What has made Sentosa demand this quantity of glossy print interest? “It’s a hundred different things that make the difference,” says Steve, “the attention to detail for the smallest little objects”. And the colors of fish in the pond, the hand-crafted soaps, the epiphyte laden frangipani, the mirrors positioned in the most unexpected of indoor and outdoor walls, the four-figure thread count sheets and the sensuous lighting, which transforms the villa into a whole new entity under the cover of darkness.

Even the gardens are detailed in their simplicity. There isn’t a lot of color: it just doesn’t need any. “I have never seen a project that doesn’t have any color in its garden other than green”, muses Steve. “Every villa garden is green … gray and green. If you told me that you were going to build a property and that the gardens were going to be green I wouldn’t have believed you, but it works”.

All of Sentosa’s 32 three- and four-bedroom Seminyak villas are a blend of traditional Balinese and — contemporary Asian styles with spacious open-plan living and dining areas, and hardwood decking surrounding the central pool; perfect should you be planning on entertaining or even bringing kids into the equation.

While dining out every night is a holiday requisite, it’s always nice to be able to cook at home when the relaxation becomes too much or the kids start howling. A swift bowl of noodles or a Nutella sandwich does wonders sometimes to soothe the savage little breast. The sexy, black marble-topped kitchen would make any wannabe amateur celebrity chef blush, is well-equipped and has a six-foot plus tall fridge that makes dinner parties and supermarket shopping a reality. Sentosa’s chefs and butlers can even prepare a sumptuous steak and seafood barbecue poolside; or for the more adventurous of you, prepare babi guling – a suckling pig, that Balinese delicacy worth sinning for.

The service is pure class and the staffs are only distinguishable from the quality of the ubiquitous English butler by their accents; with the added advantage of the Balinese smile. All the staffs are trained in-house under the tutelage of Krisna Irvine, Sentosa’s training guru. Formerly of The Ritz in London, Aman and the Shangri-La, her credentials are enough to make the Queen of England herself request a second interview. Upon asking Steve who of the world’s A-listers have been spotted here, the question was met with a smile and a polite, “a few, but no names”, showing the kind of discretion you would expect in such a beautiful and private place.

Sentosa is a winner, and it is the quality of service and the luxury of the villas themselves, something that the owner is unafraid to keep investing in, that keep Sentosa at the top of its game. “They spent more money than anybody else has ever spent, and they are still spending money on it”, Steve says proudly before quietly adding that, “many a property man has toured the complex with their personal architects, surrepetiously taking pictures with tape measure in hand, secretly coveting Sentosa’s success”. The highest form of flattery, indeed.

Sentosa Villas and Spa
Jl. Pura Telaga Waja
Petitenget, Seminyak
Tel. +62 361 730333
www.balisentosa.com

Of course one of the biggest, and most annoying questions is, can a local hotel chain achieve an international standard of service? As an Indonesian myself I have to admit that this is a reasonable question. And, with The Samaya, the Santika Group has nothing but the best opportunity to supply an answer.

The best answer comes in the form of an extensive sundeck, with uninterrupted views of the ocean – a perfect set-up for getting a tan. The comfortable, long wooden, by-the-beach terrace treats guests with what they come to Bali for at its best; the beautiful sunny beach with its white sand, slowly and gracefully fading into a heart-melting sunset. It’s then that the lazy day changes its mood to a festive evening, when dinner is served in Breeze, and tables set in the manicured lawn are filled with fashionable travelers.

Such an experience is conveniently located in the Oberoi area, where happenings are the daily lifestyle, and hip is the common word. The Samaya does not bother itself by having its own noisy bar or club since the area is already filled with such venues. However, sitting with close friends or newly-made acquaintances in the hovering mini-lounge provides the opportunity to host your own cute private function – thus being able to preserve one’s personal elegance and style.

Whilst Breeze is obviously the pumping heart of The Samaya, the free form pool is the vein. The fresh and calm atmosphere is accentuated by its tranquil water surface, excellently combined with stylish landscaping. With the mighty backdrop of the ocean the pool immediately becomes the favorite posing point for snap shots.
The Samaya boasts 24 individual Seminyak villas, comprising 18 studio-style Pool Villas, 4 one-bedroom Royal Pavilions, and 2 two-bedrooms Royal Pavilion. The 150sqm Pool Villas are simply set up as a basic lodging with private plunge pool, surrounded by well-trimmed lawn. With comfortable living rooms and spacious bathing areas, the villas feature a hassle-free design.

The 275sqm Royal Pavilion with one bedroom features an oversized Jacuzzi pool, dining area, and a mini-pantry. The big sister, sized at 475sqm, has two bedrooms and has a symmetrical layout, with full facilities. It is a perfect choice for double dates, slapped in USD 870++ per night (internet rate).

At the corner of the main swimming pool area is the best retreat The Samaya has to offer: The Spa. It boasts a big suite with large windows facing the sea, welcoming the pampering natural breeze. Ask the therapist to switch off the music as the sound of the waves is clearly better. Surrender in the hands of those who know best of to knock your muscles down.

Go for the 60-minutes Samaya Massage where four hands work together in five different styles from five different countries: Japanese shiatsu, traditional Thai, Hawaiian lomi omi, Swedish deep pressures, and Balinese long strokes. Other options include the European Decleor massage, Indian head massage, and the aroma hot stone therapy.
With a butler service, and complimentary daily shuttle to nearby attractions, Santika Group has supplied an A-grade answer to the quest of the local brand to achieve an international standard. Many a nod goes to the winning package deal; the USD 1,430 nett Honeymoon Package, which includes three nights stay at the Pool Villa, a romantic dinner, a 2-hours spa treatment, an en-suite breakfast with champagne, a 15-minutes foot or back shoulder massage, airport transfers, and much more.

The Samaya
Jl. Laksmana, Seminyak Beach
Bali – Indonesi
Tel. +62-361-731149
www.thesamayabali.com

Article featured on Fine Restaurants & Villas (FRV), 4th edition

In fact the villas, restaurants, spas, boutiques, and bars that have turned this section of south Bali into one of the most desirable destinations in the world tend to be a little vague in their boundary definitions. One of Seminyak’s most iconic residents, beachfront restaurant / club KuDeTa is actually located in Petitenget. One might say that for the jet setters, second-home owners and high season hoi polloi, Seminyak is more like a stretch of beach and a hedonistic state of mind. If that is the case, then Petitenget is where you will find many of its higher functions.

