- By: Joseph Lawsomier
With the all the media hype about Swine Flu, it's not unreasonable to think about trying to avoid unnecessary public outings, including air travel. But the FAA and the CDC only warn against flying if you're already feeling the symptoms of an illness or if you've come in contact with someone who's seriously at risk of contracting the F1N1 flu virus.
Federal officials have just asked that everyone consider common health safety precautions when they're in public and surrounded by other travelers. Because cheap airfare, in particular, often fill up fast, making for crowded planes and airports, you'll want to follow these basic guidelines for keeping yourself healthy on your flights.
1. Keep in mind that everything you touch, including your airline tickets, the handles on your bags, and your ID, have the potential to be touched by someone else and vice versa so wash your hands more than often with soap and water, lathering for at least 30 seconds.
2. Carry hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes (in a small enough container to pass carry-on regulations) with you everywhere. You can essentially wash your hands anytime any place and wipe down any plastic surface you come in contact with armrests on airplane and airport seats, ticket counters, etc - when you're armed with these two items.
3. Avoid using the pillows and blankets on airline flights. Believe it or not, whether you're flying on cheap flights or premium airlines, the planes don't have a washing machine or dryer hooked up in the back to sanitize pillows and blankets between flights. Bring your own pillow or blanket as a shield against the seats themselves.
4. You'll be hard-pressed to find cheap flights that aren't crowded with travelers; as a common hygiene practice, make sure to sneeze and cough into your own body, preferably into the bend of your arm. Always carry tissues to avoid spreading any of those germs to other passengers.
5. As helpful as flight attendants, ticket counter, and baggage claim employees can be and as much as we appreciate what they do, it wouldn't be unheard of to kindly request to handle your own belongings if possible at this time. Many of the discount airlines don't charge for checked baggage, but you might want to still consider carrying-on your luggage on these cheap flights to avoid having the ticket counter and baggage handlers germ up your bags.
6. Airlines have probably already started opening up cheap airline tickets to Mexico and areas of the country that have had Swine Flu outbreaks, but federal officials do warn against traveling to these places and they ask travelers to be particularly cautious around friends and family who may have recently visited those parts of the world.
7. Remember that you're usually contagious one week prior to exhibiting symptoms of the flu, so if you think you may have come in contact with someone who could be carrying the flu this might be one of the few reasons to postpone your airline tickets for another time.
8. You can never be too cautious, so wearing a mask in public to protect yourself from other traveler's germs and to keep yours from spreading may be a good idea.
9. Remember that just once you've stepped off the plane that doesn't mean you're out of harms way. If you're going to be staying in a hotel room and you have space in your suitcase, you might want to pack your own sheet and pillow case.
Adjusted for the Kebyar Gong - a band formed by a group of gamelan instruments (musical instruments forged notes with five copper and bronze) and various metal gongs and symbols. Barong dance is the classic story of good (The Barong), triumphing over evil (the evil witch Rangda). The Barong is a great leon type creature played by two men, Rangda is the epitome of bad weather and nail Droopy breasts. The Barong goes about his business until he is interrupted by Rangda. Ultimately there is a battle and Barong supporters start attacking their Rangda Keris (daggers). Rangda, being a witch, is able to use magic powers to turn against their owners Daggers, which fall into a trance and try to stab themselves. The Barong, also has magical powers, protects his followers from harm Rangda and retreats in the woods to rest and prepare for the next battle. The intensity of the Barong followers in their attempt to stab themselves is quite alarming and the trance is very real, usually - and there is always a priest on hand to revive the dancers with holy water.
Where to see the Barong Dance:
Suwung - Daily 09.30 - 10.30
Kesiman - Daily 09.30 - 10.30
Batu Tegal, Batubulan - Daily 09.30 - 10.30
Br Singapadu Abasan - Daily 09.30 - 10.30
Padangalak - 09.30 hours daily
Puri Saren, Ubud - Friday 06.30 pm
Kecak Dance is one of the most famous dances of Bali, is unusual because it has no musical accompaniment like many other Indonesian dances to the rhythm of the dance song is produced by the 'monkey' chorus. The singing noise "Cak-CAK, CAK" gave the dance its name Kecak. The choir of 50 men organized into a ring around a flame, to produce a stage. Men not only the rhythm of this dance but also act as the various armies of monkeys that appear on the history and the undulating snake in one of the scenes.
