Villas in Seminyak: An Essence of Bali

Did you know more than 4 million people visit Bali each year and there are only 3.5 million inhabitants on the whole island. Since Julia Roberts filmed Eat, Pray, Love in Bali the buzz surrounding the island has been electric. The island of Bali does very little to advertise itself to the outside world but still acts like a magnet for a plethora of tourists from all over the globe.

That is one of the main things I like about the island is that you really do get a mixing pot of races, nationalities and religions. Bali has an all-round appeal with its, nightclubs, beaches, surfing, extreme activities, nature, mountains, unique culture, backpacking hostels, luxury villas and boutique resorts. In Bali you can find rich tourists, tourists travelling on a shoe-string and expats, all from Europe, China, Japan, Jakarta, America, Russia, Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

Bali's location in south East Asia, its welcoming religion, cheap rates and natural features make it the perfect holiday destination for people from all the continents of the world.

Poppies 1 and 2 have been serving the needs of surfers, students and backpackers for years now; but the development of luxury designer villas and hotels is accelerating at a fair old pace. If you look anywhere in the Sanur, Kuta, Seminyak, Keroboken and Changgu you can see development. The great thing about this development is it is mostly low rise so you do not see the ruinous development like that seen in Spain (Costa del Sol). The big hotels tend to only be a maximum of 5 stories tall but the majority of the construction is single story villas.

If you do decide to visit Bali on holiday I can be very confusing when deciding where to stay. There are many popular areas but my favourite is Seminyak.

In Seminyak you are far enough away from Kuta to get away from the backpackers and students but close enough to take part in the madness if you so wish. In Seminyak you have great beaches that are relaxed and have less people trying to sell sarongs and massages. Also on certain days the waves get really big and you can watch the pro surfers catching waves at 66 or KuDeTa wave breaks. Seminyak also has some great shops for any kind of retail therapy you need; fashion, design, antiques, technology. The cherry on top of the Seminyak cake is the busy but not crazy nightlife; great restaurants (cheap and expensive), bars and nightclubs.

It took me a long time to decide where to stay but I settled on a fantastic place called Essence Villas. The villas have a traditional open Balinese design but with all the modern comforts. The villa has a private road taking us into a quiet location where I could really kick back and relax. As we sat drinking our morning coffee I could feel the cooling breeze come sweeping through the open kitchen. After taking a dip in the pool and soak up some tropical sun we headed down into Seminyak town to taste some local food. I really suggest you try the ‘nasi campur’ which is literally translated ‘mixed rice’, it is white rice served with a choice of vegetable dishes or meat dishes.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Bali and I am glad that I stayed in Seminyak. A drive to the airport and I was away from the magical island of Bali. I forgot to mention that without the Balinese people Bali would not be the place that it is. There is something about the aesthetic beauty of the Hindu religion that makes you feel you are in a special place – every where you look you can see temples. It is the spirit of he Balinese people and the constant offering to Krishna (the Hindu God) that can be seen everywhere – this is the true essence of Bali.

Essence Villas is an interesting investment that offers you the opportunity to own a little piece of this Magic Island.

PRICE 350,000 EURO contact tel. +6281.8055.031.19


Website   http://www.bali-essence-villas.com 

History, Romance and Beauty in Ubud.

Since the 8th century, Ubud, on the island of Bali, has been a destination for Hindu pilgrims. The Gunung Lebah Temple still to this day remains a destination for Hindu pilgrims but now Ubud has a different sort of pilgrim. This pilgrim comes looking for Hindu culture, relaxation, romance, yoga and Balinese art.

I have been living in Bali for a long time and have come to really appreciate the non-intrusive nature of Balinese Hinduism. The main stories that hold Balinese Hinduism together, such as Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharata, come from ancient Indian Sanskrit. Hinduism is considered the oldest organised religion.

The Balinese combined these ancient stories with their existing religion, what scholars call animism. The Balinese believe the mountains, rivers and beaches have a living spirit. The Balinese of times past painted, danced, played music and designed architecture to celebrate the love they have for Krishna and the other Hindu gods. This is the tradition that is being built upon and the tradition being kept alive in paintings, sculpture, wood-craft and the exterior and interior design of private luxury villas.

Ubud has become a popular tourist destination for people all over the world during the last 40 years. What is it about this romantic setting in Bali that has seen the quick development of so many private and luxury villas and hotels.

Located near the centre of Bali, west of the Ginayar Regency, Ubud is the cultural home of the Balinese people. Ubud exists as an anti-thesis to the ego driven Kuta, the shopping parade of Seminyak, traffic on the Sunset Road and the general hectic life on the south coast of Bali. Ubud is an escape from all of this; it is a place where you can chill-out in a relaxing and romantic setting, amongst glorious natural beauty.