The thread that links Seminyak, Petitenget, and Batubelig is undoubtedly the beach – a vast swathe of golden sand that stretches virtually unbroken from Ngurah Rai international airport in the south to the village of Pererenan, 10 kilometers further north. It was this beach that drew the attention of an enterprising developer in 1974. The Kayu Aya (which became The Oberoi in 1078) was designed by architect Peter Muller and was surely one of Bali’s first boutique hotels. While further south, surf seekers and shoestring hippies were turning Kuta into a hodge podge of budget hedonism, Petitenget was most notable for hosting one of Bali’s most sacred temples, Pura Petitenget. Built in the sixteenth century, it is one of the island’s six cardinal temples, all of which connect via invisible lines of energy to the so-called mother temple, Besakih, situated on the slopes of the volcano Gunung Agung in north-east Bali. The Kayu Aya was Petitenget’s first hotel and it would spark – if slowly – the development in the area into one of south-east Asia’s premier resorts. A road soon followed, connecting the Oberoi hotel (which funded the project) with the neighboring village of Batubelig; it is this loop that has become one of the hottest real estate propositions on the island.

Petitenget already has its share of notable residents – the five star Legian hotel, The Samaya, a recently revamped deluxe villa resort, and of course the Oberoi. Then there are the bars and restaurants – the aforementioned KuDeTa and Mediterranean eatery La Lucciola. All of these share the distinction of sitting slap bang in front of the beach, with uninterrupted views of the Indian Ocean.

Now, a new developer is set to up the ante, having snapped up one of the last substantial beach front lots in the area. Take a walk from Batubelig beach towards KuDeTa and you will come upon a white corrugated fence with the simple legend W repeated across is face.

The enormous cranes – a rare sight on an island when building higher than 15 meters is prohibited – bisect the skyline and piles of excavated earth stand like bulwarks at the edge of the beach. With a steady growing portfolio of properties around the world, the W hotel group represents one of the most successful examples of brand migration – a fashion magazine heading into hospitality. It is not the first in Bali of course – that accolade goes into legendary jewelers Bvlgari, whose cliff front resort brought a whole new level of cache to the Bukit, the raised peninsula at the southern tip of Bali. W, a part of hospitality behemoth Starwood, could well achieve the same thing in Petitenget, as if the area wasn’t hip enough already. They’re not doing things by half either – the W Retreat and Spa Bali (which incidentally claims to be located in Seminyak) will feature no less than 232 guest rooms and villas.

Head inland, however, and there’s no shortage of impressive developments to swoon over. Sentosa Resort and Spa has established a stellar reputation with its spacious villas and designer club facility, while Living Room and Hu’u are hotspots for both eating and late night mingling. In spite of the diminishing amount of available land, development continues space, though its character may be changing.

The now fully operational Kokonut Suites at the border between Petitenget and Batubelig represents one of the possible future faces of the real estate development in the area. Located at the Batubelig end of the Oberoi road and managed by Avilla Development and Management, it is essentially a condominium hotel concept featuring 33 units of one and two bedrooms on a 5,000 square-meter plot with facilities including a pool complete with lounge, spa, on site restaurant and gym.

“Kokonut Suites is an entry-level development really,” says Andy Gray, who marketed the project. Prices to investors ranged from US$50,000 – 120,000 with excellent value for the area. According to Gray, owners have unlimited access to their apartments while guests are looking at nightly rates of between US$95 for one bedroom and $160++ for the two bedrooms unit.

Gray thinks that the apartment model will be more and more evident as land becomes ever scarcer. “I don’t think we are going to see 20 story apartments in the immediate future, but the boundaries are being pushed. In Oberoi (read: Petitenget), it makes sense to build apartments – real estate prices are two and a half times higher than in Batubelig.” Head west towards the coast on Batubelig road, a straight stretch bounded by Balinese village units interspersed with rice fields and you’ll come upon two new villa developments, each within easy distance to the ocean. The Akasha is a freehold development of 12 three-bedroom villas marketed by Tropical Homes that brings together the skills of two of the most respected designers in Bali – architect Popo Danes and stone architect Richard North Lewis.

Less than 100 meters from Batubelig beach, these Seminyak villas are contemporary elaborations on the classic Balinese compound design. The environment has been thought about too – they use either reclaimed or plantation wood throughout, as well as benefiting from an advanced water recycling system. Villa prices start at US$650,000 with construction well underway.

Just a few meters from The Akasha on the opposite side of the road are ultra-luxurious Batubelig Residences, freehold Seminyak luxury villas currently under construction, representing perhaps one of the last chances for investors to buy new build beach front in this extremely popular area. The villas each occupy a substantial plot of around 1,000 square-meter and boast four bedrooms, 15 meter lap pool & Jacuzzi, separate kitchen/living/dining pavilion and landscaped gardens. The million dollar plus residences are extremely spacious and designed by the Internationally renowned Fredo Taffin – the man behind KuDeTa – the residences once again echo the Balinese compound style, but with clean cut contemporary styling using premium materials including marble, sirap wood roof shingles, and timber beams.

The development has had a successful launch with three of five residences already sold out. Prices start at US$995,000 during the construction phase.

Clearly, the Seminyak state of mind is steadily creeping northward – Petitenget has already been co-opted to an extent and the arrival of the W Hotel will no doubt prove momentous, not least in pushing real estate prices still higher. Still, both Petitenget and to a greater extent Batubelig retain a markedly more relaxed atmosphere to Seminyak-central with its jostle of bars, boutiques, and restaurants. Though precisely where one begins and the other ends will have to remain a matter of conjecture.

Written by J Langenheim
Featured on HOT Property Vol 10 – 2008

An interpid venture at the time, but perhaps one that also have been expected from a women of Dee’s ilk whose pioneering spirit has paved the way through a variety of experiences in Asia, where she first came as a runway model to Hong Kong. She married while there and then move to Singapore where she became a photographer before moving once again with her stockbroker husband to Jakarta in the early 1990′s. She also delved into the world of stock trading herself. It was there that she initially grew to become very fond of Indonesia, a sentiment bolstered by frequent trips to Bali. “Those were really the halcyon fays of Jakarta,” Dee reminisces. “Prior to the Asian financial crisis in 1997 there was so much money being generated in Indonesia. We thought we were the richest people in the world coming to Bali to rent these incredible $500 an night villas!” It was also during these sojourns to Bali that she began to entertain the thought of purchasing property there, but prices were still quite high at the time and there were no freehold options available. “Then about three years after the crisis, land prices evened out and I fortunately happened to be back in Bali once again, at the right time and place. By this point I was by myself and had to live somewhere. I’ve always felt safe and comfortable living in Indonesia and felt that I had come to understand the culture and embraced it rather than feared it.”

