Air Asia Promotion in Ubud Bali

Air Asia has just launched a unique promotional campaign in Ubud, a small tourist town in Bali island. Every year millions of travelers visit the island of the gods. Most of them go by airplanes. In order to attract more customers, Air Asia hire several cyclists to ride their bicycles around the town. There is a small carriage attached at the back of each bicycle with red banner from Air Asia. "We give you the world - Fly thru from Bali to Tokyo, China, Taipei, Osaka, and Korea." This ads campaign can easily attract the attention of pedestrians on the streets of Ubud. Located in the north of Denpasar, Ubud became the destination for artists, dancers, musicians and Hindu priests, and the royality from Java when the Kingdom of Majapahit collapsed in 1400s. The arrival of these people triggered the rapid development of the Balinese society in all sectors of their life. Ubud now is famous for its village life, Balinese culture and art life that bring tourists closer to nature. Every cyclist wears Air Asia t-shirt and red hat. Bali is the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia. The competition among the airlines is tougher than ever before.

I like this advertisement campaign because it also promotes cycling lifestyle. When I saw three cyclists with the Air Asia banners, I stopped for a while to take some pictures of them. The way Air Asia promotes its services to tourists is excellent. I believe that more travelers will fly by Air Asia after seeing the ads. People in Ubud and other tourist hubs in Bali need more environmentally friendly vehicles to reduce street congestions which have now become daily scenes in Bali. by Charles Roring
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Flying to Manokwari
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The Magnificent View of Gunung Botak in District Ransiki of Manokwari

Two days ago, I went to Gunung Botak (meaning Mount Bald) with a German tourist, Gertraud. It took around 1.5 hours by ojek (motor cycle taxi) from Ransiki to the mountain. It was my second trip to the mountain. The first time was when I went cycling from Bintuni to Manokwari together with some mountain bikers. We spent one night near the mountain before continuing our mountain bike tour to Manokwari. During my trip with Mrs. Gertraud, along the way, we saw dense tropical rainforest, vegetable gardens and cacao plantation. Gunung Botak is located in the south of Manokwari. Tourists who go to Ransiki always want to see the mountain because it has got a very beautiful scenery. There are no rainforest in the Botak mountain. Trees cannot go on the hills of the Gunung Botak because its soil is hard and lack of nutrients to support the growth of large trees. Only its coastal area that is covered with trees.

There are some fishing villages at the foot of the mountain. Traditional fishermen and children like to go to the sea with their outrigger canoes to catch fish. The seabed in the waters around Gunung Botak is covered with pristine coral reef. The coral reef is the tropical rainforest of the ocean. That's why this marine environment is the habitat of thousands of species of marine animals and plants.
While I was taking pictures of the surrounding scenery, I saw some Papuan boys and children walking along the road back to their village carrying some fish.

The sea has been the source of food for them. There are not many tourists visiting Gunung Botak. I hope that one day, I can return to this Gunung Botak to see its beautiful scenery and friendly Papuan people again. by Charles Roring

Tropical house Ventilation and Air Filter System

How should the ventilation system be installed in a tropical house?
Jalousie Ventilation
In tropical region, the average temperature is usually higher than in sub-tropical region. However, the humidity of the air is high. A tropical house has to have enough ventilation holes to let air flow smoothly into and out of the rooms of the house. The cheapest ventilation system that can be installed or made in a tropical house is the jalousie windows which ensure the passive coolings of the house. Jalousie is the most efficient ventilation system but it has to be covered with mosquito net to prevent mosquitoes from entering the house particularly the bedrooms.

Natural Air Filter
If the house is located near a busy street, the air around the area will be mixed with smoke and dust. Smoke contain toxic gases. If possible, the ventilation holes should not be constructed facing the street. The jalousie windows can be made on both sides of the house. However, such arrangements are often impossible to be implemented. Most of the houses in big cities share wall on both sides of the houses and the only walls that function as ventilation system are the front and the rear ones. To reduce the number of dust from entering the house, finer net has to be installed on the jalousie holes (above the windows) and curtain and be installed on the jalousie glass windows. Another way that is very effective in reducing the amount of dust is by planting flower plants near the windows and decorative trees at the front yard. The leaves, branches and twigs and shrubs of the plants will be able to filter the air creating a healthier living environment.
Today, house design software such as Archicad has been used by architects to design houses that is more integrated to the environment using its eco-designer features.

Indonesian Coast Guard Boat in Manokwari Harbor

When I was in Manokwari harbor last month, I saw a mono-hull fast boat parking at the pier. The background of this boat was the building of West Papua's provincial house of representative. It belongs to KPLP which stands for Kesatuan Penjagaan Laut dan Pantai or simply the coast guard of Indonesia. Because most of its hull and superstructure are made of FRP material, the boat is light and can move very fast on the water.

I didn't see any armaments installed on the main deck of the boat. Perhaps only the Indonesian navy that is allowed to have guns aboard their patrol boats and ships to defend the territory of Indonesian. So, the main task of the KPLP boat, perhaps, is to oversee the water from smugglers, or foreign fishing boats. I did not have any chances of exploring its interior because there was no one inside the boat. In my opinion, it looks more like a pleasure boat than a coast guard boat.
To run in higher speed on the surface of the water, the boat needs to have smaller block coefficient and powerful engine. Smaller Cb will compromise the size and arrangement of the rooms inside the hull. Because patrol boat is used mostly for one day trip at sea, it will not be a problem for its crews. by Charles Roring
Also read: Inflatable boat

FRP Boat used by a fisherman in Manokwari bay

FRP or Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic is a kind of material that is used in the construction of small boat. One day, when I was guiding some Dutch tourists to a jetty in Kwawi area of Manokwari, I saw an outrigger FRP boat that was approaching the beach. Its main hull was made of FRP material but its outriggers were made of wood and bamboo. FRP is light and anti corrosive. However, it is not easy to find FRP materials in Manokwari. That's why most of the fishermen still use wood and bamboo to make their boats.

Most of the outrigger boats are powered with Yamaha outboards with 3 bladed propellers. The Yamaha outboards are available in 15, 25, and 40 horse power. In addition to Yamaha, other outboards manufacturers are Mariner, Johnson, and Honda. But Yamaha is the most popular engine for the fishermen.
Manokwari is the capital of West Papua province in the bird's head region (vogelkop) of New Guinea island. Its waters is rich of coral reef fish and deep sea fish due to its location that is facing the Pasific Ocean. Tourists who come to Manokwari can enjoy fishing, snorkeling, or wave surfing. Those who like mountains and rainforest can go hiking in Arfak mountains to watch wild animals such as birds of paradise, cuscus and tree kangaroo. When guiding tourists for snorkeling off the coast of Mansinam island or Anggresi beach, I always rent a boat from a fisherman. His boat is not made of FRP materials but the conventional wood but its design is very similar to the outrigger FRP boat above.
Related articles: Wooden boats in the Dorey bay of Manokwari, Passenger boat and ferry boat in Manokwari harbor