to play a guitar before starting at the workshop but said the carving had never been a difficulty."But the most difficult (thing) is how we can make the sound. But we've got (that) now." The guitars are made with wood imported from Canada, with Tuges tapping each piece of wood to check the sound before choosing it.Each guitar is carved with motifs of birds, dragons, flowers or goddesses, with the buyer able to choose what they want, and takes at least 50 to 60 days to make.
From a staff of 42 carvers the workshop has grown to 47, all of them trained by Tuges. Many wearing t-shirts, they sit cross-legged on the floor, in a group, to carve.
The workshop produces 20 guitars a month. Each sells for $1,000 to $6,000 dollars, depending on the design and the materials used.
Tuges said Blueberry guitars are used by a number of musicians including Dino Bradley, Rick Monroe and the group Little Texas.
"Most of my creation is sold to Americans. Let's say 90 percent to American guitarists, and the rest to Europe and Asia," he said, adding that he hoped to see more Indonesians using his guitars.

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Indonesia`s tourist arrivals surpass 7 mln target last year

More than 7.002 million foreign tourists visited Indonesia last year, surpassing the government-set target of 7 million, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said.

Compared to the year before, the number of tourist arrivals last year represented a 10.74 percent increase, BPS Chief Rusman Heriawan said here on Tuesday.

In December 2010 alone, more than 644.2 thousand foreign tourists visited the country, up 11.43 percent from a month earlier or 3.01 percent from the same period the year before, he said.

Over 6.32 million tourists visited Indonesia in 2009.

Rusman said the number of tourist arrivals through the country`s three largest airports increased last year. The three airports were Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali which recorded 2.54 million tourist arrivals, Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta 1.82 million and Hang Nadim Airport in Batam 1.007 million.

"The conducive climate throughout 2010 helped increase the number of tourist arrivals particularly through Bali, Jakarta and Batam," he said.

In total, the foreign tourists visiting the country last year spent an estimated US$7.6 billion, up 20.63 percent from the year before when the figure was recorded at US$6.3 billion, he said.

Meanwhile, the occupancy rates of star-rated hotels in 17 of the country`s 33 provinces in December 2010 averaged 53.84 percent, up 3.59 points from a month earlier or 1.31 points from December 2009, he said.

"On average the foreign tourists stayed at star-rated hotels in the 17 provinces for 1.99 days in December 2010, up 0.03 percent compared to December 2009," he said.

Indonesia appoints noted lawyer to defend Komodo against New7Wonders

The government appointed noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis to settle its recent dispute with New7Wonders Foundation, which has said it may suspend Indonesia’s Komodo National Park from the New 7 Wonders of Nature finalist list next week.

Indonesia’s Culture and Tourism Ministry announced the appointment before a number of local public figures who had campaigned for Komodo park, including celebrities Olga Lidya and Marcella Zalianty.

The ministry's director general for marketing Sapta Nirwandar asked them to continue their campaigns despite the possible suspension.

“We want justice. The voting has been done since 2008; they cannot just dismiss us because we don’t want to house [the event to declare the winners]. Not only Indonesians, people from other countries also take part in the voting,” Sapta said, as quoted Saturday by kompas.com.

He said there was a clause saying New7Wonders had a right to eliminate participants failing to meet requirements in a deal Indonesia had agreed on while registering Komodo in the voting.

“But, that is if we commit a sin. Now what sin have we committed?” Sapta said.

He reiterated Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik’s statements saying the possible suspension was a threat due to Indonesia’s refusal to host the declaration of the vote winners because it was too costly.

Sapta also said although New7Wonders was said to have signed a contract with a private consortium in the country regarding the hosting of the declaration event, the ministry had heard nothing about that.

New7Wonders has said in response to Jero’s statements that it has “never asked the [Indonesian] government to pay anything”.

Earlier: Issue: Komodo suspension from New7Wonders

Indonesian president to open new airport in Lombok

The beginning of March will see the airport being dedicated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after all security and safety checks have been completed. Once all the test runs have been finalized the President will be at the ceremony for the opening which is taking place nearly a year behind schedule.

The project has suffered a series of problems and delays due to arguments over land rights, security problems and the stealing of construction materials. There have also been questions asked over the quality of the runway and technical issues related to the control tower but these are all set to be solved before March.

The airport is expected to bring many more visitors to the island and the government is looking to reach a target of 1 million tourists to both Lombok and neighbouring Sumbawa by 2012. The rise in visitor numbers will result in more people using hotels Lombok and will see further development of the area.

Delicious Surprises for Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year is around the corner, time to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit with a scrumptious array of special Chinese dishes.

Chinese cuisine always offers delicious surprises to whet the appetites of food lovers. One of the must-eat delicacies during Lunar New Year celebrations is nian gao or sticky cake made from glutinous rice.
Legend has it that nian gao is used as a gift for the Kitchen God during Chinese New Year’s celebrations and is said to bring wealth and prosperity in the coming year. John Chu, executive chef at the JW Marriot Hotel in Jakarta, recently shared his tips for making nian gao.
The basic ingredients include glutinous rice flour, vegetable oil, water, coconut milk and sugar.
“Put sugar into boiling water until it is dissolved. Then put the glutinous rice flour in a large bowl, pour in the sugar and water mixture slowly with the coconut milk until the mixture turns into dough,” said chef Chu.
“You have to be careful when mixing the ingredients to make a smooth batter. If you pour the sugar water too quickly, it will make balls in the batter.”
To get some color, chef Chu suggested adding carrot juice to the basic dough.
He said people put the dough in various cake tins that produce shapes like koi, sunflowers and golden bars, and steam them for around one hour.
The hotel offers the nian gao in three flavors — traditional, traditional golden and coconut milk.
Besides the sticky cakes, food lovers can also try an array of Chinese delicacies.

Full article by Triwik Kurniasari

Indonesia's Bali sets sights to draw in 2.7 mln foreign tourists

Indonesia's Bali province set sights to draw in 2.7 million foreign tourists by 2011, the Jakarta Post quoted an official as saying on Monday.

"In 2010, we received about 2.5 million foreign visitors, beating last year's target of 2.3 million. This gives us a good reason to believe that we will be able to attract 2.7 million foreign visitors this year," Head of Bali Tourism Agency Ida Bagus Subhiksu said over the weekend.

Subhiksu pointed out two key incidents that helped raise Bali' s profile on the international stage in 2010, namely the release of the film adaptation of Eat, Pray, and Love starring Julia Roberts, which was partly filmed in Bali, and President Obama's visit to Indonesia.

"Both events provided Bali and Indonesia with additional exposure on the global stage. I believe we will reap the fruits of such exposure in the coming months," he added. In 2008, Bali received more than 1.9 million foreign visitors and increased to 2. 2 million the following year.

There has also been a rise in the number of domestic visitors to the island. Nearly 2.9 million Indonesians visited the island in 2008, 3.5 million in 2009 and 3.7 million in 2010.