Johan Hensen Column The writer is a retired hopitality consultant and living in Bali. Any comment about this article, please email at johan@bits.bali.com or HP 081558582853

Welcome to 2007
I wish all my dear Readers a prosperous and healthy year 2007

For those of you who visit Bali for the first time and also read this magazine / Column for the first time, I wish to grab this opportunity to welcome you to the world of mystique, amazing culture, stunning nature and the fabulous Balinese people, who are your outstanding hosts during your stay with us. If you came to Bali just to relax or for Sun, Beach & Party, Bali has a lot to offer you, especially in the famous Kuta area.

But if you came for its Art & Culture, Nature, Adventure, Marine life, the peaceful way of life of the Balinese people and its unique ceremonies, Bali is the right place to be, second to none. It is a world of mystique and beauty, just waiting for you to discover it.
That world is not a commercial one, nor is it a hand made one. Therefore, you need to be active to find it, to go off the beaten tourist track. In contrast with other travel magazines, this magazine focuses on giving you a look behind the scenes of the Real Bali. This all combined with background information about upcoming events, ceremonies and information about all areas of Bali, including the ones where tourists are hardly going.
If you feel lost about how to go the best way, just contact us, as we are happy to help you on your way into the Real Inspirational Bali.
I also wish to express a word of thanks to my loyal readers and their comments and reactions during the past year 2006. There were many of you who reacted during their stay here in Bali and contacted me by phone and there are the many Bali Friends who read my column on-line and send me their comments by mail. I sincerely thank you all and hope that you will continue reading my columns and sending me feedback. May you all be blessed by the Inspiration of Bali.
Special New Year Greetings goes to my dear ones in Holland (Margreet, thank you so much for your much appreciated invitation, you are the pearl of my life), in Australia (Joyce, Wayne, David, Mark and Moyanne), in the USA (Heleen and Marly), in Germany (Andre), in Switzerland (Reto and Martina), in New Zealand (Glenn Iswara), in Thailand (Jonathan) and in the Philippines (Babette).
In my last column, I promised you to reveal my secret of where I was spending my New Years Eve. Well, at first I went to join the local people of Bali during their celebrations at Puputan Square in Denpasar. It was so heart warming to be part of their spontaneous and peaceful celebrations, pure Sense & Simplicity!
On occasions like this where thousands of people gather together and celebrate, I always wonder why some foreign governments so easily issue heavy travel warnings for Bali and on what that is based? Better we invite Bush, Howard and Blair for next years’ celebration in Bali, so they experience the Real Bali by themselves and I am sure that they will directly revoke those warnings and will never ever again listen to those so-called “ intelligence information reports”. So, Dear Government Leaders, hereby my invitation to you, but please do come as a mystery guest.
I continued my day by visiting the Warwick – Ibah Resort in Ubud to join my friend Glenn Knape and the Royal Family of Ubud in their celebrations. This place has such a warm and welcoming atmosphere and beautiful environment that you really feel part of the royal family. It is always a pleasure to be there and of course host Mr. Glenn makes sure that you will enjoy the best of food and beverages. Although it was difficult to leave this ambience, I had to continue my trip, so I quickly returned to Sanur to join the countdown at the Puri Santrian Resort with the famous Dutch TV celebrity Lonny Gerungan and the Royal Family of Sanur. As both persons, Lonny and Glenn are truly Goodwill Ambassadors of Bali, I had to see them both and thank them for their great activities in the past years. Speaking on behalf of many in Bali, I hope that Bali continues to inspire you to represent us also this year. Thank you so much for all you fabulous goodwill and promotion activities in the past years.
All this made it impossible for me to attend the great celebrations at the romantic Ma Joly restaurant in Tuban – Kuta, at the fabulous Nusa Dua Beach Resort, The Padma Hotel in Legian and The Bali Tropic resort in Tanjung Benoa. I am very sorry to have disappointed you, but then, my birthday is coming up soon. So who knows?
And last but not least, I wish all the people of Bali a prosperous Year 2007 and hope that they will succeed in maintaining their unique way of living, their culture and the famous philosophy of life balance: THK, respect of man to man, man to nature and man to God.
As you can see in the picture, I bring a toast to you with the delicious champagne / sparkling wine from Bali: “Jepun from Hatten Wines”. Yes, we do make wine in Bali and in my next column I will highlight more of this tasteful, bubbling wine from the gods.
Cheers and
Selamat Tahun 2007