Single, adventurous, but with no real property experience under her belt, Dee embarked on a deal via a Balinese friend whose family was leasing land in, what was then, a rather desolate area of Seminyak. Even though 90 are of land in central Seminyak would certainly be considered a large plot by today’s standards, Dee thought otherwise at the time. “It didn’t look loke a lot of land! I remember thinking that I could fit about four or five houses on the property at the time. I was expecting to build a beautiful big spreads with huge gardens!” Sle started off with one modest villa that was completed in 1999 and then quickly rented out. Then she began construction on another house, which also rented swiftly once on the block. After the third villa, she ran out of money but was able to attract an investor due to the successful precedent she had celarly establisked and the increasing value of land in that area. This formula has been repeated by Dee over the past ten years, during which she has constructed and average of one or two villas per year since 1998.

The fruits of her labours are apparent today with the success of Villa Kubu, which also owes a large part to design, comforts, and location of the villas. It was a long road to get to where Dee is now, especially considering it’s basically a one-woman show. “I didn’t really know what to build, or how to build, or even what my tastes were like at the time. I just knew that the house I was living in on the property was funky and cozy so I just took those basic design ideas and used them on the other villas,” Dee admits. “I also learned a lot from my mistakes early on, such as building two bedrooms or bathrooms directly adjacent to each other. I concentrated on ergonomics and flow from the very beginning. Fortunately, my architect / lanscape designer (Ross Franklin from New Zealand) is very practical, has great taste, and designs along those same lines. I just made sure to improve on the design with each build. I didn’t want to create tehse boxes where you know where everything is the minute you walk in. Each villa is fundamentally the same, yet multi dimensionally different with several separate, privatized sitting areas. This is a key concept.”

All the well-appointed Seminyak villas feature the full amenities and services one would expect, plus comfortable lounge and dining areas, kitchenettes, swimming pools, spacious en suite bathrooms, and beautifully manicured gardens with verdant and varied flora obscuring most of the limestone walls. Villa Kubu also boasts several environmentally friendly elements ranging from natural neem oil mosquito control to bio-system septic tanks to filtered tap water (via UV ray and reverse osmosis technology), that actually renders it portable.

healthy alternatives are also reflected in Villa Kubu’s room service only menu that was created a few months ago, yet has already proven very popular with guests. Breakfast, lunch, dinners, BBQs, soups, salads, snacks, and dessert provide both Western and Indonesian seletions. An extensive and detailed juice and smoothie menu lists each fluid concoction along with its benefits and vitamin content and this will soon be suplemented wuth a specialized detox tea menu of prews made from organic herbs to assist in natural cleansing.

Currently Villa Kubu has an in house spa that provides treatments such as hot stone and Balinese massage, reflexiology, and lulur scrubs, but these services will expand in August to include a new on-site spa with three massage roons and a far infra red sauna room. This technology employs the use of infra red radiant heat (v.s. traditional steam heat) to penetrate tissue and is coted to remove toxins from the body, increase circulation, and be generally beneficial in the treatment od several ailemnts, including arthritis.

Although there won’t be any more bulding additions after the spa, one can not rule out all the possibilities, expecially considering Dee’s unlikely evolution from model to successful villa proprietor. “It was never a burning desire of mine to start this business. I was just here and needed to work and do something with my life. But luckily, I loved doing it and an still enjoying it.”

Villa Kubu
Jl. Raya Seminyak Gg. Plawa 33F
Seminyak, Bali
Tel. +62 361 731 129
www.villakubu.com

Written by S Gamboa
Featured on Fine Restaurants and Villas – edition 5.1 June/July 2008

Pavilions are central to Balinese arcitecture, from the simples bale pagoda – typically a platform and pitched roof attached to four simple posts – to the wantilan, a much larger building wher it is customary to hold village meetings, cock fights, religious ceremonies, and cultural performances. For decades now, contemporary architects have eben elaborating on the Balinese approach to habitat, so effectively is it adapted to the local environment. Amongst the most elegant of these modern takes on tradition can be found in the work of Italian firm GM Arcitects. And as founder member Mauro admits, GM are all about the roof. “We do simple thing,” he explains. “We detach the roof from the buinding and this allows us to play with the volume underneath it.”

GM Architects’ designs will be familiar to anyone who has flicked through one of the countless coffee table books on “Bali Style” – the first hing you inevitably notice are the rooftops, which extend in shallow gradients virtually to the ground, creating a geomatrical panoply. Typically, GM have focused on stand-alone villas with acres of space to play with – so creating a complex of 22 Seminyak villas, each distinct, on an average plot size of 600 square meters, enjoying green views, in the heart of Seminyak (one of Bali’s busiest resort enclaves), was going to require all their ingenuity and design acumen combined.

What they’ve come up with is The Layar. The word means sail in Indonesian, a tribute to elegant play of roof planes that characterizes each of these two and three bedroom villas. “According to the brief, the key feature of The Layar was that it should not be enclosed,” says GM architect Mauro Garavoglia. “We produced design for 22 villas and 25 villas and the client went for 22.” This is far from typical approach to developing in an area where real estate is at a premuim – already Seminyak is cluttered wuth cookie-cutter projects, where as many villa units as possile are crammed into a space enclosed by high walls of unsighty grey batako brick. “We figured the way to gain an edge in Seminyak was to invest in common areas and to make them green,” says Andrea Baldini, one of the directors of B. Lasting Developments, the Singaporean based company behind The Layar. But how to achieve this with the sheer concentration of development in the area? Quite simply, by creating a green belt which would simultaneously acts as a buffer and as a natural tropical ecosystem visible from every residence. The 22 villas are built around a ring road that circumnavigates a central island filled with verdant flora. Each villa is oriented so that its garden appears to flow seamlessly into the central nature reserve, whilst each enjoys total privacy from its neighbors.

At the same time, The Layar’s residents and guests will enjoy service equivalent to that of a five star boutique hotel, with a fully equipped industrial standard kitchen providing 24 hour service to each residence. “Why build a restaurant when some of the best dining in Bali is five minutes walk away?” asks Andrea. Instead, GM and B. Lasting have applied genuine design innovation and out-of-the-box thinking to create a hidden garden sanctuary where each of the 22 residences has its own unique architectural and design features.

“No two villas are the same,” says Mauri. “Some are mirror images of each other byt the spaces beneath the roof are arranged quite differently.”