A testament to the tolerant nature of the Balinese people can be shown in a story from 80 years ago. In the 1930 the royal family in Ubud encouraged foreign artists to live, learn and paint amongst the local people. This meant such pioneering artists as Walter Spies and Rudolph Bonnet could expose the world to this type of romantic art. A two way symbiosis occurred allowing the foreign artists to learn form the locals and the locals being able to unlock the creativity that was restricted by the traditional ways.

Ubud is surrounded by stepped rice paddies, deep ravines and breath-taking tropical beauty. This is the real inspiration for the artists and luxury villa developers in Ubud.

Wellness Bali, yoga, healing are all words that you will hear often in Ubud. Many tourists choose to go on private villa retreats to help mind, body and soul. This is certainly in keeping with the name of Ubud which comes from the Balinese word ‘ubad’ meaning medicine, as Ubud was originally an important source for medicinal herbs and plants.

Bali is a changing place and the truth is Ubud is becoming more and more busy. The tourists, expats and locals alike must do what they can to keep the spirit of Ubud alive and stop it from becoming another run-down tourist destination. As long as Ubud small businesses continue to focus on Balinese dance and art; and not focus on nightclubs and surfing Ubud should be able to remain as the cultural home it is.

Bali Villa Rental

My name is Steven Johnson from Manchester in England, and I would like to share with you my experiences with Paradise Property. My self and my wife first decided to look on the internet for possibly renting a villa on the fantastic island of Bali. We had always holidayed in a villa during previous times, and decided it was time for a change. Several options appeared on Google and one of the ones that stood out was about Bali villa.

The site was very informative and helpful, with many different options to choose from. We had both decided that we wanted to be in SEMINYAK, just situated off the famous ‘’EAT STREET’’ road known as JALAN LAKSMANA.

The site guided us to a perfect location situated behind RUMOURS AND ULTIMO restaurants. It fitted perfectly into our budget so we went ahead and booked for a couple of weeks as it was a present for our anniversary. Immediately upon our arrival at the airport we were met in VIP style. Instead of having to pass through customs and immigration with the rest of the flight, Paradise Property had arranged someone to meet us off the plane and usher us through to the baggage hall, HOW AMAZING NO WAITING !!!! Outside a car was waiting for us to take us to our booked destination, with a nice local driver who spoke perfect English. When we arrived at the villa the staff were dressed in local attire, with welcome drinks for us and cold towels. We were quite tired from the flightso wanted to relax straight away and a quick bite to eat, as we had plannedto get right on the beach in the morning !

After a week or so of total privacy and relaxation, we decided to pop into Paradise Property, which is situated in JALAN LAKSMANA (jalan meaning street) just 2 minutes walk from where we were staying ! We had spoken all week about possibly buying a property in Bali and went along to find out more. I have to say we were blown away again ! Very helpful and friendly staff and a great selection villas in different areas.

They were never pushy and to be honest we both wanted to look at some villas right there and then, but they way they handled it was very professional. They arranged a car to pick us up the next morning in my villa and a very polite chap from the office had carefully selected some properties within our budget in the areas we wanted to look at. First we looked at SEMINYAK, and then onto CANGGU. Half way through the tour we stopped at an amazing café right on the water known as ECHO BEACH. This was amazing, truly a magical place and somewhere we had not been for the whole week, and wished we had found it earlier ! We looked at several other villas and relaxed back at our villa.

We talked the whole week and went for dinner maybe 3 or 4 times back to ECHO BEACH, which is around 10-15 minutes from SEMINYAK. I’m happy to tell you that we are now proud happy owners of our own villa in CANNGU. A property we can use when we come to Bali, and rent out for the rest of the year. From start to finish, sitting at home on the internet, until the time we were dropped off at the airport PARADISE PROPERTY really delivered a first class performance.

And to top it off, not only have we bough a villa, but made some fantastic friends in the Paradise Property office who have not only guided us to our dream villa, but given us advice on everything related to Bali. We truly are great full to them and would recommend them to anybody wanting for a Bali villa rentals, villa sales or anything regarding owning a property in Bali.

Thank you guys !

Steve and Brenda Johnson.

Bali Real Estate Today

Bali Real Estate Today

The recent global recession affects all sectors of business ranging from home industry to major international company. With the stock markets being chaotic, investors are trying to find another means as their tool to overcome this situation and still gain profits. One of those means is the real estate business, especially in certain under-priced region like Bali.

