Bali Vacation: Discover A Breathtaking Panorama Of Jatiluwih

Most people come to Bali to experience the marvelously rich culture heritage; some come for the beaches and the waves; some come for meeting and convention; others for pure relaxation. But if you are a nature lover don’t miss Jatiluwih, is a breathtaking panorama of genuine and fertile rice fields stretch from the foothills of Batukaru volcano to the south coast.

It is located at the western district of Tabanan. This western uplands of Batukaru are famed for magnificent landscapes. The view from the mountain village, Jatiluwih, takes in the whole of South Bali. Perched on a high terraced slope, Jatiluwih deserves its name, which means “Truly Marvelous”. A wonder of the world. It’s worth a venture.

You can initiate your trip in the morning leaving the hotel at 09.00. A.M. There are many ways to see Bali and each serves its own purpose well. Motorcycles are a pleasant (but extremely risky) way to see the countryside and cooler than ride in a car. Jeep and minivans are also available for hire – with or without a driver. It is advisable to settle the price with the driver before starting on a journey.

After passing the town of Tabanan the road takes you to the north through the villages of Wanasari, Jegu, Buruan and Wangaya Gede. On the route you will be amazed by the wonderful rural ambience; farmhouses, characteristically, a little shrine to place offerings dedicated to Dewi Sri the Goddess of rice, plowing, flocks of ducks that are brought to bathe and feed all day in the flooded paddies, and harvesting, that one pictures when remembering Bali. The cascading terraces of rice fields are the most striking features of the landscape.

If you see farmers are working the rice, planting or harvesting, and if you are interested in experience it, you can stop and joint them, you will be welcomed gladly. “Alo turis, alo turis!” followed by giggles is the standard greeting from children everywhere on Bali. Older people will be more sedate but their curious eyes will follow you, as will their more modest greeting of “mau kemana” (where are you going). Traveling in Bali can be exhilarating and getting off the beaten track can take you right to the heart of Balinese life, although you don’t have to stray far to feel it.

On the route at the village of Wanasari there is a butterflies park, you can stop and watch various kinds of colorful tropical butterflies. And then nearby the temple Pura Luhur is the holy spring of Air Panas, where hot water surges from the river bank. All strange, natural phenomena are believed to be frequented by spirits. Thus, Air Panas is graced by a small temple where people make their prayers with offerings.

The journey continues up the road until it dead ends at Pura Luhur Batukaru (2,278 m / 7,474 ft). Being one of Bali’s most venerated temples, every West Balinese temple has a shrine dedicated to it; it is isolated within its solitary clearing far above the populated farmlands. The dense rainforest of this upland would invite every adventurer to explore it. Wild orchids, healing herbs, fragrant spices and exotic trees could be discovered in this mystical heart and soul of this amazing island.

Then, the last destination (the goal of the journey) is the mountain village Jatiluwih, a breathtaking panorama of genuine and the most fertile terraces rice fields on the island. It is said as the granary of the whole Bali. Perched on a high terraced slope, Jatiluwih deserves its name, which means “Truly Marvelous”. The cascading terraces of rice fields are the most striking features of the landscape. Stretch from the foothill of Batukaru volcano to the south coast. The cool western uplands, overlooking half the island, offer magnificent views.

On the route to Jatiluwih you can observe many kinds of tropical vegetation; coffee, coconuts, cacaos, cloves, jack fruits, bananas, papayas, sirsaks, an extremely juicy fruit, rambutans, mangoes, durians the smelly fruit, etc. The western upland is the most interesting area to hike. If you love hiking (don’t forget your picnic basket). A true journey to the secret soul of Bali. But if you want to have your meals at a restaurant, continue your travel to the east till you arrive at Pacung, there is a good restaurant offers delicious buffet lunch – with its wonderful sight of terraces rice field and the sacred volcano Batukaru in the distance.

Waka Land Cruise a reputable company has been organizing a sacred adventure to the secret soul of Bali. Travel by legendary luxury Land Rover, on tiny country roads and tracks, through terraced rice fields and untouched rainforest to the real heart of Bali.

So keep in mind the beautiful Bali for your holiday, because it would be worth to venture there.

Thank you readers and have a nice day.

China's Tibet Price: The South China Sea

 by Dezan Shira

 The fallout from the recently held ASEAN summit in Hanoi has far reaching implications for China and the region, but also indicates rising disquiet of China's attempts to gain regional assertiveness. With Vietnam currently chairing ASEAN, the item that China had wanted to avoid discussion over - ownership of parts of the South China Sea - well and truly gained the glare of the spotlight.

That the region is disputed is beyond doubt, the Paracel and Spratly Islands lie in these waters and are claimed in all or in part by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, all of which have stationed troops on various sections. The entire land mass of the Spratlys is a little less than five square kilometers, however in total the Spratlys include 148 or so islets, coral reefs, and seamounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 square kilometers of the central South China Sea.

The Paracel Islands, meanwhile, consist of over 30 islets, sandbanks or reefs, occupy about 15,000 square kilometers of the ocean surface, and are also located in the South China Sea. Currently under Chinese control, they are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, the latter which mirrors politically the Mainland Chinese position. The islands are considered important for several reasons: the fishing rights, submarine military access to deep water ocean, the potential for oil and gas exploitation, and tourism. A successful Chinese claim will also take the associated sea bed claims directly to the coast of all of eastern Vietnam, and could effectively seal Vietnamese shipping off from any other sea access. Understandably, Vietnam is highly nervous about this, while China wants to control the waves in its own backyard.

