Communications

Bali is linked via satellite to all major countries in the world and to make domestic and international call can be made from any private house, business center, and hotel with an in-house phone system, or “wartel” (telecommunication counter). Pay phones can now be found virtually all over Bali-look for a three-meter-tall blue sign with a picture of a phone on its end and an arrow pointing down to the phone. Finding a working one with a phone directory could be difficult. (See Telecommunication Offices and Services in Bali).

Take note that in 1993 all phone numbers in southern Bali were changed to accommodate the demand for more phones. Nearly all numbers in this part of Bali now have six digits. In the Denpasar/Sanur area, this was achieved by adding a “2″ in front of the old number, but there have been some variations to this: Kuta numbers, for instance, added a “7.” All the changes have been made, and there are currently recorded messages in English and Indonesian for misdial numbers.

Local calls (Rp100 for three minutes) from public telephones are fairly easy to place, though it’s a hassle collecting the heavy Rp100 coins. There are two handy public telephones outside of Ngurah Rai Airport’s international terminal, which are normally in working order. The number for directory assistance is 108; use the Alpha-Bravo system in spelling out proper names. The number for the police all over Bali is 110 (like 911 in the U.S.A.). All operators speak at least rudimentary English.

If you’re in southern Bali, calls to Tabanan, Gianyar, Badung, Ubud, and Denpasar Regencies are considered local “city” calls, while calls to Bali’s more distant regencies like Karangasem, Singaraja, Buleleng, and Jembrana are considered long-distance (‘interlokal’).

Depending upon their size and class, hotel charge from Rp250 to Rp3000 for local calls made from your room. From 0600 to 0900, long-distance calls from hotels are usually Rp1000 for three minutes; from 0900 to 1400, business hours, Rp1750 for three minutes; from 1400 to 2000, Rp1000 for three minutes; and from 2000 to 0600 a 50% discount (Rp500) applies.

But the rate is arbitrary; hotels could charge you anywhere from Rp1000 to Rp5000 for each long-distance call. For example, an ‘interlokal’ call made from the Kartika Plaza Hotel in Kuta to Singaraja costs Rp4700 for three minutes, and a call made from Candidasa’s Puri Bagus to Legian is Rp3000. The Booklet “International Direct Dialing and Other Telephone Charges” found near the phone in hotel rooms, gives a breakdown of the hotel’s rates.

For calls outside of Bali to other cities in Indonesia, dial long distance by first dialing the city code number, for example, Malang 0341, Banda Aceh 0851, then the local number. The archipelago is divided into five zones, and calls are priced according to zone. The rate ranges from Rp4000 to Rp12,000 per minute.

If you’re doing a lot of calling, an Indonesian telephone credit card, or ‘kartu telpon’, can be bought in Denpasar’s supermarkets as well as at many hotels. Look for the sign ‘Kartu Telpon Dijual Disini’. These very convenient cards can be used all over Indonesia at telephones that accept them-in hotel lobbies, train stations, and airports. You choose how many units you want-140 units is Rp11,000, 500 units is Rp30,000. A call to Amsterdam is 140 units. Keep your card away from magnetic fields.

International Telecommunications
International calls are handled by Indosat, a state-owned enterprise that uses an international satellite and microwave system linked with 127 countries. Since the early ’90s, Bali has experienced an explosion in sophisticated communications technology, which has brought the world much closer. Nowadays Balinese aren’t as likely to gather in the ‘bale banjar’; they’ll just call up their friends and chat. Now if your phone doesn’t work and you call the Telephone Company, somebody actually comes to fix it. Sound quality has improved considerably, too.

Presently foreign visitors may avail themselves of a wide network of ‘Warung Telekomunikasi’ (‘Wartel’), or privately owned telephone offices, some technically more together than others. Sometimes only two of four booths operate properly, and out of 45 minutes spent in one, six of eight Westerners trying to make calls may have initial difficulties. Though the person in charge may repeatedly ask if you want to cancel, it pays to persevere.

For International Direct Dialing (IDD), do it from your hotel room or go to one of Bali’s many ‘Wartel’. Dial the country code (U.S. 01, Australia 61, etc.), then the area code and the local number. You’ll be charged according to the country zone you dial. To get AT&T service on a call to the U.S.A., dial first the access code 0080110, then give your telephone credit card number, then the telephone number you want. When you get back home, the charge will appear on your telephone bill.

Although it’s a thrill dialing direct in minutes to a friend in New York from your Nusa Dua hotel room overlooking the pool, hotels routinely levy preposterous surcharges for in-room international calls-as much as Rp35,000 for a three minute call. It’ll cost US$2.50 for the calling card service charge, plus US$4.07 for the first minute, then US$1.63 for each additional minute. In other words, a 15 minute call to New York will cost around US$26.89 (14 x 1.63 + 4.07 = 26.89). Calls to the U.K. can be made for Rp31,000 for three minutes.

Instead, take a ‘bemo’ to the nearest ‘Wartel’, some open 24 hours a day seven days a week. There’s a ‘Wartel’ within five minutes walk from the Ngurah Rai Airport’s domestic terminal building, going toward the road where you get ‘bemo’ to Kuta. In Kuta, a ‘Wartel’, open til 2100, is on Jl. Bakung Sari on the top floor of a two-story building, which also has a Korean restaurant on the top floor. This office is about 10-minute’s walk from the corner of Jl. Ngurah Rai.