The history of dance is taken from the Ramayana epic that tells the king of evil Rahwana using deception to abduct Rama's wife Dewi Sint, and how with the help of the army of white, Rama rescues his wife and Rahwana defeats evil. But dance is a traditional Balinese dance that developed in the 1930s in the village of Bona specifically for western tastes. If you get a chance to go to a dance Kecak go because it is an experience not to be missed.
Where to see the Kecak Dance:
Catur Eka Budi, (Art Center) Denpasar - Daily 07.00 pm
Bona Kangin Gianyar - Monday, Wednesday, Friday 06.30 pm - 07.30 pm
Uluwatu Temple - Daily 06.00 pm - 07.00 pm
Padang Tegal Ubud - Sunday 06.00 pm - 07.30 pm
Batubulan - Daily 06.30 pm - 08.00 pm
Tanah Lot means "Earth in the Middle of the Sea" in Balinese language. Located in Tabanan, some 20 kilometers from Denpasar, the temple is located in the sea a huge rock that has been continuously over the years by the ocean tide.
Tanah Lot is said to be the work of the 15th century Nirartha priest. They say that during his travels along the south coast, saw the rock of the island's beautiful scenery and rest there. Some fishermen saw him and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night in the small island. Later, speaking with the fishermen and told them to build a shrine in the rock for his view that this is a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods.
Tanah Lot temple was built and has been an important part of Balinese mythological history for centuries. The temple is one of the seven temples around the Balinese sea coast. It was said that each of the temples of the sea would be seen in the following way to form a chain along the south-western coast.
At the base of the rocky island, poisonous sea snakes are believed to save the temple from evil spirits and intruders. It is said that a giant snake, which also protects the temple. It is believed that this snake was created from the Nirartha scarf when he established the island.
Kuta is a town in southern Bali, Indonesia. A former fishing village, it was one of the first towns on Bali to see substantial tourist development, and as a beach resort remains one of Indonesia's major tourist destinations. It is known internationally for its long sandy beach, varied accommodation, many restaurants and bars, and substantial Australian population. It is located near Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport.
Kuta was the site of the October 12, 2002 Bali bombing (202 killed) and the October 1, 2005 Bali bombing (26 killed).
Kuta is now the center of an extensive tourist-oriented urban area that merges into the neighboring towns. Legian, to the north, is the commercial hub of Kuta and the site of many restaurants and entertainment spots. Most of the area's big beachfront hotels are in the southern section of Tuban.
Legian and Seminyak are northern extensions of Kuta along Jl. Legian and Jl. Basangkasa. They are somewhat quieter suburbs with cottage-style accommodations, where many of the expat crowd live. Also to the north are Petitenget, Berawa, Canggu, and Seseh - new and quieter continuations of Kuta's beach. They are easy to reach through Abian Timbul or Denpasar and Kerobokan. Several large hotels are located in this area: the Oberoi Bali, Hard Rock Hotel Bali, the Intan Bali Village, the Legian in Petitenget, the Dewata Beach and the Bali Sani Suites in Berawa.
To the south, Kuta Beach extends beyond the airport into Jimbaran. Other nearby towns and villages include Seseh (6.4 nm), Denpasar (4.5 nm), Ujung (1.8 nm), Pesanggaran (2.0 nm), Kedunganan (2.9 nm) and Tuban (1.0 nm).
The Balinese Provincial Government have taken the view that the preservation of the Balinese culture, natural resources and wildlife are of primary importance in the development of the island. To this end they have limited tourist development to the peninsula on the extreme southern aspect of the island; Kuta beach is on the western side of this peninsula and Sanur is on the east. To the north of the peninsula no new tourist development is supposedly permitted.(take from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuta)
