Bali Street Food: An Introduction

I thought it might be helpful to write series of posts on Bali street food as it could be helpful to the average tourist coming to Bali for the first time.

Bali street food is a topic that many associate with the dreaded bali belly which has been known to strike down even the most travel-hardened visitors. Although not often very serious, bali belly is something which you would rather not get and therefore a bit of inside info when eating on the street will come in handy.

Some very standard types of fried street food in Bali

Without further ado, please find the full list of my 'Bali Street Food' posts please remember to check back for more as I will try to add to them as often as possible!

Thanks for reading and remember to leave any feedback in the comments box below!

Bali Public Holidays 2012

As many of you have requested, here is the list of Bali's Public Holidays for 2012 (you can still see the list of Bali Public Holidays 2011 also.)

As always in Indonesia, public holidays are subject to change at short notice and it seems that the regional governments do this often at the last minute for the more minor holidays so be aware that these dates are not (and probably never will be!) set in stone.
With that said, please find below the most complete list of Bali's public holidays for 2012.

Indonesia Public Holidays 2012

Kalender Hari Libur Nasional Indonesia Tahun 2012
Below is the Indonesian 2012 holiday calendar:

Tahun Baru Masehi
International New Year’s Day
Sunday, 1 January 2012

Tahun Baru Imlek
Lunar / Chinese New Year – 1st day of 1st month of lunar calendar
Monday, 23 January 2012

Maulid Nabi Muhammad SAW
Mawlid / Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet) – Birthday of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, falls on 12th of Rabi’-ul-Awwal of Islamic Calendar
Saturday, 4 February 2012

Hari Raya Nyepi (Tahun Baru Saka)
Bali New Year – Balinese “Day of Silence” that falls on Bali’s Lunar New Year. Nyepi is primarily a Hindu holiday
Friday, 23 March 2012

Wafat Isa Al-Masih (Jumat Agung)
Good Friday – Date varies; this is the Friday before Easter Monday 2012, which is the first Monday after the first Paschal Full Moon following the official vernal equinox. Good Friday 2012.
Friday, 6 April 2012

Hari Raya Waisak
Vesak Day – Buddha’s Birthday, usually is celebrated on the first full moon day in the month of May.Vesak 2102.
Saturday, 5 May 2012

Kenaikan Isa Al-Masih
Ascension Day
Thursday, 17 May 2012

Lailat al Miraj
Ascension of the Prophet
Saturday, 16 June 2012

Hari Proklamasi Kemerdekaan R.I.
Indonesian National Day – Celebrating the country’s proclamation of independence in year 1945
Friday, 17 August 2012

Hari Raya Idul Fitri / Lebaran
Eid al-Fitr – End of Ramadan. Symbolize winning from the evil after 1 month of fasting. Most important Indonesian holiday for Muslims in Indonesia. Eid 2012
Sunday, 19 August 2012

Hari Raya Idul Adha / Hari Raya Haji
Eid al-Adha Feast of the Sacrifice / Kurban
Friday, 26 October 2012

Tahun Baru 1433 Hijriyah
Al-Hijra Islamic New Year according to Islamic calendar, falls on 1st of Muharram
Thursday, 15 November 2012

Hari Raya Natal
Christmas Day 2012
Tuesday, 25 December 2012

Happy Indonesia Holidays 2012 !

The information above is available courtest of SG Holiday

Pemuteran, Bali: Saving coral reefs with electric 'shock therapy'

Up on Bali's northwest coast lies Pemuteran; a tiny hamlet renowned for its snorkelling & coral reefs. However, due to dynamite fishing and other unsavoury practices, and with increasing water temperatures attributed to global warming, the coral in Pemuteran was in a state of  steady decline for many years.

A project was hatched to regenerate one of Bali's coral gardens  in the year 2000 by certain members of the local business community with great help from the locals. As the video of the now flourishing coral reefs of Pemuteran, the project seems to be injecting some life back into the reefs and and also providing an innovative touch with ideas like sponsor a coral for tourists which will even allow you to have your name written into a structure designed for coral regeneration.

Below is a short video explaining the regeneration project in more detail - enjoy!

For more of the science behind the project, see the following article from Discovery News:

ELECTRICITY SPARKS NEW LIFE INTO INDONESIA'S CORALS