Other High-Tech Services
In Ubud, a ‘Wartel’ is on the main road between the ‘pasar’ and the ‘Kantor Pos’, open until 2000. Another is near Nomad’s Restaurant. There’s also an office in Padangbai, open until 2000, and a 24-hour, seven days a week ‘Wartel’ in Amlapura. ‘Bemo’ going into Amlapura drive past it on the way to the ‘pasar’/terminal, but not on leaving the town.

Collect (reverse-charge) calls are only accepted now between Indonesia and Europe, America, and Australia. Remember it’s at least 10% cheaper to dial direct than to have an operator assist you. Person-to-person calls are almost twice as expensive as station-to-station calls, with reduced rates on Sunday. The collect call fee for a long-distance call is Rp2500, and the cancellation fee is Rp1000.

Home Country Direct is a service whereby you merely lift the receiver on a special phone, press a button next to the country you want to dial (20 different countries participating), and speak directly to an operator in your home country. One phone is outside the airport’s international terminal, others are found in Kuta, Ubud, and in Sanur’s Bali Beach Hotel. It’s marvelous to be able to talk to a U.S., British, or German operator, give her your credit card number, and be connected in 30 seconds.

Shops offering photocopies at Rp 50 per copy are found in Denpasar, Kuta, Sanur, Ubud, Singaraja, Lovina, and Candidasa. Telegrams can be sent from Bali’s ‘kantor telekomunikasi’ (telephone offices) run by the government’s telephone system monopoly, ‘Permuntel’. Fax machines are available in major hotels, which boast “business centers” like the Kartika Plaza in Kuta and the Bali Hyatt in Sanur. ‘Wartel’ centers also send faxes for Rp10,000 or receive faxes for Rp1000. Computers are popping up everywhere in Bali now. Your hotel may offer computer connected services.

Postal

Incoming Mail
Most travelers use the poste restante service to pick up mail in Bali. Since Bali’s main post office is inconveniently located on Jl. Raya Puputan (open Mon.-Sat. 0800-2000, closed Sunday, tel. 62361-223.565/568) in the administrative district of Denpasar (Renon), have your mail sent to any of the island’s branch post offices. In Sanur, one is located in Banjar Taman, in Singaraja on Jl. Gajah Mada. (See Post Offices in Bali).

Ida’s Postal Agent on Jl. Legian in Kuta, tel. 62361-751.574, sells stamps, postcards, phrasebooks, aerograms, stationery, and offers postal service, registered post, and free poste restante. Just show your ID, that’s all. Less convenient is Kuta’s main post office at Jl. Raya Tuban. The poste restante at Ubud’s post office (Jl. Jembawan 1) is a free-for-all and none too reliable. Letters can go astray. Have letters sent to a hotel if you can.

Since letters are frequently missorted (such as under “P” when they should be under “B”), all mail should be addressed to you with your last name in caps and underlined, using only your first and middle initials. You might be able to locate a missorted letter under your first name. Tell people back home to put your name first, then poste restante, ‘Kantor Pos’, the town name, Regency name, Bali, and lastly Republik Indonesia. A fee of Rp50 is charged to pick up a letter at any of Bali’s poste restante windows.

Sending Letters
In the post office, go to the window with a scale first; your letter has to be weighed and given a stamp value. Sometimes you then have to take it to another window for stamps. Go up to the clump of people and push your letter as far as possible through the barred window to gain the attention of the postal clerk. Then try to squeeze your money into some gap between all the other hands. These are acceptable manners at Indonesian post offices.

The glue on Indonesian stamps is weak. After getting stamps, take them over to the glue stands and reglue them. Stamps can also be purchased at shops selling postcards, and most of the larger hotels sell stamps and collect letters for mailing, as well as handle faxes.

For international mail, always use the express service (‘kilat’), which takes only five to seven days to the Americas, Europe, or Australia. Airmail costs for postcards are Rp1000 to the U.S., Rp800 to Europe, and Rp800 to Australia. An airmail letter costs Rp1550 to the U.S., but handy and fast aerograms are only Rp750.

Bring strong envelopes with you to Bali to make sure your exposed film or letter arrives safely. Register anything of value. The charge for registering a letter (‘surat tercatat’) is about equal to postage, but the chances will greatly improve-though not be guaranteed-that your letter will reach its destination. Letters bound for overseas or domestic delivery may be registered at any post office branch.

Shipping Arts and Crafts
Art shops will usually wrap your purchases in layers of newspaper, binding the whole in plastic twine with a convenient carrying handle, an arrangement that would never withstand the rigors of surface post. To better protect your wares for shipping overseas, the best padding is foam carpet backing available from carpet stores. Also look for sturdy bamboo or rattan baskets from Sukawati, which run Rp3000-5000 for large ones. Found in dozens of shapes and sizes, these baskets have lids and hold up to 10 (the limit for overseas parcels) tightly packed kilos. Their interlocking construction can withstand almost any kind of punishment except crushing or penetration by sharp objects. Fabrics are the most damage-proof craft to send back home.

