| BATU BELIG Sat Sep 8: Pak Made's
late father's brother had been attending the temple in Batu Belig Saturday
night. as he left, he |
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| stepped into the street and was immediately
hit by a motor bike. Sadly he died a few hours later in hospital. Pak Made's
uncle lived a few doors down from Warung Sobat. Our sympathy to Pak Made
and family. Sadly Jl Batu Belig has become quite dangerous since becoming
a through road to Canggu following the construction of the bridge across
the river. Already as reported last month our friend Wilhelm was hit by
a motor bike, right outside Warung Sobat. |
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371 Deaths This Year
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| Bali's Chief of Police, Inspector
General Paulus Purwoko, said that the death toll on Bali's roads hit 371
people for the year through the end of August 2007 – a number that holds
the unenviable distinction of far exceeding the number who perished both
terrorist bombings in Bali in 2002 and 2005. |
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Bali A'port Corruption
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| BALI DISCOVERY: In a widely circulated
letter from Australian's Geoff and Dorothy Longhurst is told the harrowing
tale of how JetStar failed to screen passports on a Bali bound flight,
allowing Mrs. Longhurst to board a flight with only 5 mths and 2 wks remaining
in her passport, when it is mandatory to have at least 6 months remaining. |
| On arrival in Bali the Longhurst's
were ushered into a side office at the airport where an immigration officer,
identified as Nanang Yunanto, offered to resolve their problem for an unofficial
fee of US$4,000, later lowered to $2,000. |
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US$ 4,000 BRIBE ASKED
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| In the end, the officer became abusive
and forced the Longhursts to return to Australia on the next flight. Incensed,
Bali tourism leaders brought the letter to the attention of ranking
immigration officials in Bali who, relived Yunanto of his post. Indonesia's
Vice President, Jusuf Kalla was in Bali September 26 and paid a unscheduled
visit on the Airport immigration office were he demanded that Yunanto be
fired for his alleged extortion against the Australian tourists. |
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Illegal Visa Renewals
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| BALI: Some unscrupulous Immigration
Officers at Bali Airport are offering visa extensions on the US
$25 non-extendable Visa-On- Arrival (VOA), for a charge of
around Rp 1.5 million (A$195), some are even brazen enough to give
you an official Immigration business card with their name and handphone
number. The officer will meet you, off duty and in plain clothes, at a
public place, you give him your passport and the payment. The next time
he is on duty at the airport he will put a new VOA in your passport, returning
it to you at the meeting place later. With the high cost of doing a visa
run, this is a very attractive proposition to many ex-pats. |
| However, remember it is illegal and
should the Immigration officer be investigated, it could be very
embarrassing if they find your number is in his handphone. |
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HUGE 8.4 QUAKE
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Hits Indonesia
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| WED SEP 12: 7.10pm Bali Time Jamal
and I were preparing to go to dinner at Warung Sobat when the |
| KHO Earthquake Alarm rang. We checked
with the United States
Geological
Survey, who reported, an 8.4 earthquake 130 km West of Bengkulu, Sumatra,
Indonesia, |
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| At least 24 people killed, hundreds
injured and more than 15,000 buildings damaged in the Bengkulu areas. A
tsunami with a wave height of 2 meters hit the west coast of Sumatra, few
were killed or injured as they ran to higher ground after the first shock. |
| Power and telephone outages occurred.
The earthquake was felt by people in high rise buildings in Jakarta and
in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. |
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