8º of latitude

March 30, 2016

Hector’s Bali Diary, Mar. 30, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Voice of the People That 29 banjars can get together to protest the proposed corporate vandalism of Benoa Bay and the destruction of its precious mangrove environment is a political problem for the provincial government and the lesser authorities whose fief is Badung regency. This Continue reading

Bali, Books, Environment, Festivals, Indonesia, Politics, Social Development, Tourism, Writing

Benoa Bay, Candi Dasa, Clare McAlaney, Destination Asia, Droit de Seigneur, Earth Hour, Easter breaks, Free Visas, Governor Pastika, Grass roots democracy, Indonesia Raya, Mike O’Leary, PLN, Supporting ROLE, Tales of Lucky, Tolak Reklamasi, Tomy Winata, UWRF 2016, Vyt Karazija
March 15, 2016

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Mar. 16, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Keep them at Bay Made Wijaya, the go-to Bule for behind-the-friezes analysis of Bali society and what really makes it tick, has some very sensible things to say, in his latest Stranger in Paradise column, about the excrescence Governor Made Mangku Pastika and Jakarta business tycoon Continue reading

Bali, Charity, Economic Development, Environment, Indonesia, Politics, Public Administration, Rabies, Social Development, Tourism

Amanda Csebik, Association of Veterinarians Indonesia (PDHI), Badung Regency, Benoa mangroves, Deborah Cassrels, Ferry sinkings, Governor Pastika, Hat Party, International Women’s Day, Jewel Topsfield, Klungkung, Local Heroes, Made Restiani, Made Wijaya, Mike O’Leary, Muriel Ydo, Phantom Projects, Rabies Red Zone, Sydney Morning Herald, Tomy Winata, Tsunami buoys
March 1, 2016

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Mar. 3, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Don’t Miss Saigon A few days gazing at the Saigon River from the 16th floor apartment of friends, enjoying the quieter street life of post-Tet Ho Chi Minh City, cruising on the Mekong, and briskly sampling the crispness of the mountain resort city of Dalat, Continue reading

Bali, Festivals, Indonesian Law, Lombok, Music, Politics, Public Administration, Social Development, Tourism, Travel, Ubud, Vietnam

Ari Juliant, Bali Spirit Festival, Dalat, Deepak Chopra, Dvorak, Gay Emoticons, Handel, Huh – What’s That Scale, Mark Heywood, Mekong Delta, Nyepi, PLN, Prostitution, Ric Shreves, Saepul Bahri, Saigon, Saigon River, Sunday soirees, Terry Renton, The Studio Lombok, Wallace Line, Yoga
February 16, 2016

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Feb. 17, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Far Queue Again The periodic struggle to get vehicles into and out of Ngurah Rai airport was worse than usual on Feb. 5, apparently. We weren’t there, which is probably a good thing. One hour-plus irritation a month already tests our toleration limit. It isn’t Continue reading

Australia, Bali, Business, Indonesia, Indonesian Law, Labor Party, Law, Politics, Public Administration, Tourism

Automated mail, Bali’s airport, Castaway resort, IKEA, Invisible Men, Lembongan, Nusa Dua Beach Hotel, Rule of Lore, sentient justices, Suna Cavanagh, Tabloid TV, Traffic jams, Unhappy Hour
February 15, 2016

Full Speed Ahead and Damn the Moral Turpitudes

I generally agree with Gerard Henderson, director of the Sydney Institute, whose Weekend Australian columns customarily offer sound – if sometimes arguable – political and policy advice. He sends round a missive on Mondays (“In case you missed it”) as a prompt to those who might have. I don’t agree with his views in his Continue reading

Australia
February 2, 2016

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Feb. 3, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious matters Load of Pit Bull Bali’s attractions as a resort for western tourists (that distinction is becoming more and more important) have taken a hammering lately. It was interesting to see that this received notice in the Jakarta Post on Jan. 27. Or perhaps not a Continue reading

Animal Welfare, Australia, Bali, Books, Festivals, Indonesian Law, Rabies, Tourism, Ubud

21st Century, Animal cruelty laws, Bully a Bule, dog-fighting, illegal gambling, Malcolm Turnbull, Plastic rapped, Tat Tvam Asi, TED Talks, Tony Abbott, UWRF 2016, Valentine’s Day, Year of the Monkey
January 19, 2016

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Jan. 20, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Modern Times There’s been an outbreak of nostalgia for the “old Bali” recently, one of those periodic episodes where everyone puts on their rose-tinted glasses and peers back into the past, fondly recalling what they think they remember. Ah, the old days! Things were so Continue reading

Art, Australia, Bali, Books, Bureaucracy, Economic Development, Environment, Indonesia, Social Development, Tourism

Capitalism, Country Road Picture Framers, David Bowie, Gordon Gecko, Governor Pastika, Hindu culture, Jesuits, Karl Marx, Litterers, Made Kaek, Manipulative rubs, Phil Jarratt, Sarah Bowes, Smokers, Steve Palmer, Western mendicants
January 5, 2016

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Jan. 6, 2016

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences A Prime Appointment Helena Studdert, the new Australian consul-general in Bali, comes to the job by an unusual route. She has already held an ambassadorial post – she was Australia’s envoy to Serbia from 2010-2013 – and has some background in the sometimes fractious field Continue reading

America, Animal Welfare, Australia, Bali, Environment

Amandari Ubud, Bule v Turis, Helena Studdert, Keramas dolphins, Majell Hind, Pope Francis, San Diego polar bears, Tim Hannigan, Tim Tams, Year of the Monkey
December 22, 2015

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Dec. 23, 2015

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences A Christmas Story This week we observe the official birthday – though of course its date is wholly notional – of one of Islam’s leading saints, the nabi Isa al-Mahdi, whom Muslims also honour as the Messiah. In the Christian rite, it is Christmas, the Continue reading

Australia, Bali, General Interest, History, Indonesia

Benedict Anderson, Christmas fables, Croquet, jade richardson, Monkey business, ROLE Foundation, SoleMen, Summer daze, Tim Hannigan
December 8, 2015

HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Dec. 9, 2015

His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences You Could Cry Animal fan Rhonda Lepsch has for two years run a great operation called Jet Set Petz – the name came from the jet ski operation in which she’s involved at Tanjung Benoa near Nusa Dua – but it will soon be Continue reading

Bali, Bureaucracy, Charity, General Interest, Indonesia, Indonesian Law, Politics, Public Administration, Rabies

Bali veterinarians, Dharma and Karma, Hindu rites, Indonesia Air Asia, La Gazette de Bali, Mike O’Leary, Nominee property, Rhonda Lepsch, ROLE Models

About Me

Former journalist now confined by age and indolence to blogging about this and that, now from Western Australia, previously from Indonesia (that’s the 8 degrees in the title) and before that, Queensland. I don’t do a newsletter so ignore that prompt below.