Cheap colorful Chinese ‘tali’, plastic twine, is used to bind them. Some of the big art shops along the tourist corridor to Ubud ship bulky and heavy crafts-even some stone sculpture-by surface post.

Shipping Companies
Bali has specialized air express companies at Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Sanur, and Ngurah Rai International Airport, so if you’re buying crafts in the Outer Islands wait until you get to Bali to air or sea freight them. Some companies are more competent than others, and different companies can charge wildly varying prices. Look around and query every exporter you meet. Dealers can’t be trusted to recommend reliable shippers as they invariably send you to their brother-in-laws (nepotism is rampant in Bali). In any case, be patient. Don’t be surprised if it takes longer than they promised. The shipper will tell you what you want to hear. (See Courier, Airfreight and Cargo Companies in Bali).

These companies take care of everything: domestic and international air cargo, freight forwarding, container and warehouse service, packing and surface shipping, insurance, customs clearance, DHL (door to door) worldwide express service, postal agent. Shipping is expensive, charging for one square meter a total of US$270, which includes US$35 for packing (crating), US$25 for documents, US$25 for handling, US$20 for transport. Everything is trucked overland first to Surabaya. A 20-cubic-foot container costs US$2000-3000 to ship anywhere in the world.

If you pack it yourself, you might get the price down. Also, check on the “unaccompanied baggage” rates on your flight home, which may be cheaper than airfreight. Some airlines only allow you 20 kg of “free” luggage. Garuda usually won’t let you check in more than two large pieces of luggage; for a third piece you’ll be charged. For example, it costs US$110 for an extra bag from Denpasar to Los Angeles. Have them paste “fragile” stickers on any parcels containing breakables.

Several good shippers in Ubud: CV. Ary’s Jasa Wisata (Ary’s tourist Service Center), Jl. Raya Ubud 80571 (tel. 62361-975.162/-975.523, fax 975.162); PT Bali Purnama Cargo, Jl. Jembawan (tel. 62361-975.033), near the post office. Quality problems? PT Bali Surya Agung Cargo & Buying Agents (tel. 62361-975.547, fax 974.361) can help you find it, buy it, get the right quality, and get it shipped. Wir sprechen Deutsch.

Other cargo agents: C.V. Bali Great, Jl. Raya Kuta 93, Kuta (tel. 62361-755.649, fax 756.761); Alpha Sigma CV, Jl. Raya Imam Bonjol 98, Denpasar 80361 (tel. 62361-227.768 or 227.760); Bali Delta Express CV, Jl. Kartini 58, Denpasar 80112 (tel. 62361-223.340 or 224430); Bali International Cargo CV, Jl. Raya Sanur 2, Sanur (tel. 62361-288.563).

PT Bayu Pesona Cargo, Tegehe, Batubulan, Gianyar (tel./fax 62361-298.067), just up the road from the ‘bemo’ terminal, offers worldwide packing and shipping service by air, sea, or land, international air and sea freight, domestic door-to-door service, household and office moving, and exhibition freight forwarding. Prices are very competitive.

Also receiving good reports for reliability are PT Golden Bali Express, Jl. Hayam Wuruk 162 A, Denpasar (tel. 62361-238.174, fax 235303), with branch offices in Kuta (tel. 62361-751.771) and at the airport (tel. 62361-751.011, ext. 4114); and PT Orient Pacific Express, Jl. Diponegoro 155, Denpasar (tel. 62361-234.791, fax 234.366). Aero Sea Cargo, Jl. Dhyana Pura 2, Seminyak (tel. 62361-753.531) offers two safe ways of packing. Their hanging system, with each item hung on a frame before going into the container, is the best way to pack ready-to-wear garments. Their card-box system is suitable for more durable goods like furniture and garments.

UPS, Jl. Raya Sesetan 118, Denpasar (tel. 62361-232.720) offers package and document delivery with electronic tracking capability to over 180 countries. Rates: 15 kg to San Francisco costs US$312, five kg to San Francisco US$170, 15 kg to Copenhagen US$356, five kg to Copenhagen US$195, letter to New Zealand US$20, letter to Frankfurt US$24, letter to Sydney US$26.

Another nifty service is VIP-”Very Important Package”-offering same-day door-to-door service or overnight door-to-door services anywhere in Indonesia. You can easily check the location and status of your package anytime. VIP will pick up your package until 1900, or you can drop it off at their office at Jl. Diponegoro 196 (tel. 62361-240.033/-231.329/-756.879, fax 231.329) until 2200.

Paket post
Sea-mail or surface post (‘paket pos’) is the cheapest way of all to send goods home. It will cost you a trip into Denpasar, two hours of your time, and average out to about US$3 per kilo. The most efficient ‘paket pos’ (parcel post) office is in Denpasar where overseas-bound packages may be posted, insured, and registered. Customs inspectors will open the parcel to make sure you’re not smuggling out antiquities, so don’t bother sealing it up.

Packers will be on hand to package your goods securely for Rp5000-6000. Get there as soon as it opens at 0800 because the postal inspectors, who must inspect every parcel, may go home at 1300.

