Over the last few years, the awareness of the negative impacts of tourism have come increasingly to the fore, creating a small but growing market for guidebooks that look at the ethical and environmental picture too. The Natural Guide to Bali is just such a guide and last Thursday 2 December saw the book’s launch at Loloan Restaurant in Seminyak. The editor, Ann Gouyon, introduced the book, explaining how she and her team had travelled the length and breadth of Bali mapping everything from high end hotels and eco lodges to tiny losmen (hostels) cafes, as well as a whole range of trips and tours and cultural activities, eco-grading them based on the effort they make toward the environment. The book is also filled with photographs, maps and essays by renowned Bali-philes.
The ex-pat community was out in force to support The Natural Guide To Bali, which was selling like hotcakes at the special reduced price of 175,000, while Loloan’s executive chef Richard kept a regular flow of novel canapés, wines and beer moving about the room.