Balifornian Tours Photo of the Day 1/2/11~ Black Leopard

Black leopard (Panthera pardus) are quite common on Java.  This guy was spotted on our tour in Java.
Bogor, Java, Indonesia 2010. Balifornian Tours http://www.balifornian.com

Copyright © 2010 Mikaku ~ Michael Doliveck Balifornian Indonesia Tour and Travel Blog

Want to submit your photo for the Bali Tour Photo of the Day?  Please send your JPEG and description to photo@balifornian.com  Files must be under 500 kb.

Let Balifornian Tours take ALL the stress out of your vacation planning.  We have tons of options to meet your desires.  Contact us today to see how we can help you. info@balifornian.com

The following is from articlebase...

Bali is popularly accepted with young families and couples alike, and delivers excellent value vacation trips, whatever sort of getaway you want.  Whether you're looking for an action packed vacation, surfing, scuba diving or white water rafting or simply  love to relax by the swimming pool or chill out on the coral beach locations then Bali has got it.

This tropical isle provides all the things you can want for the ultimate holiday getaway and there is a lot to do and see that it'll have you returning for more and more.

The primary area is Kuta well liked with the more youthful crowd and it has a variety of bars, restaurants and nightclubs where one can party on through the night. Close by is Seminyak, that tends to have all the sophisticated crowd. It's the in-place to get seen in Bali and it has a lot of beautiful Seminyak villas and a wide range of fantastic dining restaurants that provide top of the range food at very low prices.

Nusa Dua comprises of the vast majority of top 5 star hotel rooms and it is on the East Side of Bali. There's a sizable beachfront in Kuta although great care should be taken as rip tides are typical and it can be incredibly treacherous if you're caught unawares.  The hotels are laid out around a shopping centre. The area is spread out and possesses picturesque landscaped gardens. You will find there's good sized water sports beach where one can learn to scuba dive, in the crystal clear blue water feeding the a lot of bright colored fish.

People arrive from around the entire world to scuba dive in Bali and also the other Indonesian islands. You could go kayaking, ride a banana boat or even the flying fish which lifts you about 3 meters on top of  the water. If flying  is your thing then you can go parascending on your own or with a partner. Another highlight is kite surfing, windsurfing or ride a horse or ride a few of the most desirable waves around the world, on a surfboard.

Sanur is surely an place that is certainly popular with families. There is a fabulous white sandy beach and its safer for children swimming and not as busy as the Kuta region.

Ubud is North of Denpassar the Capital of Bali and is known for the monkey forest and additionally Art. There are many of artist and handicraft specialists there which is really worth a visit. Other places like the Bukit are developing in reputation and they are famous for the impressive cliff top views.

In relation to eating in Bali, there's something for everyone. Through McDonalds fried chicken and Pizza Hut to local Indonesian dishes like babi guling, ayam betutu or rendang to the other end of the spectrum with Michelin star restaurants serving truffles and other fantastic delicacies and, of course, everything in between.

Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
 

Indonesia will be a world leader in clean energy

Nusa Dua, Bali
The Bali Times

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pledged on Monday to make Indonesia the world’s biggest user of clean, renewable geothermal energy, and urged private investors to back him.

The archipelago of 234 million people and more than 200 volcanoes is estimated to possess around 40 percent of the world’s geothermal energy potential, or around 28,000 megawatts.

It already has plans to double its geothermal energy output but analysts say the high costs associated with converting underground heat into electricity is an obstacle to investment.

After the United States with close to 4,000 megawatts and the Philippines utilising approximately 2,000 megawatts, Indonesia is currently only using 1,100 megawatts [of geothermal energy].”, Yudhoyono told a conference here.

This is only some 4.2 percent of our geothermal reserves, which constitutes about 40 percent of the world’s geothermal potential. This is going to change. It is my intention that Indonesia will become the largest user of geothermal energy.

Within five years Indonesia aims to add 4,000 megawatts of geothermal capacity to the existing 1,189 megawatts to help meet national energy needs, he said.

By 2025 the country plans to generate 9,000 megawatts from underground heat sources including volcanoes, with help from the private sector and partners.

Geothermal energy generated from natural heat trapped under the Earth’s surface is far cleaner than the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, one of the main contributors to greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Yudhoyono told the gathering that geothermal and other clean energies would help the country cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent over 2005 levels by 2026.

Coal and oil are by far the biggest sources of Indonesia’s growing energy needs, reportedly accounting for almost 70 percent, followed by natural gas and hydropower on about 18 percent each.

Geothermal contributes only three percent to state-run energy company Perusahaan Listrik Negara’s power capacity.

Indonesia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world but currently only 65 percent of Indonesians have access to electricity. The goal is to reach 90 percent of the population by the end of the decade.

The fourth World Geothermal Congress opened on Sunday in Nusa Dua and is expected to attract some 2,000 people from more than 80 countries over six days.