Sample sea-mail rates from Bali to U.S.: up to one kg, Rp7250; over one kg but less than three, Rp12,350; over three kg but less than five, Rp17,550; over five kg but less than 10, Rp28,900. To Europe: up to one kg, Rp8000; over one kg but less than three, Rp10,250; over three kg but less than five, Rp13,050; over five kg but less than 10, Rp17,750.

When sending packages, always max out your parcel to 10 kg because you’re paying for the five- to 10-kg rate anyway. Likewise, on the three- to five-kg rate, max out to five kilos. In case of loss or damage, put your name and address on a slip of paper inside the parcel as well as outside. International sea-mail can take up to six months, but it usually takes six to eight weeks.

If you have a lot to send back, try surface instead of a more expensive shipping company. The postal agent on Jl. Legian on Kuta offers parcel service with the same rates as official government rates, but they charge Rp10,000-15,000 for packaging. Kuta’s main post office does not have ‘paket pos’ service for parcels over one kilo.

Internet Access

Internet Access from Bali
We recommend you to bring your own computer with you if you wish to access the Internet from your hotel room. But there is also an increasing number of commercial service offices and Cyber Cafes in all parts of Bali, which provide hardware, software and connections for visitors to access the Internet.

Nowadays, all rooms in better hotels throughout Bali have direct IDD telephone lines. Therefore, it is usually no problem to dial up your home service provider at any time.

Long distance telephone charges from Indonesia are 8,300 Rupiah per minute to North America and Australia/New Zealand, 10,700 Rupiah to Europe, and between 525 and 2,100 Rupiah (depending on the time) per minute to Jakarta, and most hotels add a surcharge of 200% or more. Local calls cost Rupiah 180 per minute and most hotels charge 1,000 Rupiah.

Local Internet Access
Several Indonesian service providers maintain local telephone access numbers in Bali. However, it is difficult for non-residents to open their own account. One reason is that the Indonesian ISPs are not interested in having clients for only one or two weeks, others are that their customer service staff does hardly speak any English, and all documentation including system configuration details is written in Bahasa Indonesia only.

Since 1999 TELKOM is also offering ‘FREE’ Internet access without any registration or contract. TELKOM will charge your Internet access through your telephone billing. Just dial 209-12345, key in the user name “telkomnet@instan” and the password “telkom”, and you are connected. For further information call 162 or 241-162.

News, Travel and Entertainment Media

Television and Radio
Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) is a government-operated nationwide TV network which covers most of Indonesia via domestic satellite and microwave stations (Bali’s microwave is on the Bukit Peninsula). Television broadcasts six hours daily.

Programming consists of pro-government Indonesian-language local and national news, educational and religious programs, sports and special events, Indonesian music and dramas, nationalistic documentaries and reports, and about one and a half hours of English-language cartoons and old syndicated American re-runs. Don’t miss the English-language news broadcast-with a Balinese perspective-each day at 19.30, Balivision.

Since 1991, Bali has had a second television channel, Surya Cipta Televisi (SCTV), which formerly was broadcast only in Surabaya (East Java) and Bandung (West Java). SCTV broadcasts news and current affairs from overseas, western films and serials such as Spencer for Hire, popular sports such as Italian and English League Soccer, and music programs like American Top-10. As many of its programs are in English, SCTV also appeals to tourists. Since more or less 5 years ago Bali had 3 other channel, RCTI, Indosiar and Anteve, which broadcast news and entertainment.

Despite the fact that transnational television networks may officially air their programs in Indonesia, the CNN signal is scrambled now as a result of government censorship. Only those who can afford the decoder and exorbitant cable rates can get it. These include the international-standard “starred” hotels of Bali.

Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) still keeps much of the population informed and entertained. RRI broadcasts news and commentary in English about an hour each day (early morning and evening) and contemporary Indonesian pop music. Besides the government radio station, there are local commercial stations in Denpasar, including a great “soft and easy” FM station (at 89.7 Mhz) with a “Flashback to the 60s” program, “American Top 40″ (Sunday 0400-0700) hosted by American DJ Shadoe Stevens, a classics hour with Beethoven’s “Emperior’s Concerto,” a jazz hour with Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and company, and a “Bali in a Week” cultural program (Sunday 0900-1000)-they do it all.

Libraries
Pusat Dokumentasi Kebudayaan Bali (PUSDOK), on Jl. Ir. Juanda (tel. 62361-228.593) near the Governor’s office in Renon, Denpasar, collects and preserves documentation in any form that concerns Bali and the Balinese. The Gedong Kirtya in Singaraja is incorporated within the Pusat Dokumentasi. Their collection of thousands of ‘lontar’, transcriptions of ‘lontar’, and books is especially valuable. A printed bibliography is available, but no card catalog.

The Mitchell Library in Sydney, Australia, has one of the world’s largest collections of books on Indonesia, while Melbourne (Australia) has The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Monash University. The library at Australian National University, GPO Box 4, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia (fax 06-249-0734), actively acquires material on or about Indonesia and Bali.

