That favorite holiday isle of Indonesia, the tropical paradise that is Bali, almost got a radical new look.

The mostly Muslim country was considering banning the wearing of bikinis in every part of the country as part of an anti-pornography bill being pushed through the Indonesian parliament by some of the more conservative Muslim parties. Which is totally their right, of course--but it probably wouldn't be great for tourism on Bali in particular.

In any case, Bali is mainly Hindu, and plenty of locals there were vowing to simply break the law if the no-bikini rule got passed. Luckily it looks like they won't have to. The bill now contains exemptions for special tourist areas so relax: You can still pack your bikini for Bali.

Related Stories:
· Bikinis Given the Green Light in Bali [news.com.au]
· Bali Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: mag3737]

What's better than a trip to Bali? Well, if we had to say, maybe a spacious and secluded suite stocked with a personal assistant. Is that so much to ask?

Apparently not, according to the Conrad Bali. Starting October 1, the lush hotel will open 55 new suites, each boasting at least 360 square feet--which is, ahem, awfully close to the size of a studio apartment in some cities stateside--and surrounded by what sounds like a veritable tropical paradise (think gardens and reflecting ponds).

In addition to access to a personal assistant, each suite will have a separate living and dining room (though let's be honest, they must be tiny) as well as a private terrace equipped

The environment's been getting an unexpected boost on the Indonesian island of Bali in the last couple of weeks. Fuel shortages caused by late arrivals of tankers to Bali's main fuel depot has meant that many gas stations simply closed up shop.

And that meant some tourists had their trips well and truly disrupted. With bus drivers unable to drive their empty-tanked buses, some travelers got stranded while others were ferried around in smaller cars that still had some gas.

Bali Tourism officials were quite concerned--especially as it's supposed to be Visit Indonesia Year--but perhaps it's just a strong shove from fate to remind people about the idea of green travel. Who knows where the fuel might run out next? We'd better start learning to walk again.

Related Stories:
· OilShortage Fuels Bali Discontent [TravelMole]
· Indonesia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: axoplasm]

Prostitution is "flourishing" in Indonesia, so the local leaders in one state have made a rule
requiring masseuses to wear chastity belts. The devices mandated by the government in Batu, an area that's popular with tourists, are "padlocks" that a massage parlor staffer must wear "on the waist band of her trousers." Sexy! [Reuters]

This Flickr shot from en.en of the wedding chapel at the Conrad Bali has us wishing we could go to the chapel all over again. En.en writes:

Weddings are usually held here, small party, 60 guests top, but you can have reception outside in the open. this is an amazing chapel. i would love to get married here one day...

Well technically we can't get married again (right now, heh) but we can check into the place which has rooms for only $170 a night in April. Now, we gotta work on getting over there.

In other news:
· Marriott gets geeky video-conferencing tools [Baltimore Sun]
· Travelodge UK will open 44 new hotels in Britain this year. Expect more

Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.

In this episode, Hotel Maven JennM escapes the cold of NYC. Enjoy.

It's freezing in New York this week and there's nothing I can't stand more

If for some strange reason you've had enough of lying on the beach during your Bali holiday, then you can always check out the Bali Zoo. It's not massive, with just 350 animals calling it home, but it likes to double as a conservation unit and has dubbed itself "Nature's Education Centre".

Thanks to a cooperation going with the Peel Zoo in Western Australia, the Bali Zoo is modernizing its animal enclosures and has the aim of making it a zoo where "animals will be lining up at the gate to get in." We'd like to see that.

The news of the moment at Bali Zoo is that it's just started running Night Tours of the zoo. Since plenty of the 350 are usually pretty sleepy during a balmy tropical Bali day, night tours should help you see animals being a bit more active. Just watch out at the front gate for that animal queue.

Related Stories:
· Bali Zoo [Official Site]
· Get To Bloody Bali Now [Jaunted]
· Bali Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: viajar24h.com]

We recently noted the flying corpse on a British Airways flight. Now comes news that a dead man spent hours on an Indonesian train before he was discovered in a locked lavatory. Understandably, the man’s daugther isn’t happy with the train company.

Including Garuda. An audit by Indonesia’s Transportation Ministry has found that “none of 20 major Indonesian passenger and cargo airlines fully met national safety regulations,” the Los Angeles Times reports. The audit follows two fatal crashes this year alone. Australian officials have warned citizens to consider the findings when planning trips.

[Ed. Note: Hotel Maven GEOmbfl is back from an unhappy stay at the Ritz-Carlton Bali and thinks you should pass on this spot and instead hit up the Bulgari or Aman hotels. Let's just say there were a few problems getting a club-level room.]

Click through for the full scoop.