“And villas can be tailor made to fit a client’s particular needs,” adds Andrea.

Step into The Layar’s recently completed three bedroom show villa and you get an immediate sense of poenness. You may feel that you’re in a bungalow, but in fact the villa comprises two stories. GM achieved this by raising the villa’s main garden two meters above the level of the access road. A brief stairway takes you down into the master bedroom, whose generous dimensions are a revelation, since it is effectively ensconced in the surrounding landscape. Compete with a private green oasis (indeed all bedrooms in The Layar enjoy their own private gardens), it feels like an entirely detached and personal space.

GM’s ingenuity with The Layar lies in the uninhibited sense of space created by both the high, sweeping angles of the roof and the lack of visible walls, but also the sense of discovery you experience as you move from space to space – the slightly raised lounge area, fitted with plush banquettes against a garden backdrop visible through a low-slung, horizontal glass panel; the kitchen with its jigsaw of custom fitted units and appliances imported from Italy – even the private pool, clad in imported India stone appears novel and fresh when looked at from a reclining position in the lounge.

None of this accidental – According to Mauro, each view is carefully oriented and framed, while split levelyng and carefully contrasted materials like acid treated, unpolished marble and rich teak give subtle character to each area. Interior designer Luca D’Alessandro has come up with an intuitive mix of sparse contemporary styling enriched with organic elements – like a sinuous segment of polished wood topped with glass that acts as a pleasingly outsized coffee table. Most of the furniture has been designed by Luca himself, while other artworks, traditional and antque elements have been personally selected.

Simply put, The Layar is a refreshing antidote to all that is generic. Created by people with a genuine passion for design, engineered and built by most respected contractors on the island, developed and managed by company with exacting professional standards and a legal framework based out of Singapore, it’s not surprising then that Paradise Property, was able to sell over 50% of phase one within the first 6 months.

“Its a place to de-stress, with all the facilities of a five star boutique hotel,” says Andrea with a simple confidence that;s hard to challenge. He might have added that there’s nothing else quitelike it in Bali.

The show villa is now open for inspection.
Please call +62 (361) 737 357 for a private viewing or email: thelayar@ppbali.com

Written by Rufus Johnston
Published on HOT Property Vol. 8 – 2008

The prep was left entirely to the two three-man teams who spent much of the day filleting, braising, and reducing a variety of ingredients deep in the heart of the Nikko’s main kitchen under the watchful gaze of adjudicator Alan Palmer who had flown in specifically from Sri Lanka for the event.

Close to seven in the evening the plates started to arrive at the restaurant tables in the main dining room whilst, tucked away in the back if the kitchen, a select group of eight chefs were blind tasting plates from both teams as another team of judges rated the presentation from both competing teams.

Although the final tally of of scores was a fairly close affair, the plates served by the Bali team compared favourably and noticably better than the rather average presentation and ill conceived dry, virtually sauce – less main course from the Shangri-La that cost them valuable points. “You need to keep it simpe,” said Roland Lickert of Lamak and Warung Enak fame, “ccok only the dishes you know already, this is the key to winning dining competitions, and don’t be too ambitious.” Whilst neither team appreared to heed Roland’s words of advice it was the Bvlgari team who manages to marry a variety of flavours together in each course whilst the Shangri-La simply tried too hard o be original and fell sadly short of the mark in every dish except the dessert.

By common consensus on our table the winning dish of the evening was the appetizer from Bvlgari, the Carrot, Citrus, and Vincetto Caciucco with seared scallops. The dish was an excellent combination of subtle flavorss and just a hind of tangy orange citrus to compliment the perfectly seared scallops. The boys stuck with a guaranteed winner for dessert serving a Hot Baked Valhorna Chocolate Moellaus and Vanilla Ice Cream combination; simple but expertly prepared.

The United Arab Emirates beckons the Bvlgari Bali team later this year as they step up to the international heats of the Black Box challenge being staged in Dubai, but not before a few words from the Continental Director of WACS (World Association of Chef’s Societies) John Sloane criticized both teams for their lack of communication in the kitchen. “This is all about team work and I have not seen much evidence of tem work today. Coordination was sorely missing and there was not much atmosphere in the kitchen.” John continued telling the Bvlgari team that they will need to work closely on their interpersonal skills if they are stand a chance later this year in Dubai.

Bvlgari have six months to tweak their performance in the kitchen before Dubai but in the meantime are no doubt very happy to be representing Bali and Indonesia as the reigning Black Box Culinary Challenge winners for 2008.

Written by James Carys
Featured on HelloBali vol. 13 no. 3 – March 2008

For those who expect even more privacy but have the full access to culinary excellence of Bvlgari’s talented chefs, Villa Rental Bali offer The Khayangan Estate, the newest and arguably most luxurious Bali villas located only separated by a string of fence with the Bvlgari. Access to Bvlgari restaurants and other facilities are arangable through Khayangan’s butlers. The property even share the same private bech at the bottom of soaring cliff, which only Bvlgari Resort and The Khayangan Estate have access to.

For those who prefer to be closer to hype, our collection of Seminyak villas offer private villas in the most ecclectic beach resort town of Seminyak. Wide range of choice is available in the area. Either you expect to have the cozy cafe, fine dining restaurants, chic boutique, fabulous art shops, and indulging spas to be at your doorsteps or a bit in a distance.

I am standing in what could well be the largest bamboo building in the world. More precisely, I am clinging to a flimsy scaffold 15 meters above the ground, enveloped by a web of crisscrossing bamboo struts that cascades down from one of three bamboo towers. This is the Three Mountains Factory, the latest low-impact structure to grace John Hardy’s base of operations in the village of Mambal, deep in the cultural heartland of Bali. To describe the Canadian-born jewelry designer’s HQ as whimsical would be an understatement: the ground boast cobblestone paths, patches of iridescent rice, arbors spilling passionflowers, a babbling brook, and a hodgepodge of buildings variously constructed from bamboo, mud, and thatch. You hold expect a hobbit to come ambling out of one of the little doorways.

