Canggu
Canggu offers something for every type and level of surfer. As a testimony to its enduring popularity amongst world-class surfers, Canggu hosted the Oakley Pro 2012 last month, the first leg of the 2012 Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship tour. The event featured such names as Dede Suryana, Lee Wilson and Marlon Gerber. Fast and furious waves that start at between 1.5m and 2m in height can be found here.

Uluwatu
There are four different sections here and they span the length of Uluwatu’s surfable areas. These sections include the Temples, a long wave that works at mid-to high-tide; The Peak, which is situated right around the front of the warungs on Uluwatu’s sealed-road beachfront and which offers some of the best waves on the island at high tide; the Racetrack, a super fast but workable barrel that is doable at low tide but which gets seriously shallow; and finally, the Outside Corner with an eight-foot swell and a long and fast break.

Balangan
Often hyped as the island’s best-kept-secret beach, Balangan is certainly not easy to find, even with the existence of a new road that will just about take you all the way in. All of the bushwhacking is well worth it though once you pop out onto Balangan’s pristine, white, sandy beach to find only a handful of tourists scampering about. The four-to-eight-foot-high waves at Balangan are fast, powerful and hollow and perform best at mid-to high-tide. There is also a nice reef here located just a short paddle out from the shore.

Bingin-The Impossibles
Bingin, the next reef south of Balangan, is hard to access due to a high cliff wall. Unlike Balangan, however, Bingin gets very crowded through the peak season and worse, there is only one small take- off area. The wave itself is pretty sharp, but is relatively short, although a fun barrel is pretty much guaranteed. The Impossibles is located between Bingin
and Padang-Padang.

Medewi
Medewi is a tiny, remote village some 75km to the west of the capital Denpasar. This place is very much a surfing hotspot however and visitors flock here for this specific reason alone. Medewi offers a perfect, fun wave for all surfers and is generally not as scary as other reef spots. The bottom here is made of boulders. This is Bali’s longest left hander in fact and rolls all year long, another factor in this spot’s popularity.

My Merapi paragliding experience was kick started when I contacted the KLM (Komunitas Lereng Merapi) office before setting off on an ascent of its slopes. We trod a commonly used route which runs via Selo on the Central Java side of Merapi. As we approached the summit, our party stopped at Pasar Bubrah, an extinct crater that now serves as a place for resting and cooking. It was from here that my friends and I would descend the slope via parachute.
I stood on the volcanic sand and rocks, calculated the wind speed and then soared into the sky. I flew above the slopes of Merapi at an altitude of some 2,123 metres while being dazzled by spectacular views of neighbouring Mount Merabu. Blood coursed through my body as I enjoyed one truly amazing experience.

This film features ten Indonesian children’s songs that remain legendary to this day. The songs were composed by A.T. Mahmud and include “Ambilkan Bulan Bu” (which translates as “Bring Me the Moon, Mother”). All of these songs have now been reinterpreted by present day stars such as Cokelat, Judika and RIF. The film tells the story of Amelia’s adventures on holiday in a village. One day, she and her friends become stuck in the middle of a forest supposedly haunted by Mbah Gondrong, a mysterious character who is rumoured to love eating children. The stories about him turn out to be untrue however, because he ends up saving Amelia. Mbah Gondrong merely wants to protect the forest from illegal loggers.

The film was directed by Ifa Isfansyah, who recently won the Best Director award for "The Dancer" at Festival Film Indonesia. “Although I brought a visual aspect to the fore, I didn't want the film to lose any of its narrative and emotional content. This is a challenge that must be met,” explained Ifa. “Ambilkan Bulan” was shot over a period of 14 days in the Karanganyar area of Central Java.

Pullman Pattaya Hotel G has just opened its doors in the Thai resort town of Pattaya, bringing with it Shanghai’s renowned Hotel G concept. The newly branded hotel features a Beach Club, 353 rooms and lofts wrapped in signature, stark-white themes accented by colourful Thai elements.

As a response to exponential growth in the Asian art market, Sotheby’s recently announced that it will unveil its new art-gallery space in Hong Kong on May 19. The facility, which comprises the fifth floor of One Pacific Place, will be used to host selling and auction activities and also incorporates a permanent Sotheby’s Diamond salon.

Bali is taking another step forward to becoming a world-class, health-tourism destination. Early this month, the island’s leading private health services group, BIMC Hospital, will inaugurate its second outlet in Nusa Dua. The brand-new medical facility is equipped with modern facilities and incorporates five Centres of Excellence, namely a 24-hour Accident and Emergency Centre, a 24-hour Medical Centre, a Dialysis Centre, a CosMedic Centre and a Dental Centre.

Maria Indria Sari and Samuel Indratma have collaborated on an installation entitled “Kursi Remot Kontrol & TV Satu Channel” (“Remote Controlled Chair & One Channel TV”). Together they have sought to depict a family room that is no longer private because of all the information that flows out unchecked from the TV set. Domestic Stuff runs from April 14 until May 6 at Salihara, Jakarta.

This solo exhibition by David Armi Putra features a number of paintings and installations that elaborate upon the process of shape transformation. Loudmouth is being staged with the cooperation of Selasar Sunaryo Art Space and Valentine Willie Fine Art, and runs from April 20 until May 11.