I Heart Them Again (From Bali With Love)

Do you remember THIS post I did on Scoopy in August 2010?

Well, Honda has come out with two new colors for 2011 and I still love them. They are just so cute! The new colors are blue and red.

Taken from HERE

Other colors available are white, black, pink, violet and green. The trim and seating come in a variety of choices, such as white, black or tan. 

Taken from HERE

The price tag? About Rp. 13,725,000  ($1,600 US).

Whoo Hoo! Shout Out! (From Bali With Love)

I was SO super excited today to see my blog on Desire to Inspire. Jo gave From Bali With Love a shout-out as recommended reading! Thank you so much Jo! 

It looks like there are some amazing reads on the list. I've already bookmarked several to check out. Go HERE to see the full post and the other amazing sites listed.

Thank you again Desire to Inspire! ;)

From Bali With Love Ranked Top 50 in 3 Categories! (From Bali With Love)

Thank you to all of my followers on NetworkedBlogs! From Bali With Love is in the Top 50 Blogs for the Asia Category (#3), Lifestyle Category (#35) and Home Category (#13)! 

Whoo Hoo! Thank you all! 

If you aren't a follower yet, there's still time! :) Just look in the leftside bar of my blog to follow on Facebook, Google Friend Connect, NetworkedBlogs or Bloglovin'!

Stay tuned for more on From Bali With Love! :)

Nissan to Double Car Production in Indonesia (From Bali With Love)

I just found an article that Nissan plans to double car production in Indonesia by 2013. WHY? I understand that car production would be great for Indonesia's economy and Nissan's sales but do they not know that Indonesia is already overcrowded with people, vehicles and bikes? 

Remember my post about Bali's Traffic Woes? How about my post about Bali being overpopulated? Remember, Bali is small, like the size of Delaware. How about my post where Bali's governor is implementing a higher tax to those owning more than one vehicle? Here's some images of Bali traffic:

And it's not just Bali, all over Indonesia there are traffic problems. Here's some images of Jakarta's traffic:

Anyone that has been to Indonesia is familiar with the traffic problem here. Can you imagine? And to add that many cars have no air conditioner and even those that do, it's so hot here, some days it's hard to tell a difference. :)

Click on images to be taken to their links.

See the full article at Businessweek.

I'm a Winner! (From Bali With Love)

Sorry for being MIA from the blogosphere. Things have been ridiculously crazy on the home front since I returned from Singapore. SO, I'll start off today with a positive post!

Remember this post I made about entering a photo challenge? 

Well, two of my photos placed in the challenge! Thanks MaryAnne. 

Here are my photos that made the cut:

3rd Place for the Reflection Theme

This photo was taken at a wedding here in Bali. The venue was on top of a huge cliff overlooking the ocean. The floating candles made for a very romantic atmosphere.

Favorite for the Circle, Triangle, Square Shapes From the Ground Up Theme

This photo was taken in my hometown at a small burger joint. The chicken truck is legendary and stays parked outside of the joint.

Ohdeedoh Mention! (From Bali With Love)

I'm so excited! 

Yesterday, Apartment Therapy's Ohdeedoh featured my daughter, Akira, and From Bali With Love!

If you missed it, go HERE to view Akira's Bali Adventure! What can I say, I'm a proud Mami! :)

Thank you Ohdeedoh!

I Heart Them...(From Bali With Love)

For those of you who may not know, motorbike is the main form of transportation in Indonesia. Especially Bali, since the island is quite small. There are many brands of bikes sold here and some of them are popular brands just like the cars we have back home, such as Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha. There's also a brand called Kymco, made in Taiwan. Kymco is known for it's "scooter" style models. Kymco hasn't come out with a new model in 3 or 4 years...until now.

Kymco recently introduced two new models under the brand Benson: "Like", which is a scooter model, and "Super 8", which is a sport model. The Like has a 150cc engine, luggage compartment, handphone charger, comes in your choice of white, silver or red and is priced around 24 million rupiah ($2,500). The Super 8 has a 150cc engine, comes in your choice of red, combination of blue/yellow or combination of green/white and is priced around 22 million rupiah ($2,700 ). This is quite expensive for a motorbike here, as other models have new bikes for around 13 million rupiah ($1,500). 

Can't you just see me driving the Like Scooter in white! :)

Information taken from HERE. Click on photos to be taken to their source.

After Kymco released their new models, then Honda introduced their new scooter, "Scoopy". It has a 110cc engine and is priced around 13 million rupiah ($1,500).

Information and pictures taken from HERE. Though, I must warn you, the website has a really, really annoying ad that scrolls down the page with you as you go and I couldn't close the darn thing no matter how many times I tried!

They are both super cute. I would love to have either one of them.

What are your thoughts? Would you drive one?

Thank You! (From Bali With Love)

I'm super excited to get a shout out on one of my favorite blogs, Made by Girl. Jen, from Made by Girl, thanked me for blogging about her language and love prints. You can see my post about them HERE, if you missed it before.

Check out my shout out HERE.