China's diplomatic solution to dealing with the situation has been to flex its financial muscle and to insist that negotiations over sovereignty of the islands take place with it alone, on a bilateral basis. That has left each individual claimant out on a limb and has negated any involvement of ASEAN, unilaterally a more powerful bloc, out of the picture.

China is not a member of ASEAN, and does not have voting or sanction rights. Step forward to Vietnam, the current ASEAN chair, and fast forward to last month's meetings in Hanoi. Inviting the United States to participate, like China, as an "observer," the Hanoi meeting quickly got on with business and brought to the table the one topic China did not want to hear about - the sovereignty of the South China Sea. While attending the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was quick to observe from the sidelines that the dispute was now high on the agenda as part of America's international interests. Noting that commercial shipping passed through the seas, she effectively indicated that the issue was no longer one that China would be able to unilaterally dictate. The repercussions are going to rumble on, and have dealt a major blow to Chinese assertiveness in the waters.

In part, China only has itself to blame. Although Tibet was never mentioned as part of the dispute in the South China Sea, and the Chinese position over its sovereignty is both very clear and undisputed by all attending ASEAN nations and observers, it is obvious that China's 60 year old assertiveness towards regional disputes has reached a plateau. Buddhism is still a strong influence in many ASEAN member countries and the plight of the Dalai Lama, while not officially recognized or discussed, still causes regional discomfort. Add to that skirmishes with Vietnam in 1979, and still ongoing border disputes over Tibetan territorial claims with India, and China's position as asserting more regional sovereignty is now starting to be questioned.

While China has moved on from 1979 and the days when it could engage in Southeast Asian diplomacy down the barrel of a gun, its relative strengths in terms of investment and financial muscle can make it hard for individual nations to resist overtures. Contracts have been dangled as incentives to secure sovereignty, and used as punishments through cancellations to show displeasure. Collectively, ASEAN has more bargaining power, and is a sizeable trading bloc that can stand up to China's belligerence. It also diminishes the possibility of China punishing errant neighbor countries by taking the onus away from unilateral discussions. Add the United States to that mix and the situation gets less sustainable for China to press claims over disputed lands. While the Chinese always claim to have long memories, it's a game now being played by ASEAN members, and the situation over China's handling over the Tibet issue still reverberates. While that issue is not going to be discussed, the price to pay for it is now arriving - a toughening of regional attitudes towards further Chinese territorial claims and, specifically, China's influence over the South China Sea.



This article was written for the Asia news blog, 2point6billion.com, which is published by China business book publishers, AsiaBriefingMedia.com.

They also publish the India business news site, India-Briefing.com.

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/China-s-Tibet-Price--The-South-China-Sea/236514

The current resource development in Myanmar

A country with potential

For a very long time Myanmar has been a country who has been in economic and political isolation. However this situation are changing because today there are indications that economic growth is increasingly possible in this region. Myanmar could very well turn out to be one of the most spectacular performers in the Asian region if they could find a way to optimize its resources. There are a few areas which has been identified as the most viable options such as the strategic geographical location which Myanmar enjoys between some of the emerging giants in the region and many people are in agreement that Myanmar will also benefit from the current integration process in Asia. The population of Myanmar are increasingly youthful and this provides Myanmar with an effective labor force which are likely to attract foreign investment.

Valuable resources

Myanmar actually possesses various types of natural resources and it has a reasonably competitive agricultural development program. Then they have the ability to generate renewable energy and in particular hydropower. Myanmar are becoming increasingly popular for the foreign investor because of the investment opportunities which exists in various sectors such as telecommunications and also in the tourism industry. In order to make the best of the available resources it is vital that effective long-term planning be done in order to ensure that the current sources remain sustainable and that they will continue to provide benefits to this country.

Currently Myanmar is still a very poor country

Regardless of all the potential which exists in Myanmar it is still one of the very poorest countries in the Asian region and the government will have to overcome many challenges in order to bring about real and lasting change. Although this situation are no longer as desperate as it used to be in previous decades a lot of work has to be done in order to sustain the current development momentum. This is exactly why it is necessary to do an accurate analysis of the available resources in Myanmar and then to devise a long-term plan that will ensure maximum growth that can be maintained over many decades thereby allowing Myanmar to develop as much as possible and to become a serious competitor with in the Asian region.

Myanmar is receiving a lot of attention

In 2011 a special report has been released where in most of the opportunities which are available in Myanmar have been thoroughly investigated. It was during this time that the country initiated some significant economic and political reforms and that is why the 2011 report endeavor to examine the strengths and weaknesses of Myanmar and to determine the specific risks and other challenges which will have to be considered when an investment in Myanmar is considered. It has however become abundantly clear that there are many opportunities and with a substantial investment very lucrative profits may be possible and the rewards of such an investment could possibly be extended over several decades. It may however be best to partner with local entrepreneurs which are more familiar with the opportunities that exists in Myanmar. Read more!