The Wason Collection of the Olin Library (Room 107) on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, U.S.A., is the finest and largest library of Indonesiana in the world. Cornell University also publishes studies, bibliographies, and dictionaries. Their Indonesia magazine is an outstanding journal for scholars of Indonesian culture and history with at least one article in every issue devoted to Bali. Write Southeast Asia Program Publications, Distribution Office, Cornell University, East Hill Plaza, Ithaca, NY 14850, tel. (607) 255-8038.

In the Netherlands, the Koninklijk Instituut Voor de Tropen (Royal Tropical Institute), 63 Mauritskade, 1092 AD Amsterdam (tel. 20-5688-711, fax 20-6654-423), has a very fine and very large collection of books and old photos on Indonesia and Bali. Another huge, famous prewar collection of books and periodicals on Indonesia and Bali is housed at the University of Leiden (Witte Singel) in the Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde (KITLV).

Newspapers and Magazines
The Bali Post is a daily newspaper with more than 20,000 circulation. It features columns about Balinese culture and schedules of events happening all over the island. If you can read Indonesian, Bali’s oldest existing newspaper is an excellent source of information covering local happenings in literally hundreds of isolated hamlets. Since it relies on amateur news-gatherers in the villages themselves, the lead stories have a charming local flavor: reports on village awards, competitions, personalities, and enterprises. The Bali Post is also an interpreter of the ongoing dialogue between tourists and the Balinese. Buy it at any bookstore and in the gift shops and news agencies of the big hotels. It used to have a one- or two-page “English Corner,” but this was eliminated in 1994.

Bali Echo Visitor’s Guide, published six times yearly by PT Wijaya Grandmedia (Jl. Hayam Wuruk 173, Denpasar, tel. 62361-228.333/-228.888, fax 228.888), is a slick, very readable, tourist-oriented magazine for sale in hotels, bookstores, and restaurants for Rp5000. It contains the latest “in” spots, restaurants, ex-pat events; its articles are well written, opinionated, and practical. Even the infomercials and ads-aimed mostly to upscale visitors-are informative and useful.

English-language dailies published in Jakarta include The Indonesian Times (morning), The Indonesian Observer (afternoon), the Jakarta Post, and the English-language Surabaya Post (published in East Java). All are available on Bali, cost around Rp600, have limited, one-sided world coverage, and contain occasional articles on Bali. Newsstands at the large hotels sell overseas editions of the Asian Wall Street Journal, London Times, Bangkok Post, Singapore’s Straits Times, and Time and Newsweek magazines (Rp5000). Tragia Supermarket in Galleria Nusa Dua is a great place to pick up foreign newspapers and magazines.

The best daily newspaper for bringing international news from the leading news organizations, with regular business, financial, and sports features, is the International Herald Tribune available in the tourist centers of Bali for Rp4500. For a 12-month subscription (Rp843,150) delivered to your address on Bali, write NV Indoprom Co. Ltd., Arthaloka Bldg., Ground Floor, Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Jakarta Pusat (tel. 6221-809.1928, fax 6221-809.2679).

Specialty Publications
Specialized magazines for the business community are the weeklies Review Indonesia and Asiaweek. Both magazines are excellent sources of the latest news highlights from Indonesia, with an emphasis on the economy, and both are available for around Rp5000 from newsstands in the metropolitan and tourist areas of Indonesia.

If you’re looking for a job or want to rent or sell your house or land, one of the best advertising vehicles is Bali Advertiser, Jl. Tanjung Mekar 28 D, Kuta (tel./fax 62361-755.392). Distributed in Kuta-Legian, Denpasar, Nusa Dua, Sanur, Ubud, Lovina, and Candidasa, they publish personal ads and notices for all clubs, groups, and other nonprofit organizations free. For commercial ads brought into their office a 25% discount and faster service is offered.

Bali Pathfinder is a walking guide and map for sale for Rp10,000 in hotels and newsstands, particularly around the Ubud area. The guiding philosophy of this 166-page booklet is that tourists should be treated like guests in the hopes that they’ll act like guests. A new feature of the booklet is vouchers, which can be redeemed at photo shops, restaurants, and swimming pools (Rp1000 instead of Rp2500), so you can quickly recoup its purchase price in savings.

Inside Indonesia is a hard-hitting, incisive, illustrated, independent magazine published in Australia containing brilliant insights into Indonesian politics, lifestyles, culture, new technologies, environment, foreign policy, human rights, dissent, and the business community, as well as book reviews and listings of new resources. Equally valuable to the traveler and to the scholar, Inside Indonesia monitors Indonesia’s political landscape like no other publication. Every issue has at least two stories about Bali, usually addressing the powerful impact of tourism on the island. For a subscription (28 issues for AUS$50 in Australia, AUS$78 overseas), write Box 190, Northcote, Victoria 3070, Australia, tel. (03) 481-1581, fax 416-2746.

An extremely informative periodical for Balinists, scholars, and artists is the Bali Arts & Culture News edited by the renowned scholar Fredrik E. DeBoer. This newsletter is aimed at facilitating the free flow of news and information among those interested in the arts and culture of Bali. Though a subscription is free (write to BACN, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06457 U.S.A., tel. 203-347-3417, fax 343-3965), those receiving it are expected to report news of interest to readers from time to time or else contribute toward the cost of postage and handling. For those with access to the Internet, the address is fdeboer@eagle.wesleyan.edu.