Bali is one of the most sought after area amongst tourists' destinations on the globe and Bali real estate business grows massively each year. Elected as the second most favorite islands this year after the Maldives with developments on villas, apartments, condominiums on the rise Bali will stay strong and steadily attracts a lot of global investors to come and to have a
piece of the cake. Compared to Thailand or Hawaii, real estate business in Bali is still under priced and underestimated. However, certain investors could see the opposite and make the smart move towards 2009 where the property value can go up to minimal 20%!!

Mr. A had just been offered a beachfront apartment for US$245,000 and purchased it at US$196,000. That's 20% off the market price. Next year the price will go up 20% and if he wants to sell it he'll get 40% (20% + 20%) capital appreciations in just a couple of month's time plus the rental incomes of the apartment. That is just one example of what Bali real estate can offer to the investors and why it is a perfect investment tools. A lot of medias such as magazines, newspapers, travel and leisure websites are promoting Bali real estate aggressively, covering all sides of it from the plusses and the minuses making sure that the investors are fully aware of
what's new and special offers on the island.

Prestigious names such as St.Regis and The W hotel have entered the scene and with their worldwide reputations and services, these power players made Bali even classier than before. This triggered more investors to follow their footsteps in up and coming years. In due course Bali real estate will stay strong with definite growth and a very promising future in .


Nathan Adi Nugroho

Bali real estate property investment

Bali real estate property investment

Despite the crisis and what many people might have thought, investment in Bali estate is booming! With major international hospitality groups entering the island, such as W brand, arrival¹s figures increasing in numbers compared top revious years and Bali real estate prices keeping steady in times of global recession, Bali keeps ahead of other major Asian regions also competing for precious estate investment funds and cash necessary to boost their economies.

Thereason being that Bali is a relatively new market compared to other top international tourist and Bali real estate market such as Hawai, Phuket, Koh Samui, and alike.Bali's popularity was previously heavily affected by the bombings in 2002 and 2005. It was not before people realized that these events are now a global issue that people started gaining confidence in the Bali island, its natural resources and its great potential from an investment point of view.There is still plenty of room for investments and demand hasn¹t surpassed the offer yet!

Those who still want to profit of very good value for money and early comer¹s advantages should think of a small trip to the Bali island to have a look for themselves. It is not a fairy tale, it is visible andpalpable.Bali real estate online listings offering exceptional value to the buyer.

Flor Mayeli Rojas

Property sale in Bali

World Economic Crisis Effect on Property sale in Bali….


How will the crisis effect Bali land prices, villa for sale Bali, Bali real estate developer, as well as the up until now growing Bali residential market? This remains to see as it is still early in the game for Bali to say if the crisis has effected Bali land prices, villa for sale Bali, as well as Bali’s many real estate developer focusing a lot of funds into the Bali residential market. A couple of important points which is specific to the Bali land, villa, and residential market should be noted. First of all property for sale in Bali is a cash driven market, so fare no mortgage available for Bali real estate developer, or for individual buyers and investors for Bali land and Bali villa for sale. Second prices on property land, and villa for sale in Bali is still very much undervalued. And therefore a mostinteresting place to do investments. Both in Bali land, and Bali villa for sale. Third, history shows us that even under the two acts of terror property Bali prices, or villa for sale in Bali did not go down. Only some Bali real estate developer did not increase the prices for some time. Now also with foreign Banks investing into Indonesian Banks, as well as opening up for mortgage on property sale Bali, Bali land, and villa for sale in Bali through Foreign Banks as well as local Banks will soon be able to offer mortgage for foreigners wishing to invest into property sale Bali and the growing Bali residential market. So the time to invest is now, rather than later for Bali real estate .

Bali Real Estate

Lately the general bali real estate and Bali property market in has taken a serious turn for the better. Due to a significant and consistent growth of Bali property appreciation over the last 10 years, we see now more and more serious bali real estate companies, developers and investors looking at Bali as a more than interesting place to invest. More and more EU and USA based financial institutions, fund management companies, as well as individual real estate and property investors want to be part of the growth the Asian region sees, and Bali properties becomes a obvious first choice in the region with its un-spoiled beauty and diversified and unique culture. The legal aspect of foreign ownership of Bali real estate and property ownership is also becoming increasingly clearer and more secure than what it was in the early days. The Balinese local government as well as Indonesian central government also now full understands and supports the importance of a clear path on how to legally further enhance foreign Bali real estate and property investments to Bali, and is therefore giving priority to also create a clearer picture on existing Bali real estate and property zoning laws, in what areas that one can build and develop, as well as the opposite, where one can not. The Bali real estate and property business in Bali now also attracts more and more up-market, financially stronger individual investors, something that then also further enhance the growth of the service industry creating a very high quality of life, but at the same time very affordable way of life. All and all a yes yes and yes for Bali property real estate as the right, secure and most inviting places to do real estate and property investments into the foreseeable future.

Terje H. Nilsen