Inside, it is a sarong-clad John Hardy who emerges from nearby Kapal Bambu, or bamboo boat, and elegant structure built on a raised platform that does indeed look like the inverted hull of a ship. Completed in 2005, this showroom is where Hardy displays his latest design – exquisitely crafted adornment in silver characterized by linked sections that swoop and curve back into themselves, with features like beaten-gold fascia and and constellations if precious stones. These pieces, many employing Balinese silversmithing traditions, allowed Hardy and his wife Cynthia to build a multimillion-dollar-a-year business, one which they recently sold – though still manage – in order to concentrate in their environmental projects. There is bamboo here too, represented in a collection of culm-shaped sterling-silver bangles of varying sizes. As part of Hardy’s Wear Bamboo, Plant Bamboo campaign, a portion of bracelets’ purchase price goes to the planting of bamboo on the small neighboring island of Nusa Penida, which is largely deforested. Each piece is engraved with specific number if stalks planted – anywhere from four to 26.

“It’s all about looking good, doing good, and feeling good,” says Hardy as we join his staff for a communal lunch at a table laden with organic food, almost all of which – the rice, the vegetables, the grilled duck – is grown or raised on site. “When you buy one if these bracelets, bamboo shoots will be prepared in a nursery and planted on Nusa Penida by subsistence farmers. When it’s grown, we’ll buy the bamboo back from them and use it.”

Why this obsession with bamboo? In an age when the world’s forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, buzzwords like “sustainability” and “ecological integration” have become part of the new architecture lexicon. Bamboo – a perennial grass that grows faster than any other plant on the planet, is 50 times stringer than oak yet light and flexible, and that, if treated discreetly, lasts for decades – holds an obvious appeal. The only question whether this humble plant can be accepted as a mainstream building and design material.

To that end, hardy has founded another company – Bambu Bali – dedicated to cultivating and manipulating bamboo for a wide range of practical uses, from furniture to jewelry to built environments, including Hardy’s latest showcase, a school slated to open later this year. Set on eight hectares of verdant land near Ubud, the School for Life aims to be a model of sustainability both in its construction and operation. Built largely from bamboo culled from Hardy’s own plantations, it applies cutting-edge technique to sustainable materials to achieve futuristic curvatures and profiles.

“I believe ht will be the first school in Bali to accept boarders. We’re creating bamboo accommodation for students and for families,: says Hardy. “There will even be a prototype bamboo hotel on site catering to volunteers and to those who simply one to come by and see what we’re doing.”

Teaching will center on what the school’s newly appointed director, Brad Choyt, describes as a “vibrant, holistic curriculum” that encourages environmental responsibility and entrepreneurial development. Bisected by Ayung River, the campus will feature everything from a cultural center to aquaculture ponds and “edible mazes” thick with produces, as well as a gymnasium, and organic chocolate factory, and even a high-ropes course threading its way through treetops. Many structure have already been built, including an eight-meter-long bamboo bridge based on a classic Da Vinci arch design.

The Hardys also recently opened Bambu Indah (“beautiful bamboo”), a tiny hotel comprising four antique wooden houses from Java ranged around a central dwelling built entirely of rare giant black bamboo. The back-to-nature retreat is situated close to Hardy’s own home on Sayan Terrace, a spectacular ridge above the Ayung River that opens onto a vista of stepped rice paddies and mossy stone temple.

Hardy himself is inheriting a legacy, however, tor it was another longtime Bali resident who laid the groundwork for his current endavors. “Linda Garland was my inspiration,” he says simply. “She turned bamboo into a legitimate building material, extending its lifespan considerably through new types of treatment.” Having spent years creating tropical vacation homes around the world, Garland became an early champion of bamboo as a sustainable alternative to rain-forest hardwoods in construction and furniture design, establishing the non-profit Environmental Bamboo Foundation in 1993. Her Panchoran Retreat, a riverside estate on the outskirt of Ubud, is a testament to both her design acumen and her environmental commitment: an enchanting resort, it is also home to more than 200 species of indigenous bamboo, representing the plant’s entire genetic stock in Indonesia.

While Hardy and his creative team are taking bamboo design to new heights, quite literally, Dutch designer Gerard van Vloten is bringing it to the micro level. Rather than working with bamboo poles, his company B21 Concepts, combines bamboo fiber with Polyethylene terepththalate (P.E.T., a recyclable polymer resin used for everything from space-station insulation to common plastic bottles) to create a composite membrane insulated with a foam honeycomb. B21 uses this to create prefab housing units where the furnishings are built-in structural elements. Light enough to float on the water and easily expandable, the units can be assembled or disassembled in a day and exported to anywhere in the tropics. “We’re taking bamboo into the 21st century,” says van Vloten, who sources his bamboo from Linda Garland. “Bamboo is the strongest natural fiber in the world, while waste P.E.T. is abundantly available and inexpensive.” With van Vloten about to complete his first unit, wealthy vacationers could soon be buying their holiday homes “to go.”

From High technology to archaic revivals, the rise of bamboo looks set to be a feature of 21st-century architecture and by association, tourism. And it perhaps fitting that it’s on the tiny island of Bali, recent venue for the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference, that many of its most exciting trails are being blazed.

For more information on John hardy’s environmental projects, see sustainableadvertising.org. Visit to the John Hardy Workshop and Kapal Bambu Showroom (62-361/469-888; johnhardy.com) can be arranged directly or through the concierge at Bambu Indah (333 Jalan Raya Sayan, Ubud; 62-361/975-124; bambuindah.com; doubles from US$250).

In anticipation of Amanresorts’ 20th anniversary, I have been traveling to some of the Singapore-based group’s 18 properties, talking with longtime employees, the newest genration of managers, and regular guests like Fong – known mainly among themselves as Aman jungkies – in the hopes of understanding what makes this iconic brand stand out even after all these years. I almost drop my scone when Fong announce that an Aman vacation is “actually very good value,” before he adds that “Of course, even one night is expensive, and certainly there are now other beautiful hotels in asia. But when I go elsewhere, I miss Aman because the service is not as personal. Staying at an Aman resort enywhere in the world feels like coming home.”

Though this assignment combines the obvious perks of sublime settings an unbiased indulgences – including high-astitude massages in Bhutan and desert-isle picnics in the Philipines – when I ask fellow guests to define what set Aman apart from its increasingly decadent competition, not one person speaks of hts trendsetting aesthetics or trailblazing destinations. It’s the people, they tell me; the human touch.

Adrian Zecha founded Amanresorts in 1988 with the opening of the Amanpuri on Phuket, a Thai holiday island known at that time more for its mass-market vacations than anything approaching luxury. From the beginning, Secha, now 75, put the emplasis on highly personalized service.

“Most important for Mr. Secha are his people,: Chawbewan Chailaipan, Amanpuri’s front office manager, tells me over a kaleidoscopic breakfast of fresh fruits at the 40-villa resort. Chailaipan started working here on day one in january 1988 as a waitress, and she has since traveled to each of the three Aman resorts in Bali to tech trainee about “the Aman philosophy.”