It's funny, I've been following her blog for a long time and I check it a few times a week but this past week my eyes have hardly met the computer screen as we've been busy packing, painting and moving into our new Bali home. You can imagine my surprise, and shock, when I saw my blog mentioned on her site...the ONE TIME I take a week break from reading one of my favorite blogs, I get a mention. hahaha Thanks Jen! 

If you don't know who Jen is, check out her amazing style on her blog and browse through her cute shop.

Thank You Annette Tatum! (From Bali With Love)

I know by now everyone has heard of the book, The Well-Dressed Home by Annette Tatum. I blogged about her book before here. The book tells us how to design a wardrobe inspired home! Well, today I'm super excited because Annette took time to thank me on her blog for posting about her book.

If you haven't seen it already, hurry and buy a copy of it! Buy her autographed book here. See her post here. Visit her site here. View it in my bookstore here.

Thank you for the thank you Annette. You are truly an inspiring woman!

Bali Traffic Woes (From Bali With Love)

(5/24/2010) The government of Bali's capital of Denpasar has tasked its transportation department to review traffic flows and patterns to see if traffic congestion in South Bali can be lessened by introducing additional one-way streets and parking rule changes in some areas.

Any proposed changes remain under review and are subject to a consultative process with related government agencies.

Among the changes under consideration:

• Prohibiting parking on both sides of the street on crowded, narrow roads. One possible road listed for new parking restrictions is Jalan Sidakarya. 

• Altering the traffic flow direction to one-way streets. Jalan Gunung Agung, a road which has long been under consideration for one-way status, but delayed due to a lack of alternative roadways, is once again being scrutinized for one-way status.

• Changes in public transportation routes to make service more responsive to changing housing and work-place patterns in Bali.

One-Way Streets Problematic in Bali

One of the contributing factors to the difficulty of resolving traffic congestion in Bali is the blatant refusal of locals to obey one-way street postings. Local motorcyclists traveling the wrong directions on one-way roads is a common occurrence on the island.

© Bali Discovery Tours. Articles may be quoted and reproduced if attributed to http://www.balidiscovery.com. All images and graphics are copyright protected.

Taken from Bali Discovery.

Multiple Vehicle Tax in Bali? (From Bali With Love)

Bali is over populated with vehicles and motorbikes so I was somewhat happy to see this article.

(5/22/2010) Bali's administrators are considering introducing a progressive tax that will affect people owning more than one motor vehicle. 

Bisnis Bali, quoting Gusti Made Supartha, the chief of income resources for the provincial government of Bali, said: "I estimate 20-30% of vehicle owners will be impacted by the progressive tax." Supartha said the introduction of a progressive vehicle tax was provided under law No. 28 of 2009, regarding tax and provincial retributions. 

However, another provision of the 2009 law prevents the introduction of such a new tax before 2011.

Supartha said the provincial authorities only serve as the executor of policies made in the nation's capital. Moreover, he warned that the taxes applied for motor vehicles in Bali cannot be out of step with motor vehicle taxes charged in other provinces of Indonesia. To do so would only perpetuate the number of non-Bali license plates traveling Bali's roads and highways.

Supartha estimates that the number of vehicles in Bali totals 1.6 million units. If 20-30% of the vehicles fall under the proposed new progressive tax, 400,000 vehicle would be affected.

Bali's motor vehicle tax collections during the first three months of 2010 increased 25% over the same period in 2009, amounting to 27.9% of the taxes targeted for collection from Bali's motorists for the entire fiscal year of 2010.

© Bali Discovery Tours. Articles may be quoted and reproduced if attributed to http://www.balidiscovery.com. All images and graphics are copyright protected.

Taken from Bali Discovery.

Thank You! (From Bali With Love)

I just wanted to take a moment to thank Giggleberry Creations and Dwellings by Devore for mentioning my blog on their blog! So, THANK YOU LADIES! I enjoy reading both of your blogs.

Bali To Build Bike Paths! (From Bali With Love)

This is so exciting and LONG overdue!

Peddling to Become Fashionable in Bali's Capital

Denpasar Municipality to Build Bike Paths.

(2/1/2010) Beritabali.com reports that the municipal government of Bali’s capital city of Denpasar is taking the next step in its commitment to “Car Free Days” and “Friday Bike to Work Days” in announcing their intention to create special bicycle paths Pilot paths have reportedly been created in various parts of the city. These “bike paths” will be launched on February 21, 2010.

This development was announced to the press by the Chairman of the Secretariat for Denpasar’s Bicycle Community (SAMAS), I Dewa Made Merthakota, following a meeting their the Mayor of Denpasar, IB Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra on Thursday, January 28, 2010. According to Merthakota, the initial bicycle paths will be limited to the Renon and Sanur areas, to be expanded to other areas in the future.

The biking enthusiast and community organizer said the public’s response to “car free days” has been outstanding since its introduction last August. “In addition to individual bikers, there are now many bicycle clubs that have been formed in Denpasar. This condition is very good for our efforts to improve health and the environment in a world increasingly affected by global warming and climate change,” said Merthakoa.

Merthakota said that clear markers would be installed on the new bike baths and asked that motorcyclist not use the new bike paths.

© Bali Discovery Tours. Articles may be quoted and reproduced if attributed to http://www.balidiscovery.com. All images and graphics are copyright protected.

Taken from Bali Discovery.