Lovina Beach

Lovina resort is known for its beautiful beach with calm water, black sand, its underwater coral stone and various kinds of tropical fish. Since the sea water is mostly calm, Lovina beach becomes an ideal place for marine activities like: diving, snorkeling, fishing, sailing, swimming or just immersing in the water.

Added to all those attractions is the existence of flocks of dolphins in their original habitat. One can watch hundreds of this friendly fish in the morning, at about 1 km off - shore.

Watch the jumping dolphins with range of mountains as the back¬ground at the South, the reddish sky about sunrise time, all of which can offer a very interesting view to visitors.

Lovina resort also has some other interesting places nearby, like Banjar hot spring, the Buddhist Vihara, Gitgit and Singsing water falls as well as some traditional villages with their simple-way of life to see (ecotourism).

Location

Formally, this tourist resort is called : "Kalibukbuk tourist resort" however it is known more as "Lovina" Beach.

This resort covers two districts i.e : Buleleng district consists of villages of : Pemaron, Tukad Mungga, Anturan and Kalibukbuk, while the other district is : Banjar consists of the villages of Kaliasem and Temukus. Both of the districts belong to Buleleng regency. The centre of this tourist resort is located about 10 km from Singaraja, the capital town.

Facility

Being the centre of tourist activities in Buleleng regency, Lovina Beach is completed with sufficient facilities like: star and non star hotel accommodations, home stays and bungalows, restaurants, souvenir shops, transport companies, money-changers, tourist information service, telephone/communication kiosks, parking lot etc.

Tourist Visit

As the leading tourist resort in Northern - part of Bali, Lovina has the biggest number of visitor arrival to Buleleng and based on the tourist survey done in 1992, it was about 90 % of the whole number of visitors visiting Buleleng spent most of their time at Lovina.

Description

There are no definite evidences or sources of information about the origin of the name "Loving" however, based on the information given by the sons of the late Anak Agung Panji Tisna, the descendant of the King of Buleleng who was also a well known man-of-letters, the name "Lovina" was given by the late upon a property under his name located at Kaliasem village on which he built a bungalow as resting place.

It was said that the name Lovina taken from a small hotel in India named : "Lafeina" where he spent his night and wrote a book titled "Ni Ketut Widhi"., which was then translated into several foreign languages.

To remember the small hotel in India, he then gave his property a name "Lovina". However there is a different version telling that the name "Lovina" was given, because there were two "santen" trees planted by his son which then grew embracing each other and that "Lovina" in Latin means "love each other".

The name "Lovina" was then translated by Mr. I Ketut Ginantra, the regent of Buleleng (1988-1993) as an acronym of "Love" and "Ina" means "Love Indonesia".


Source: Bali Goverment Tourism Office
http://photos.igougo.com

SABAH VACATION

The main reason people come to Sabah is to climb Kinabalu mount; assaults on Malaysia’s highest peak can be launched from the state capital, Kota Kinabalu. All up, a trip to the mountain and back, plus exploring the trails around the national park headquarters and a visit to Poring Hot Springs, will take you five to six days. Kota Kinabalu is also the jumping-off point for the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, a cluster of five lovely islands offering beautiful beaches.

A six-hour bbus ride will take you east to character-filled Sandakan, the base for various wildlife-viewing activities, including a visit to the Turtle Islands National Park, Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilation Center and Sungai Kinabatangan, one of the best places in Southeast Asia to see fauna.

From Sandankan, head south towards the Danum Valley Conservation Area, where you can enjoy various ecotourism activities – including a not-to-be-missed night drive safari – from the luxurious Borneo Rainforest Lodge. Finished up your trip in Semporna, from where you can organize diving and snorkeling trips to Pulau Sipadan and other nearby islands.

Keeping Women Business Travelers Safe
Women now constitute almost 50 percent of all the bisnis travel in the United States, and spend $175 billion on 14 million trips annually. Women also have safety concerns that men don't. Here's a collection of safety tips from Marybeth.

Place the "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door to discourage anyone from entering your room while you are away.

When staying in hotel, always check the window and door locks.

Bolt the door to your hotel room and don't open it for anyone without first checking with the front desk.

Make sure the sliding door to your hotel room is locked.

Use your baggage to hold the door to your hotel room while you check the closets. Even better, ask someone from the front desk to accompany you to your room while you check it out.

If the desk clerk mentions your room number out loud and there are other guests around to overhear, request that you be given a different room and that the clerk not mention the number.

Keep the curtains in your room closed.

If it's very late and you're alone, go to the front desk and ask security to walk you to your room.

For peace of mind when traveling alone, choose national hotel chains with interior room entrances. More and more women are also choosing small inns and B&Bs where the proprietors will know where they've been for dinner and when to become alarmed if they don't return by a specific time.