“It’s about conveying a warm, family feeeling so that the guesti is not just a hotel guest but like someone staying at a friend’s home,” seh explains with genuine conviction. “Our guests have become like family. We wait for them to come back every year.” Like most of her colleagues, Chailaipan speaks with deep reference for Zecha, whim she says “gave me a chance and a lifetime of opportunities for myself and my children.”

After Selling his stake in Regent International Hotels, Adrian Zecha wasn’t planning on becoming the standard-beared for remote Asian luxury when he checked into nondescript beachfront hotel on the then undeveloped northwest coast of Phuket in 1986. He was there to scout for land on which to build his own vacation house, But inspired by the beach’s intimate strip of powdery sand, the Indonesian-born, Hong Kong based hotelier called his friend, architect Edward Tuttle, to brainstorm about building a small, unpertentious inn on the site. Tuttle had already built Secha a home in Bali at Batujimbar, an laid-back beach community that drew luminaries like Australian artist Donald Friend and Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, whom Tuttle credits with influencing his own sparse yet dramatic style.

When I ask Amanpuri’s original general manager, Anthony Lark, to recall those early days, he too begins by saying that Zecha “really knew how to treat people. He spoiled an entire generation of travelers, and sparked the trend of understated elegance around the world.”

Though Lark left Amanpuri a decade ago to develop and run an ultra-private retreat called Trisara – perhaps Amanpuri’s only serious competition on Phuket – the two friends meet regularly and Zecha has been seen spotting a Trisara basebal cap around the island. For his part, Lark “still loves Aman with all my heart. I spent 10 years there learning from the best that our success and failure in this business depend on listening to the guests.” Lark says that Zecha “rewrote the book on the guest experience based on what he had learned at Regent from Bob Burns and George Raphael. “These two much-respected hoteliers brought services standards in Hong Kong to the level of London’s top properties in the 1980s before moving on to develop their own projects, most notably Burn’s Villa Feltrinelli on Italy’s Lake Garda.

“Zecha’s vision,” Lark says, “was to take the little personalized inns he had enjoyed around Bali and elevate the concept as a viable alternative to big corporate hotels. We personallu made sure everyone felt comfortable. We took responsibility for entertaining our guests, to help them experience the surrounding culture and environment. The only difference between being an Amanpuri guest and staying in my house was the bill presented at the end.”

Aman’s approach was to inspire any member of industry leaders in the years to come, including Isadore Sharp at Four Seasons, Sol Kerzner of One&Only Resorts, and, closer to home Bangkok-based Six Senses’ Sonu Shivdasani. But before the hand-carved doors had opened at either of Bali‘s luxurious Four Seasons outposts, Zecha was stealthily building his brand without advertising or a business plan. After Phuket he headed to Bali, where Amandari opened in 1989 among the rice fields of Ubud, followed by Amanusa and Amankila three years later, the latter bringing high-end tourism to the island’s eastern shores for the first time.

The rest, as they say, is history. By 1997 Secha has established two more properties in the archipelago of his birth – a luxury tented camp (one of Asia’s first) on the remote Indonesian island of Moyo, and a sumptous limestone retreat Amanjiwo in central Java, designed around sightline that draws fuests’ gaze toward the ancient temple of Borobudur. He had also taken over a secluded Philipine atoll in the Sulu Sea and built Amanpulo, which, 15 years on, remain the country’s premier hideaway.

Amanresorts then took its celebrated brand of Asian service and aesthetics outside the region, opening Amangani at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in the United States; Amanjena outside the Moroccan city of Marrakech; and two years ago Amanyara on the Caribbean island of Turks and Caicos. Amanresorts was also one of the first high-end hoteliers in Bhutan, where it now operates five lodges. A similar roll out was planned for Sri Lanka, home to two Amans, but has been put on hold due to the ongoing civil war.

Back in Phuket, Lark is reiniscing about the days when you could still count the number of Aman resorts on one hand. :Aman then was like the worst-kept secret,” ge recalls. “Adrian’s friend told their friends, and the word soon spread among a certain set who wanted privacy without pomp. Remember, this was at a time when the best these world travelers could find was a big, overly decorated suite in a hotel chain.”

He adds, “And the guest experience started from the staff experience, which meant management treating staff well and them treating each other with respect. Adrian used to say that it had to be Aman in the back of the house too.”

“What sets Aman apat is the guest experience. Other brand gives you only a hotel experience,” concurs Bill Dalton when we meet poolside at Amankila. The Bali-based landscape architect, which has been with the company since 1990, spends most of the year traveling around Asia to keep Aman resorts well manicured, giving him a unique perspective on the brand. But even had old hands like Dalton not been able to shed light on Aman’s unique, service-driven culture, my own experiences would have led to similar conclusions, once I got past ogling the architecture. At Amanwana on Indonesia’s Moyo Island, a longtime Aman employee named Chittima Sriudom insists I arise at tawn to have breakfast beside a waterfall, where I’m magically surrounded by amber dragonflies and turquoise butterflies. A few days later, a birthday cake awaits my arrival at Amanusa. Later still, I am treated to a selection of tasteful presents at Amanbagh, Ed Tuttle’s modern interpretation of a maharaja’s palace in Rajasthan. Sally Baughen, the general manager, personally arranges a sunrise yoga session for me that ends with a cup of masala chai and chocolate biscuits. I wrap up my travels convinced that single women looking to be spoiled should skip the dating scene and check into an Aman instead.

To learn more about how the company maintains its authentic, effortlessly casual style of service, I seek out Aman’s Indonesia country manager Monty Brown. An American who has worked for Amanresorts since the beginning, Brown needs only one word: “Sincerity. It’s the reason our staff turnover is less than 1 percent.” He admits it can be a challenge to convey the Aman philosophy between cultures, but says that by taking care of his team and instilling them with a sense of self-worth, the company has generally managed to overcome such hurdles.

When Brown jouned the company, Zecha told him that Amanresorts was “only going to have its niche for 10 to 15 years.” From his own perch at Bali’s Amanusa, which overlooks the construction of a soon-to-open St. Regis resort, Brown is well aware of the luxury-hotel sector. But he believes that staff training and attention to detail will keep Aman in the lead regardless of what upscale brands like St. Regis or Bvlgari introduce into marketplace. “The day we become smug is the day we lose our unique position. So while we continue to look for new amenities, we always come back to the basics, to knowing Mr. So-and-So wants his salad without tomatoes.”

