EXTRA EXTRA (From Bali With Love)

There are currently several interesting news stories here in Bali. Here's my summary.

Speculation of an sunken temple (called "Taman Puri" or translated to "Earth Palace") along the north shore of Bali turned out to be a created underwater temple, complete with 10 statues, as part of a reef project sponsored by an Australia organization five years ago.

See full story HERE.

Residents of West Bali fear a tiger is lurking there grounds after a farmer reported seeing one attacking his dog in the field before heading off into the neighboring forestry. Several cases of missing goats have also been reported in their village. Balinese Tigers, thought to be extinct, roamed the shorelines and mountains of north and west Bali. The last remaining Balinese Tiger was thought to be shot in 1937, though reading online I noticed there were some citing reported in the 1940's. Investigations and search parties have began, but no conclusions have been made.

See full story HERE.

Recent reports show that Bali is overpopulated. Duh! Anyone that tries to drive in Bali can see this by the number of traffic pileups all over the island. Bali's population is currently 3.5 million people. In 2009, foreign tourists totaled 2.2 million and domestic tourists totaled 2.5 million, bringing Bali's tourist population in 2009 to 4.7 million people. So, let's do the math: 3.5 million people living here plus 4.7 million tourist equals 8.2 million people here in 2009. Wow! That's a lot of people for a small island. Bali is about 5.500 km2 or 2,100 square miles. To my USA friends, Bali is about the same size as Delaware. Please see Bali and Delaware's location (IN RED)  on the below maps.

See full story HERE.

Climate change reports have predicted by 2050, rising sea levels will cause a 8.6% land loss for Bali, leaving most of Kuta and Sanur underwater. This change will also cause Nusa Dua to be a separate island from Bali...scary stuff. I live right in the heart of these predicted changes.

See full story HERE.