John MacDougall is the publisher of Indonesia Publications, which sponsors a number of periodicals such as the Indonesia News Service, which digests current news stories about Indonesia and Bali from leading magazines and newspapers. Subscriptions to this 12-page bulletin, issued four times a year, cost US$6 in the U.S., US$9 in Europe, and US$10 in Asia and Africa. John is also the publisher of Antara Kita, the quarterly official English-language bulletin of the Indonesian Studies Committee of the Association for Asian Studies. The subscription is US$6 surface in the U.S.A. and Canada, US$8 elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere, US$9 in Europe, and US$10 in Asia. E-mail subscriptions are available for US$5, anywhere. Address: 7538 Newberry Lane, Lanham-Seabrook, MD 20706, tel. (301) 552-3251, fax 552-4465, e-mail apakabar@access.digex.net.

American Gamelan Institute, Box 1052, Lebanon, NH 03766 U.S.A. (tel./fax 603-448-8837), produces cassettes and CDs of Balinese music. Their “Bali Cassette Collection” is an essential survey for teachers, students, and enthusiasts, representing many major styles of Balinese music. Ten cassettes: US$75. They also publish the periodical Balungan on Indonesian performing arts and their international counterparts for US$15 for two issues, US$20 for overseas, US$30 for institutions. Vol. 4, No. 2 is a special issue on Bali: US$7.50.

Leading Book and Guidebook Publishers
Refer to the back-matter for a definitive reading list of books on Bali. One of the most prolific and inspired publishers of books on the society, culture, art, ancient history, language, and natural history of the whole Malay Archipelago is Periplus Editions, 1655 Scenic Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709, tel. (510) 540-0146, fax 540-1057. Distributed in the U.S. by PassportBooks/NTC, 4255 W. Tougy Ave., Lincolnwood (Chicago), IL 60646. Their Singapore office is at Periplus Pte Ltd, Farrer Road, P.O. Box 115, Singapore 9128. Periplus has published a number of excellent reference books on or about Bali.

The most active publisher of both reprints and new titles on Indonesia is Oxford University Press (Walton St., Oxford OX2 6DP, London, England; their American office is at 16-00 Pollitt Dr., Fair Lawn, NJ 07410 U.S.A.). OUP carries at least 40 titles on Indonesia in its famous, well-written, and attractive “Oxford in Asia” series.

Of a more scholarly persuasion are the publications of the Cornell Modern Indonesia Project (102 West Ave., Ithaca, NY 14850). Ask for a complete list of publications. Another estimable publishing house occasionally publishing books on Bali is the University of Hawaii Press (2840 Kolowalu St., Honolulu, HI 96822).

E.J. Brill (Postbus 9000, 2300 PA Leiden, the Netherlands, Holland, tel. 071-312624) publishes Dutch-, English-, German-, and French-language reprints of old out-of-print classics on Indonesia and Bali.

The KITLV Press, Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology, Reuvensplaats 2, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands (tel. 071-27-23-72, fax 31-71-27-26-38), also publishes some intriguing titles on Bali. Ask for a copy of their latest catalog.

AMS Press, Inc. (56 East 13th St., New York, NY 10003) publishes a fascinating selection of reprints of arcane classics on Indonesia and Bali. Ask for their Southeast Asia mail-order catalog. In Australia, a publisher to keep your eye on for material on or about Bali is Allen & Unwin, P.O. Box 8500, St. Leonards, New South Wales 2065, tel. (02) 901-4088, fax 906-2218.

The Instituut Indoneisische Cursussen (Rappenburg 8-10, 2311 EV Leiden, The Netherlands) has issued a catalog of interest to readers interested in purchasing books relating to Bali. Antiquarian Booksellers Gemilang, P.O. Box 47, 1120 AA Landsmeer, The Netherlands, and Tamarind Books, P.O. Box 49217, Greensboro, NC 27419, U.S.A. (tel. 910-852-1905, fax 852-0750), also sell many items of interest to Balinists in English, Dutch, and Indonesian in their mail-order catalog.

Bookstores
On the road in Asia you’ll always meet people with books to trade, so bring some of your best paperbacks and hard-to-get magazines for trading. On Bali, prices for imported books, paperbacks, and magazines are high. Kuta Beach Road and Jl. Legian in Kuta, as well as Jl. D. Tamblingan in Sanur, have some of the island’s best new and used bookstores where you’ll find ample reading material.

Denpasar’s supermarkets are the best place to buy new foreign-language publications on Bali. Probably the best selection of new books is in Gramedia Bookstore in the basement of the Matahari Shopping Center, and Gunung Agung Bookstore in Libi. Hotel bookshops also have newsstands with surprisingly good selections. Prices are high: Wildlife of Indonesia, by Elizabeth MacKinnon, published in Indonesia, costs Rp84,500.

