Interesting little spontaneous essay by “Joan of Bali” popped up in the comments section of one of my posts. Since it was “public” I take the liberty of reposting it here. Thanks Joan. “When I came here I saw a very different economy than I came from but I didn’t … Continue reading
The Facebook-based web page Bali: How Much Is Too Much? passed a major milestone today, by reaching over 100,000 participants. A defiantly non-commercial page, it began at the end of 2013 to expose the sheer scale and quantity of tourism development engulfing the paradise island of Bali. Since then it … Continue reading
The Benoa Bay reclamation debate (“Reklamasi Tanjung Benoa”) You are probably aware of debate and protests about making a megaproject in Benoa Bay here in Bali. Most of the discourse has focused on environmental concerns, which are valid, but not everyone feels motivated or convinced by environmental responsibility. Many are … Continue reading
Looking forward to a very important forum, and hopefully an interesting one. There are so many opportunities for the Asia Pacific region to work together for a better future. I do hope that voices of sustainability and humanity will be heard during the forum. Synergy around the Pacific is not … Continue reading
Travel guides and glossy magazines call Bali paradise and wax poetic about the island’s glories, and how peaceful and spiritual a place it is. Of course, there is some truth amid all the hyperbole, but reading the local newspapers written in Indonesian gives a somewhat different impression. There is evidently … Continue reading
I’ve just had another massive overdose of masterplans. I have feeds and searches set up to keep tabs on new developments in Bali. It just doesn’t stop. Here are just a handful of the scores of new projects that have drifted across my desktop lately. Read on, to get a … Continue reading
In case you were wondering about the massive construction project in between The Legian and KuDeTa on Seminyak beach, here’s the scoop. It’s called The Seminyak. How imaginative. Especially since it’s right next door to The Legian. How much did they pay their marketing think tank to come up with … Continue reading
Well gosh, with traffic already gridlocked and infrastructure overloaded, it’s hard to feel warm and fuzzy about this new 5.2 hectare mega-development in Kuta spread along 250 meters of beach. That said, the long-disused site where Kuta Beachwalk will be built has been like the missing front tooth of Kuta’s … Continue reading
They call August the silly season in Bali. Well, I’ll drink to that. I did drink to that come to think of it, starting at the end of July. I toasted silliness in general on July 25th at the birthday beach party for Ian Macaulay of Elite Havens and a … Continue reading
Due to convoluted immigration and security procedures, passengers arriving at Bali’s airport are now forced to queue for up to four hours before they are finally released from its insalubrious underbelly. Ours is now surely the worst airport in the world in terms of user satisfaction. Only the Russian communists … Continue reading
This big apartment block is set to rise down in Kedongan, south of Kuta. It’s called The Donga. What’s a Donga? Normally, Donga is a district in Nigeria. In this case it seems to be a truncation of the name of the town where this semi-blobistic fantasy will soon appear. … Continue reading
Will there be one square inch of Bali left? Here’s a villa resort project designed by DPA Architects, Singapore for Jakarta developer PT Pancaran Kreasi Adiprima. This multistorey modern complex will soon drop from the sky onto 100 meters of beachfront, bringing 100 more guest rooms and seven chalets, plus … Continue reading
Here’s a project on the beach out near Yeh Gangga in Tabanan. Some interesting design development drawings by Yoka Sara, who is one of the most interesting architects working in Bali. And he’s Balinese.
This project has been on the website of architect Mark de Reus for a couple of years. But there’s no indication whether it’s going to be built or not. The master plan (below) shows a spa resort with 60 rooms, which are tree-housey. Sort of. De Reus has been the … Continue reading
Urban sprawl is eating up Seminyak, Kerobokan and beyond. Years ago, in Legian they said, “We’ll never be like Kuta! So crowded! Such a mess!” Then in Seminyak, they said, “We’ll never be like Legian!” And in Petitenget they said, “We’ll never be like Seminyak!” But the advance of urbanization in … Continue reading
This image comes from the website of the Pecatu Indah development which has engulfed Dreamland beach and everything around it in the Bukit Jimbaran area of south Bali. The endearing little erection here depicted, called modestly “The Terrace,” will reach to ten stories. Count ’em. Plus those “Rapunzel-Does-Denpasar” appendages on … Continue reading
In Bali’s burgeoning elite residential communities from Berawa westwards, options for shopping and dining are very sparse. Villa dwellers out west face a half-hour drive on the highway to hell if they want a decent meal, an evening out, or a spot of shopping. That’s all about to change, with … Continue reading
The island of Bali is at risk of sinking into the Indian Ocean under the weight of all of its magazines. I put the latest issues of Bali’s mags on the bathroom scale, and it tipped almost ten kilos. How can an island so small generate so many magazines? And … Continue reading
WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE Apologies to readers of my blog for the past two weeks’ outpouring on (over)development in Bali. I started out hoping to get a general overview of the state of real estate development on the island, and one thing led to another and … Continue reading
It’s seven big houses on the shore, several with wild multi-level pools. With so much development out on the east coast, I expect they will need a fancy supermarket-deli soon. And maybe a branch of Ace Hardware?
Dubai hotel group Jumeirah will be creating 188 five-star-diamond hotel rooms in eight four-storey blocks, plus sixteen penhouses and thirty pool villas, on a 12.7 hectare site in the Nusa Dua area, with an estimated investment of $43.5 million. With Jumeirah, at least we know they won’t be cutting any … Continue reading
Look out, Bali, here come 26 apartments with wiggly walls. How are you supposed to arrange your furniture? It’s going up on the beach in Legian. It’s a wiggly, wiggly world. Even the interior staircases are wiggly. I think I’ll just take the lift instead.
This four-storey development is under constuction in Seminyak. It’s a 100-unit condotel right on Jalan Laksmana (“Eat Street”). Each unit will offer 50 square meters of location location location. But not enough room to swing a cat. Probably not pets allowed anyhow, so perhaps that’s not a big concern.
Here’s the master plan for the New Kuta mega multi-use development taking place on the Bukit Peninsula, which includes residential, hospitality, commercial, education and leisure components at various market levels. Don’t ask what else it includes. It’s probably better to ask, “What doesn’t it include?”
This is a biggie, and with a big name, Outrigger. This is a tropical villa developer with a real track record. Following on the relative success of their O-ce-n apartment development on Legian beach, here’s the Outrigger Panorama. It’s under construction, near the Bulgari Bali luxury resort way out on … Continue reading
This one has nine units, with just 300 – 350 square meters of land per villa. I don’t know if I would call that a “villa”, exactly. But they’re not apartments, for sure. Maybe they should be referred to as compartments? The project is called “The Seminyak Beach Resort”. Again a … Continue reading
Phew, at least this Ubud development isn’t intensely dense. It’s 30 units on 42,000 square meters. Do the math. That’s 1400 square meters of land per unit. Respectable. Of course it’s respectable, this one’s a Bakrieland development. It’s the Ubud Nirwana wellness residences. Kind of a consciously created community of … Continue reading
Here’s another apartment block for you. The Bali Kuta Residence will really put the “D” in Density for the Kuta area. Hmmm.