The View From the Beach

Just back from a long weekend in northwest Bali. Returned to Menjangan for snorkeling and a bit of relaxation — two years since the last trip.

Menjangan snorkeling remains a most excellent adventure. The little island is inside the Bali Barat National park and is a protected area. As a result, the corals and the number of fish and other fauna is truly impressive. It’s some of the best snorkeling I’ve done in Asia.

For this trip we stayed at the Waka Shorea resort. Courtesy of a special concession from the Forestry Service the resort is actually inside the Bali Barat park boundaries. No roads connect it, so you take the boat. The resort is built to be very low profile and is almost completely invisible from the water. They profit share with the Forest Service, so part of your room rate goes back to preservation. The photo above was taken from the jetty at Waka Shorea - looking back at the main part of the island of Bali.

Not a bad way to spend the weekend.

Groundbreaking for the LIV Bali property development on beautiful Jimbaran Bay was held this last Sunday.

With a mixed crowd of local dignitaries, foreign nationals, buyers and prospects on hand, the ceremonies began bright and early and proceeded through midday. Live entertainment followed the formal ceremonies where the local template blessed the site and the endeavor. Local media was also out in force for the event, with coverage from both print publications and local Television.

The LIV project is a milestone for the re-development of Jimbaran Bay. The project launch follows fresh on the heels of the completion of the first stage of the renovation of Jimbaran Bay and the re-opening of the first of the seafood restaurants on the bay - located just across the street from LIV. Next round of development will see the creation of a local communtiy and arts center and the renovation of the fish markets further down the Bay.

LIV features 29 units and a variety of facilities, including Jimbaran Bay’s first beach club. Project pre-sales exceeded 60% in advance of the launch. The project will be managed by BHM and the Head Sales Agency is held by Elite Havens. You can learn more about the project online at www.LIVBali.com.

Took a little trip this last weekend to the neighboring island of Lombok. There’s been quite an uptick in interest in Lombok of late and some are trumpeting it as an up-and-coming area. I had not been in 10 years…

We went over to visit Villa Anandita, on Lombok’s north coast. The villa is next to the beautiful Hosaido Golf Course and right on the water. With a hectare to play with they did it right  — built the villa back off the water and left a nice coconut plantation lawn (see pic above). The approach is not only environmentally sensitive, but it gives a nice mellow feel to the place. John Lincoln was the architect on this one and he did a great job.

We left rather impressed with the whole arrangement. With great facilities, the Gilis only 10 minutes away by boat, the golf course next door and the Oberoi right around corner, it’s positioned to be a winner. Stay tuned for more details on this one!
more pictures from the Lombok trip can be found at Flickr… 

The Q1 2007 arrival numbers are in and they validate what those of us in the industry suspected: 2007 is set to be a record year. Year-on-year, the 2007 numbers for Q1 were up more than 47% over 2006. Each of the individual months - Jan, Feb, and March, exceeded their 2006 counterparts.

Perhaps more telling though is the historical context: The 2007 Q1 numbers exceed even those of the pre-bomb 2001 season.

It’s a strong showing and one that will be reflected across the board in tourism-related revenues on the island. Good news for people who have worked hard to win back the credibility of this wonderful island.

Moving further into the realm of the subjective, we present here my list of the ten best restaurants in Bali (in no particular order!):

1. La Sal - Great Spanish tapas in a garden setting.
2. Gado Gado - Beachfront in Seminyak with a continental and fusion menu. Good intimate dining in the evenings.
3. Warisan - Fine dining with a french flair, a great wine list, and a rice field view in Seminyak.
4. KuDeTa - Posh eatery with the best sunset vibe on the island, in Oberoi.
5. Mosaic - Fine dining at its finest in Ubud.
6. La Lucchiola - A mixed menu, heavily Italian, at a great beachfront location in Oberoi.
7. Ko - Fab over-the-top Japanese fine dining at the Intercontinental in Jimbaran.
8. Take - Authentic Japanese at a great price in (a hard to find spot) in Kuta.
9. Breeze - Nuvo Fusion beachside at the Semaya in Oberoi. Good wine list and nice selection of single malts, too.
10. CasCades - Continental dining with a fab view at the Viceroy in Ubud.