Many small hotels have an informal policy allowing guests to take a book if they donate a book to the hotel library, and non-guests may take a book if they donate two books. In non-hotel bookshops along Jl. Legian, most of what’s available are used, dog-eared paperbacks. The cheapest, which could be five years old, run about US$1; most are about US$1.50-2, but some cost up to Rp7000-8000. However, the system does work for the buyer to some degree. Once the book is finished, it can be returned and half the purchase price either returned or deducted from the cost of the next book.

In Singapore, Select Books Pte. Ltd., 19 Tanglin Rd. No. 03-15, Tanglin Shopping Centre, third floor, Singapore 1024 (tel. 65-732-1515, fax 736-0855), is a bookseller, library supplier, distributor, and publisher with one of the world’s largest retail selections of books on Southeast Asia currently in print. They always have books on Bali.

Also in Singapore, the huge Toppan Bookstore in the Orchard Plaza Shopping Center on Orchard Road, and MPH Bookstore at 71-77 Stanford Rd. both have very respectable Indonesian collections as well. These big Singaporean chain bookstores may very well have a wider selection of books on Indonesia than many bookshops in Indonesia itself.

Ge Nabrink Antiquarian Booksellers, Korte Korsjespoortsteeg 8, 1012 TC Amsterdam, The Netherlands (tel. 020-622-3058, fax 31-20-62457), has a huge stock of 100,000 used books, pamphlets, wonderful old b/w prints, photographs, and folios on Indonesia and Bali on four floors near the center of Amsterdam. This Indonesian store is divided into different categories, such as scientific, literary, and anthropology. Prices and quality are high.

Recommended Readings:

Bali Handbook
By Bill Dalton, very detailed and well-researched information for everybody seriously interested in Bali, its people, and all things Balinese. However, not much help for those looking for fine dining or luxury accommodation. Second edition revised in 1997.

Knopf Guide Bali
Beautiful layout of photography and artworks complement short essays on everything from detailed explanations of complex Hindu ceremonies to food preparation. The information here is amazingly accurate, and well presented with cross-references to basic tourist information.

Bali, Island of the Gods, Periplus Editions
In our opinion the best all-round guide with up-to-date information, detailed maps, and beautiful photographs. New edition expected in August 1999.

Insight Guide Bali
16th edition (March 1999) of this popular coffee table book with many beautiful photographs.

Lonely Planet Guide Bali & Lombok
By Paul Greenway, James Lyon and Tony Wheeler, 7th edition (February 1999) of this popular guide for the budget traveler.

East of Bali: From Lombok to Timor
By Kal Muller (photographs) and David Pickell

Passport Books
Covering most islands between Bali and Australia.

Fodor’s Indonesia (1999)
By Laura M. Kidder, covering the whole Indonesian archipelago Fodor style.

Island of Bali
By Miguel Covarrubias, an introduction to the traditional Balinese culture written in the 1930′s by this Mexican painter. A Classic and a Must for serious readers.

Bali: Sekala and Niskala I
By Fred B. Eiseman, essays on religion, ritual and art. A great guide to the elaborate rituals of the Balinese, written by an American scholar who clearly loves this island.

Bali: Sekala and Niskala II
By Fred B. Eiseman, essays on society, tradition, and craft. Detailed descriptions of every aspect of daily life in Bali, from morning offerings to mask making.

Bali: a Paradise
By Adrian Vickers, over three centuries the West has created the exotic image of a tropical paradise, which even has been taken over by the Balinese themselves. This book provides insight in the history full of violence and magic, art and ritual, warring kingdoms, slavery, mass suicides, and colonization.

Bali: the Ultimate Island
By Leonard Lueras and Ian Lloyd, the “ultimate coffee table book” on the “Ultimate Island”.

Bali Style
By Barbara Walker and Rio Helmi, photographs and descriptions of some of the most beautiful private residences in Bali.

The Food of Bali
By Heinz von Holzen, introduction to Balinese food – followed by photographs and recipes of many local delicacies.

Diving and Snorkeling Guide to Bali and the Komodo Region
By Tim Rock, the name says it all.

Diving Indonesia: a Guide to the World’s Greatest Diving
By (photographer and Indonesia expert) Kal Muller, published in June 1999 with great photographs.

Fielding’s Surfing Indonesia
By Leonard Lueras, Lorca Lueras and Kathy Knoles (editor), in-depth guide to boarding on the world’s largest archipelago.

Indo Surf & Lingo
By Peter Neely, 20th edition (September 1998). Describes all of Indonesia’s sensational surf spots in detail including Bali’s 27 incredible breaks. With photos, maps and insider info.

Film
Ring of Fire documents an extraordinary 10-year voyage of two British filmmakers, brothers Lorne and Lawrence Blair. As much a spiritual travelogue as a harrowing physical journey, this avant-garde series is made up of four volumes, each an hour long. The volume called “East of Krakatoa” is about Bali and contains some mesmerizing footage on the Balinese ‘kris dance’.

The set is available for US$99.50 from Mystic Fire Video, Inc., 225 Lafayette St., Suite 1206, New York, NY 10012, tel. (800) 727-8433 (credit card orders). Total running time: 232 minutes. These videos describe a Bali of 25 years ago. They have also produced Lempad of Bali (color, 60 minutes, 1979, US$29.95), which portrays the great Balinese painter known throughout Europe for his remarkable religious and erotic art.

