With its explosive political (and geological) past, tourism in Indonesia has plummeted. All the more reason to visit these magical lands. (Author: Jessica Morris)

Two hands slam down on my shoulders from behind and Udin, our guide, yells “Run!” We are in the rainforest of northern Sumatra, supposedly on the hunt for orang-utans, but the tables have turned: the orang-utans are on the hunt for us, and our dinner. I am not what you might call the sporty type, but I scarcely pause when the ground rises vertically in front of me. I hoist myself up a cliff face with the aid of liana vines while nearby, just above the sound of my heartbeat, I can hear our pursuers swinging effortlessly from tree to tree.
North of the equator lies Lake Toba and, in the middle of the lake, Samosir Island. If you asked me to find a location for a film set in the Garden of Eden, this would be it, with its wide green meadows, banana palms, volcanic springs, grazing white buffalo and little churches with pointed steeples. This is the home of the Batak people, evangelised by German missionaries, and known for their music.

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A recent article in the Bali Advertiser announcing that Indonesian Citizens and Foreign residents in Indonesia are now exempted from paying the mandatory Rp. 1 million fiscal fee (approximately US$109.00) each time they departed Indonesia for a neighboring ASEAN country has been quashed by local tax authorities.

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Nyoman Sudiartha, the owner of the local transport company Aryantha Putra Transport complained bitterly to the Indonesian language Bisnis Bali about the illegal transport operators in Bali who target the illegal villa sector. According to Sudiartha, the customers lost to illegal transport operators working from villa bases are causing huge losses to the local transport industry.

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The Kuta Karnival Organizing Committee and the Kuta Small Business Association have announced the dates for the 5th Kuta Karnival as September 1-9, 2007.

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President Wants Long-Delayed Cultural Park Finished in Time for World Cultural Festival in Bali.

(4/14/2007) According to the Indonesian-language Bisnis Indonesia, President Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono has expressed the wish that the 250-hectare cultural park and monument Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) complex on Bali’s Ungasan peninsula can be finally complete by October 2008, in time for the World Cultural Festival planned in Bali.

With a completion cost variously estimated at between US$70 and US$270 million, the centerpiece of the park will be a monument standing 146 meters high and some 286 meters above sea level. With a foundation structure the equivalent of a 16 storey building, the total statue is estimated to eventually weigh 2,000 tons when completed and will resemble the image of the Hindu epic hero Lord Wisnu sitting stop the back of the mythical Garuda bird. The wing span of the Garuda bird will be an impressive 60 meters.

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