To illustrate his conviction that the smallest details create the most lasting impressions, Brown suggests I take part in the turtle conservation project that Amanusa sponsors. This turns out to be my most memorable Aman moment anywhere, and I e-mail my parents that night to describe the simple, childlike thrill: “They brought me five olive ridley turtles, three weeks old, and placed them in my cupped hands. I walked toward the water and released them into the sea. I wanted to take them all with me but felt a powerful sense of freedom as I let go of them into the waves. It was the nest birthday present I didn’t get to keep!”

Giving back on a grassroots level permeates Amanresorts today. The first on-the-ground report I read after the 2004 tsunami swept across Sri Lankan coast came from Amangalla’s Olivia Richli, who managed to describe the scene amid turning her hotel into a refugee camp for hundreds within hours of the waves receding. The heritage property in Galle Fort remained a food and fuel distribution canter for weeks after the tsunami and hosted the temporary headquarters of the British High Commission.

More recently, when I arrive at Amandari I find general manager Liv Gussing still flush with excitement over the previous day’s temple excursion with special-needs children from nearby orphanage. Gussing is pleased to hear me say that the 30-villa retreat looks as stunning as it did on my last visit, back in 1995. But she would rather talk about the resort’s eco-certification by Green Globe 21 – earned after an 18-month program to minimize Amandari’s impact on the environment and about the orphanage, which is supported by Amandari and its guests.

Gussing says that guests have been highly receptive to Aman’s community-welfare initiatives. “They give money and tome when they could be just lounging by the pool. I think people want to connect to the places they visit. Aman has always given then that opportunity, but more recently in ways that revolve around giving back.”

“Make the guest happy, then sort it,” is how Amanpuri assistant manager Antonio Saponara describes the secret of Aman’s success. I’m back at the original Aman on a steamy afternoon, staying in a hillside villa where the elegant interiors are judiciously sprinkled with Thai antiques. Newly installed rain showers and plasma TVs make the two-decade-old space surprisingly contemporary. I descend the imposing stone staircase to Amanpuri’s intimate beach club. where terry-cloth pillows and an extra layer of comfort to the already plush sun loungers. From there I watch the construction of a new Japanese-fusion restaurant, one of several additions in the works ahead of the resort’s anniversary celebrations. Then I wade into the Andaman Sea. Placid waters lire me farther and farther from shore until I am bobbing at a distance that provides an ample panorama of Amanpuri’s palm studded cove. By the time I swim back to the beach, my lounger has been shifted slightly to capture maximum sun, and a tall glass of ice water glistens alongside the lunch menu. This convinces me that the guys behind the bar have been taught mind reading along with the Aman philosophy.

Adrian Zecha, a former journalist himself, proves too elusive for this story. But at the Aman HQ in Singapore, I come across what surely would have been his answer had I been able to ask him why his company has succeeded over the past 20 years. It’s a transcript of a speech he gave at Amanresorts’ 10th anniversary, and one particular passage is worth quoting in full: “I would like to express my admiration for, and my heartfelt gratitude to, our staff. They number in many hundreds, and most of them have been with us from the beginning, as hotel managers, as chambermaids and drivers and guides, as cooks and cleaners and waiters and in so many other unseen, and invaluable, roles. In the end, they are Amanresorts.”

Written by Synthia Rosenfeld
Featured on DestinAsian February/March 2008

The Balinese use the catchall term adat (in fact a word with Arabic root) to describe their densely layered religio-cultural life. It means something like tradition, but better captures the sinuous, celebratory interplay between sacred and secular that is the island’s social motor. If Bali is a kaleidoscope, then Ubud is geographically and metaphorically its central prism – the much touted “artistic and cultural hub” where Art (capital intended) collides with craft and all manner of bohemians, eccentrics, autocrats, altruists, hippies, and creatives form a cosmopolitan patchwork that is little more stitched to local culture than in resort enclaves elsewhere in Bali.

But then Ubud is not really a resort enclave. The town itself is strewn prettily across an undulating landscape of valleys, ridges, and rolling hills. The main thoroughfare is a broad boulevard lined with market stalls, ornate buildings, and temples where accomplished dancers and gamelan orchestras perform for tourists each evening. Head west towards Campuhan and you approach not only one of the most beautiful parts of Ubud, but also the place of its origin. The official history (based on ancient Lontar manuscripts) states that when the mighty Hindu Empire of Majapahit succumbed to Islam at the turn of the 16th century, 2000 members of its cultural elite – artisans, priests, royalty – fled eastward to Bali.

A fertile valley at the confluence of two rivers – campuhan in Balinese – was deemed the perfect spot for settlement and Ubud’s course was wet. With the bohemian influx of the 20th century, key artists like Walter Spies, Rudolf Bonnet, and I Gusti Lempad guided the transition from art as a purely religious form into freer secular realm it occupies today.

Ubud’s artistic legacy is manifested in the numberless galleries to be found in its vicinity – from tiny home-in-the-walls, to grandiose museums like the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), which houses a stading exhibition of works by Balinese, Indonesian, and foreign artists. Irreverent sensualist Antonio Blanco’s paintings are housed in an ornate renaissance style palace in Campuhan – lascivious nudes jostling with ingenuous portrait of Bali’s people. Outside, cockatoos and toucans stand sentry.

Held each year in early October, the Ubud Writer’s Festival has grown into one f the foremost in the world attracting some of the world’s literally heavyweights including Booker Prize Winner Michael Ondaatje (2005) and Kiran Desai (2007) amongst a host of other wordsmiths.

Parallel to the artistic influx was that of tourism. With its cooler climate and artsy leanings, Ubud is the perfect foil to the humid southern resorts and its rolling, rainforest clad topography makes for some truly Jurassic locations. The Four Seasons is amongst the most spectacular, featuring an iconic spherical structure suspended like a flying saucer on the edge of a deep gully known as Sayan ridge, with suites fanning off on each side as well as private villas deep in the valley. Indeed Sayan is home to a host of villa resorts – the paradisiacal Begawan Giri spa resort, now owned by the Como Shambala Group, has long been a favorite with celebrities including Sting and Dona Karan; other notables include the high-end Amandari Boutique Resort favored by Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and Claudia Schiffer, owned by Aman Resorts, and not so far away the Alila and quirky Taman Bebek which mixes classical Balinese style with irreverent artsy elements.

