DPEX Heart of Bali Bike Tour

A group of cyclists came from Singapore to raise money for charitable organizations in Bali. Kupu Kupu and Senang Hati both assist people with handicaps.

Starting in Sanur, their path included Kekeran, Lovina (optional dolphin viewing), Amed, Candidasa, Ubud, Gunung Batur (Kintamani), Tegalallang, Tanah Lot, and back to Jimbaran - over 450km!

Arrival in Ubud and lunch at Batun Waru:



More photos:

The Gala dinner included a performance by dancers from one of the beneficiaries:

And then the donation checks were presented:

Sponsors were:

New Year's Eve in Bali

Panorama Hotel in Ubud, Bali, holds a New Year's Eve party every year. Last year, I arrived jet-lagged and my photos reflected it. This year, I was so well-rested that I did a bit of dancing, and even led the Limbo line. (No photo of me doing that, of course!)

Being Bali, the decorations are an interesting mixture. Bali is primarily Hindu. Many tourists are Chinese (the Buddha) or Christian (the Christmas tree).

This year's celebration included a local rock-and-roll band, playing old standards as well as current Indonesian "Dangdut" - pop music.

Panorama is proud to have several guests who return every year.

They were presented with small gift baskets as a token of appreciation.

In spite of a thunderstorm (or maybe because of it!), there were a variety of other guests, too.

From the very young,

to the young-at-heart,

to those using wheelchairs (Panorama is one of the few restaurants in Ubud without steps to climb).

Some dancers were Competitive Ballroom quality,

others a bit more free-wheeling.

Conga lines with restaurant and kitchen staff...

Limbo with both guests...

and staff.

As you see, a real melting pot (or salad bowl?) of nationalities, races, ages, religions, sizes, shapes, and abilities.

Soloist and Bird of Paradise Balinese Dancers

There was a teenage soloist.

The final dancers at the Panorama party were the Birds of Paradise -

2 women who were exquisitely beautiful in their dance.

Anniversary at Panorama Hotel Bali

1 Year after Nyoman Suweta took over as Managing Director of Panorama Hotel in Ubud, Bali,

he threw a party for the staff to celebrate.

There were awards for "The Best of the Best" in 3 categories.

The Best of the Best Departments: Food & Beverage - Product - accepted by Chef Ketut

The Best of the Best HEAD of Department: Winner Kadek Suwalo

The Best of the Best Employees: Winner Wayan Suarjana Putra

And there were Balinese dancers in costume.

Young girls in the traditional Welcome dance,

with offerings and flower petals.

Slightly older dancers with folding Fans.

A truly bizarre game where female staff members picked up worms (or benign snakes?) and stuffed them into beer bottles.

The bottle with the most worms won.

New Lobby at Panorama Hotel in Bali

There have been several changes at Panorama (www.panoramabali.com ) as the new management continues renovations.


New signs in the Restaurant


New layout - to handle 100-200 tourists at lunch some days!


And, most recently, the owner added a new lobby.


Beautiful, isn't it?

Joged Dance and Party at Panorama Hotel in Bali

A couple of days ago there was a dinner party at Panorama.

The food.

Some of the guests, photographed towards the back of the hotel.

The gamelan orchestra.

Balinese Joged dancer.

Balinese dancer and guest (and the back of the orchestra).

Balinese dancer with another guest, saying “thank you for the dance”.

And the Balinese dancer whirling so fast that she is almost invisible on camera!