When arriving at night, rental car agencies and hotels can arrange for someone to accompany you to and from parking lots.

When alone (particularly at night), walk with the crowd and act as if you're part of the pack.

Carry your passport, traveler's checks and cash in a concealed money belt worn around the waist.

Look and act confident. Get directions ahead of time and know your destination. If you are unsure of your location, act like you know where you are headed and get directions at a safe-looking gas station, cafe, etc.

Be aware of your surroundings (people, cars, doorways, stairwells, etc.) and have a plan in case you get into a dangerous situation.

On all flights, count the seats and rows to the nearest emergency exit. If there ever is a need to make an emergency exit, you will know exactly how far you need to crawl (if necessary) to reach the exit.

Travel with a small, high-powered flashlight in your briefcase when you're out, and on your bedside table at night for emergencies.

Use laminated business cards as luggage tags. Anyone checking the address will not know your home address and telephone number.

Leave your good jewelry at home. Don't draw attention!

Be proactive, not reactive.

Never volunteer the fact that you are traveling alone. Lie if necessary.

Plan your trip before traveling in a rental car. Do not reveal a map in your car with a marked route on it.

To ward off unwanted male attention, especially in male-dominated foreign countries, carry fake engagement and wedding rings to be used as necessary; make hotel reservations as if married.

Do not use room service breakfast door hangers because they ask for number of guest(s). You don't want anyone to know you are alone.

The first time I visited Jakarta, Indonesia feeling groggy after a 15-hour train ride and disoriented in this unfamiliar city—I was relieved I had arranged to stay with Margaretha and her family. As my local, Indonesian hosts, they welcomed me into their home and shared their customs, values and viewpoints with me, as well as a great city map.

When Margaretha wasn't working, we shopped for spices at the markets, cooked gado-gado (noodles with peanut sauce) in her kitchen, spent time with three generations of relatives, and talked about everything from Javan dance rituals to women's rights. We also explored areas Jakarta not mentioned in any guidebooks, places I never would have discovered on my own.

By the time I left Margaretha's home, three days later, I understood more about Indonesian culture than I had learned during two months of travel in the country. And, I'd made friends for life.

As you plan your next vacation—whether it's to Indonesia or Burlington, Vt.—consider joining a hospitality club. As a member, you can stay with local families or individuals, and swap ideas, build new friendships and gain insight into each other's worlds.

In at least 130 countries worldwide, local hosts take visitors into their homes, and provide safe, friendly environments for cultural exchange. Some hospitality groups are geared specifically to individual or women travelers—you stay with other women around the globe—while others target senior adventurers or travel groups.

When you join a hospitality club, you typically receive a list of hosts in the region you're visiting, with information on each person's background—address, job, family, interests, hobbies and languages spoken, as well as a notation on how many people he/she can host and for how long. Stays can range from two nights to a month or more, depending on the arrangements you've made with your host and how well you hit it off.

During an 18-month, around-the-world journey, I spent anywhere from two days to two weeks with 24 different host families, including a train conductor in New Zealand, students in Indonesia, a doctor in Malaysia, a retired teacher in Thailand, and a shoemaker in India. These were, by far, some of the most profound experiences of my trip.

You can organize your stay before your vacation or once you reach your destination. Since my plans changed almost daily during my trip, I arranged visits en route through letters, e-mail or phone calls.

In some cases, you may spend a majority of the visit with your hosts, taking part in daily life. In fact, people in lesser-visited, rural areas may go out of their way to spend time with you. At other times, you may entertain yourself during the day and spend evenings with your host.

A hospitality stay can be the entire focus of your vacation—visit a sheep herder in Scotland or a social worker in India, and immerse yourself in the culture. Or, it can be one aspect of your trip: If you're planning a 10-day vacation to the Swiss Alps, with just a few days on the slopes, you can spend your extra time living with a local family.

Hospitality clubs are great for travel within the United States and even your home state, too. If you're a Bostonian planning to visit Bend, Ore., stay with a local host and discover what life is like in a small-town ski haven, 3,000 miles away from home. Or, if you grew up on Cape Cod and have never been to the Berkshires, you can spend a weekend with a family in North Adams, for instance.

You typically pay an annual fee to join a hospitality club and, in some countries, are occasionally asked to chip in for food, but you never pay for a place to sleep (which can range from a luxurious bed to a spot on a floor). These organizations, however, are not free-accommodation clubs, and many have a strict screening process—an application and interview—to ensure that travelers are truly interested in cultural exchange, rather than a cheap crash pad.

For your benefit, hosts are also screened before they're allowed to join, to ensure that they can facilitate hospitality stays. If your aims, and those of your host, are noble, the exchange may be one of the most profound and rewarding travel experiences you'll have, and the friendships you make may last a lifetime.