Private villa rentals are fare less abundant than in the south, but there are some winners – Villa Vajra close to the village of Sebali is a beautiful property spilling down a steep hillside. The 5 bedrooms Villa Kirana in Sayan sets palatial pavilions with antique interiors in landscaped gardens overlooking the ridge. For the most part, new developments in the area have been confined to secluded – and often remarkable – private homes as opposed to the investment minded projects that exist in other parts of the island. Still, freehold land is abundantly available and often attractively priced so future resort development seems likely as other areas become saturated. Ubud’s character and reputation will play a part in mitigating a real estate gold rush however – the lifestyle is not suited to everyone, after all. Just as the club of Kuta and Seminyak are beginning to wind up, Ubud gently resonates the hum of cicadas as a village enforced midnight curfew kicks in.

There are nightspots of course – life music venues like Jazz Café and cafes like Deli Cat and Flava Lounge are popular. And the eating is excellent. Mozaic Restaurant in Campuhan is South East Asia’s only member of the revered Grand Tables Du Monde – chef Chris Salans turns out ever-evolving a la minute creations – his degustation menu comes highly recommended. Naughty Nuri’s restaurant is an Ubud institution – famed in equal part for its enormous rib racks and obfuscating martinis while just of Ubud’s main drag, a simple street side eatery named after its founder Ibu Oka serves some of the best Babi Guling (traditional Balinese roast suckling pig) on the island. And in the quaint jumbling of lanes, amongst the boutiques, yoga studios, galleries, and craft shops, you will find other quality cafes and restaurants like Batan Waru, Terazo, Ary’s Warung, Tutmak, and Lamak.

Ubud sustain a rich community life, with an emphasis on holistic, eco-friendly lifestyle. It has a well-stocked community library (where you can also learn gamelan), the Bali Spirit Center which focuses on yoga, meditation, and healing practices and of course a host of indulgent spas.

People do not go to Ubud for the nightlife – but then that is really the point. What with such a vibrant cultural, artistic, and community life during daylight hours, Ubud needs its rest.

Written by Rufus Johnston
Featured on HOT Property – Vol. 9 / 2008

Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of written on Bali’s press concerning the debate over a 5 km exclusion zone for Bali villas and tourism based properties around the Uluwatu temple. There seem to be two main conflicting parties, those that wish to enforce the zone and preserve the sanctity of Bali’s most iconic temple and those who feel it is a dastardly plot to prevent the owners from realizing financial security by selling their land.

It appears that the views are as varied as those interested parties involved, whether you ask the Maitre D at a well known restaurant, the local notary, a developer, agent, or villager from the area.

So what about the political element? Currently, would be Governors of Bali are on the hustings, making promises to would be supporters to garner as many votes as possible. It is rumored that several “interested” parties hold title to large swathes of land in the area. Within the political story are the legal elements that the opposing sides are clinging to: building a villa in Bali must comply with the land registration department and receive building permits (IMB) from the Bupati before construction can begin, therefore one might argue, those Bali villas built within the necessary permits can not be by definition “illegal”.

However, local press reports in Bali suggest the Council of Hindu Affairs (PHDI) is preparing expert witnesses and religious leaders to participate in a possible class action suit against Badung’s Bupati, A.A. Gde Agung, whose administration issued the permits and licenses for the private villas and resorts standing within the 5 km “no-build” zone around the temple.

Quoted in Nusa Bali daily, Badung’s Bupati A.A. Gde Agung said he is prepared to meet all legal challenges to his administration’s decision to grant permits and licenses for buildings and businesses within the 5 km radius of Pura Uluwatu. Saying he respects the legal process, Agung insisted that any permits issued by the Regency conformed to the zoning laws of 2005.

Badung Tourism Chief, I Made Subawa, who apparently condones the buildings, is calling for compromise; suggesting that steps short of demolition are possible. Subawa told the press that 5 km radius is divided into several sub-rings: 0-1 km; 1-2 km; and the final ring of between 2-5 km. Subawa claims that if the 5 km ring ruling is strictly enforced a large number of local Balinese will also end up having their properties demolished.

The debate has now moved on to who is empowered to enforce local building laws? While the Governor insists that “his” provincial rules outlawing building represents the supreme law, he also claims that enforcement is a mater to be handled wholly by the Badung Regency. With Badung officials reluctant to accept the view that they were wrong in issuing the original permits for the illegal buildings, they have little appetite to enforce provincial rules.

Looking at religious aspect, tempers are rising: In a public meeting between Chairman of the PHDI (Council of Hindu Afffairs), I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, and a member of Commission I of the Regional House of Representatives, Si Ketut Mandira Natha, Sudiana who heads Bali’s most prominent Hindu organization, declared the 5 km “no build” zone represented a “battle to the death” (“harga mati bagi kami”) issue for Hindu followers.

Sudiana said that if it is proven that the building and private villas violate existing rules they must be demolished. Sudiana warned that his flock would not allow themselves to be swept aside and would respond resolutely if calls for dialogue and accountability are ignored by Badung’s regional officials.

Similarly, local land owners demonstrated as reported in Radar Bali daily and Bali Post daily saying that some 150 people marched on Badung House of Representatives (DPRD) on Thursday, May 8, 2008, demanding changes be made to zoning rules to allow buildings within 5 km of Pura Uluwatu. The demonstrators, largely comprised of property owners with land within the 5 km radius, criticized the leaders of the PHDI, insisting that “purity” in Bali is not a mere matter of distance from a major temple.

The demonstrator carried posters and placards demanding justice; saying the current rules punished the people; and asked why the 5 km “no build” zone was also not being enforced in other areas near public temple in Bali, such as Tanah Lot, Pura Batur, Pura Besakih, and Pura Sakenan.

Land owners within the 5 km radius of Pura Uluwatu have complained bitterly that they hold certificates on land rendered largely useless due ti the “no build” rule while at the same time being compelled to pay high property taxes on these “non-productive” lands. Speaking off the record, villa owners in the area have voiced their concerns, feeling that through no fault of their own the have been caught up in a potentially frightening and financially damaging fight between religious groups and political affiliations.

Some local Balinese even claim that the debate is unfair, as it uses the religious aspect to pursue political ends, going as far as to say that any action to demolish these villas would be a retrospective law and would subsequently undermine the validity of any future laws. A well known agent operating in the area believes that “the whole issue will blow over” and that a compromise will be reached that satisfies all parties.

What is certain, is that for the time being the issue will not go away and perhaps has an even broader agenda to prevent the spiraling ad-hoc development on Bali without recourse to official planning and zoning permits.

Written by James Foskett
Featured on HOT Property – Vol. 9 / 2008