Celebrating the holiday during peak season in Bali

Celebrating the holiday during peak season in Bali

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): The last week of December is the busiest
time for most tourist operators, hotels, and entertainment
centers in Bali.

Hotels and flights are fully booked and the streets are
crowded with domestic and foreign visitors. This can be annoying
to anyone who plans to spend their holiday in Bali.

"The end of December is traditionally our peak season, so it's
better to make early reservations, or you might miss your chance
to get a room," a tourism writer Dwi Yani noted.

Lines of hotels along the famous tourist sites in Kuta, Sanur,
Petitenget, and Nusa Dua are already fully booked, some are even
over booked. Those who come later can hunt for small hotels,
guest houses, scattered among the crowded areas of Kuta and
Denpasar.

"Or perhaps just reconsider your plans to spend a holiday in
Bali. One should not forget that New Year celebrations in Bali
are usually marked by heavy traffic congestion, which could mean
that you spend your New Year's Eve in a car," a friend said.

For years, a huge number of domestic tourists from Java have
flocked to Bali every December.

Many visitors drive their private cars creating chronic
traffic problems at major tourist spots during the holiday
season.

To attract as many guests as possible, tourist operators,
hotels, restaurants and entertainment centers are organizing
special New Year parties.

Glossy advertisements of New Year Parties appear almost
everyday in the local media. Attractive billboards have been
placed along major streets to widely promote the celebration
programs.

Amid this fanfare, a number of people are organizing a unique
and different program to celebrate the coming of the year 2001.

A Bali Nirmala Symposium entitled A Song of Convergence-Where
East and West Do Meet, is to be held at Bali Cliff Hotel between
Dec. 28, 2000 and Jan. 1. 2001.

The conference is held to celebrate New Year with a series of
rituals, talks, discussions, music and dance performances,
poetry, and storytelling.

Among the attendants and speakers are Bali's noted meditation
guru and healer Merta Ada, crystal bowl healer Awahoshi Kavan,
John Lowy and John Mato Campbell who will speak on meditation and
collective art.

A number of artists will also perform at the symposium
including Balinese contemporary musician Wayan Sadra, Malaysian
dancer Zaridah Malik, Singaporean singer Geoffrey Woo, and the
Grammy Award winning harpist and composer Andreas Vollenweider.

The net proceeds of Vollenweider's concert will go to a local
Bali charity for the education of poor children in Bali.

The Bali Nirmala Symposium is the first of a series of annual
events in Bali designed to greet the New Year in a distinguished
way, bringing together numerous musicians, artists, and
inspirational speakers from Indonesia and all over the world.

Hundreds of spiritual leaders and followers from various
religious groups will hold a special prayer session, meditation
and sacred music performances during New Year's Eve at Puputan
Badung Square in Denpasar.

At dawn, participants will carry out Pada Yatra, marching on
foot, while chanting the sacred mantras of peace and brotherhood.

"Our friends from Hare Khrisna, Sai Baba, Ananda Marga, Brahma
Kumaris, and several Moslem groups have agreed to joint the
event," Agus Indra Udayana of the Ashram Bali Gandhi Vidyapith
said.

To make sure that all people celebrate the holiday season and
New Year safely, the Bali police will deploy 3,533 police
officers during the New Year celebrations.

"It is our effort to protect people during Christmas, Idul
Fitri, and the New Year celebrations," Bali Police chief Brig.
Gen. I Wayan Ardjana said.

Of the 3,533 police officers deployed on that night, some
1,859 officers will be assigned to the Denpasar Police to guard
the city's prime tourist and entertainment centers.

"I have already warned my men to be patient and polite, and to
be helpful to the people" Ardjana stressed.