The paradise myth of Bali is exposed in the blistering Australian film Done Bali. While there have been many films which expound the Western image of Bali as an idyllic, creative, tropical holiday destination, this film looks behind the myth-to the island’s traumatic past and its current, fragile state as it moves into the future. Using rare archival film footage and interviews with locals, anthropologists, historians, business leaders, and academics, Done Bali examines a range of social and historical tragedies that have rocked the island “paradise” and her inhabitants. For more information, contact SBS, tel. (02) 430-3783.

Mitra Tourism Development Division, Jl. Ciputat Raya 64, Pondok Pinang, Jakarta 12310, tel. 6221-769.6004, produces videos on such popular tourist performances and attractions as “Bali,” “The Topeng,” “The Kecak,” “The Barong & Kris Dance,” “Drama Gong,” “The Bedugul Tour,” “The Besakih Tour,” “The Legong Dance,” and “The Baris and Rejang Dance.” Tapes sell at the Ngurah Airport for Rp50,000 a piece.

Documentary Educational Resources, 1001 Morse St., Watertown, MA 02172 U.S.A., sells films and videos on Bali such as films on the trance dances of the late Jero Tapakan. Write for their new price list.

Film on Indonesia, a catalog, has been compiled by Toby Alice Volkman; send US$5 (which includes shipping). Write to Yale Southeast Asia Studies, Yale University, P.O. Box 208206, New Haven, CT 06520-8206. This is a valuable, informative, and very readable resource for teachers and students of Indonesian studies, anthropology, and ethnographic film.

Anthropological film archives at universities in the States or in Australia may have copies of Margaret Mead’s Island of Bali; the strong, primitive feeling of this 1930s film no longer exists on Bali.

The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York has a very fine collection of books, manuscripts, and artifacts on Asian dance, including audio recordings of Javanese and Balinese dance masters, photos, and other documents provided by the Claire Holt Collection on Indonesian dance.

Music
Recordings of Balinese music have been made since 1928 when some 78s were produced by the Odeon and Beka companies from Europe. In the backmatter of the visually sumptuous large-format book Bali: The Ultimate Island by Lueras and Lloyd (1987) you’ll find an exhaustive discography and cassetography compiled by Andy Toth of postwar LP records and cassettes, as well as a Bali Filmography (1926-1986) compiled by John Darling.

The American Gamelan Institute (tel./fax 603-448-8837, Box 5036, Hanover, NH 03755) produces a journal as well as videos, cassettes, and CDs featuring Indonesian music. Recent productions include four CDs for US$50.

Trans Asian Press (Hoffmannlaan 641, 5011 VP Tilburg, The Netherlands, tel./fax 013-555994) is a multi-media company specializing in Southeast Asia with an accent on Indonesia; inquire about their delightful “Bali: Eternal Circle 1″ music tape. Their office in Indonesia is at Jl. H. Agus Salim 67 A, Yogyakarta, tel. 62274-74.876.

Consultants
MAP International (Box 56, Nusa Dua, Bali 80361) provides traditional dancers, both locally and abroad, for embassies or cultural events. They also help TV crews with permits, locations, and other similar needs. Contact the Entertainment Division, Box 63532, 2502 JM Den Haag, Netherlands, tel./fax 31-70-3694416.

Maps
The best-folded maps available of Bali are produced by Nelles Verlag GmbH, Schleibheimer Str. 371 b, D 80935 Munich 45, Germany, tel. (089) 351-5084 or 351-5085, fax 354-2544. This beautiful map features vivid color printing, topographic features in realistic relief, and major city plans in margin inserts. Widely available in bookstores with good travel sections in the U.S. for US$7.95, they’re cheaper in Indonesia (around Rp12,000). Periplus Editions (address above) also publishes a map to Bali.

Another high-quality folded map of Bali is put out by APA Maps (scale 1:180,000) and is available for Rp8000 at any well-stocked bookstore or gift shop on Bali. In the U.S. it’s distributed by Prentice-Hall, but you can buy it for US$6.95 at any travel bookstore or general bookstore with a good travel section. This beautiful map has color printing, topographic features in realistic relief, and major town plans-Denpasar, Sanur, Kuta, and Ubud-in close-up margin inserts, as well as a special map of southern Bali. The map is almost too detailed, with place-names labeled so small they are difficult to read.

Tourist offices in Bali sometimes stock maps of Indonesia and Bali, but you can’t always rely on their accuracy or up-to-dateness. Airline offices, travel agencies, and hotels display big wall maps-the best local area maps available. Small hotels frequently even publish their own maps so their guests won’t get lost and will also be able to find their way to the owner’s sister’s restaurant, prominently labeled on the map.

PT Pembina (Jl. Panjaitan 45, Jakarta, tel. 6221-813.886) publishes a regional map of Bali, complete with distance chart, found at most bookstores. The most extensive stock of Southeast Asia maps for sale in Australia are at Angus and Robertsons, 107 Elizabeth St., Melbourne; Sydney’s Angus and Robertsons on Pitt St.; Dymock’s on George St., Sydney.