LATest e-bulletin July'25

Gabriele Di Terlizzi
Jul 17
13 min read

Look at the endless innovative touring products developed by LAT. From slow tourism to tours aways from crowds, from an agile system of modular scheduled departures in different languages to arts, architecture, outdoor, experiential, culinary food and education packages, just to name a few!

All our offers are strictly carbon contribution @ LAT Climate Contribution, all emissions being calculated and offset by projects in cooperation with Climate Partners.

In this issue: ① Quote of the month ② Indonesia, Mining Earth and Sea ③ Penang Footloose ④ So Many Good Reasons to Work with LAT ⑤ Kuala Lumpur mashups ⑥ Bali tourism levy collection exceeds expectations ⑦ Peranakan Sentosa ⑧ Bali waste and traffic task force

How is it that evolution and progress have placed humanity in bonds and chains?

Indonesia, Mining Earth and Sea

The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has temporarily suspended nickel mining operations by PT Gag Nikel in Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua. The company’s Mining Business License (IUP) was suspended as of Thursday, June 5, 2025.

This decision follows widespread opposition to nickel mining in Raja Ampat from environmental activists and civil society groups, who cite threats to the region’s delicate ecosystem.

“For the time being, we will halt its operations until field verification,” the Ministry stated on Thursday.

PT Gag Nikel is a subsidiary of PT Antam Tbk, a state-owned enterprise. Its production IUP for nickel mining in Raja Ampat was issued in 2017, with operations commencing a year later after an Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) had been completed.

Strong opposition was recently voiced by Greenpeace Indonesia at the Indonesia Critical Minerals Conference & Expo held at the Pullman Hotel on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Greenpeace warned that mining activities in Raja Ampat would cause irreparable damage, highlighting the destructive impact of nickel mining already evident in areas such as Halmahera, Wawonii, and Kabaena.

Currently, five islands in Raja Ampat are being exploited, despite the region’s status as a global geopark and the world’s premier underwater tourism destination. Approximately 75 percent of the world’s best coral reefs are found in Raja Ampat, and these are now beginning to show signs of damage.

Greenpeace’s investigation last year uncovered mining activities on Gag Island, Kawe Island, and Manuran Island. These islands are classified as small islands, which under Law Number 1 of 2014 concerning the Management of Coastal Areas and Small Islands, should not be subjected to mining.

Greenpeace further reported that mining activities on these islands have damaged over 500 hectares of natural forests and vegetation. Field documentation also showed soil runoff flowing into coastal areas, leading to sedimentation that severely threatens coral reefs and the broader marine ecosystem.

At a pier jutting into the Indian Ocean from a fishing village in Indonesia’s West Nusa Tenggara province, local fishermen unload their catches for sale at one of Southeast Asia’s largest shark food markets.

Working quickly, they slice off the fins from the sharks’ bodies. Most of the meat is smoked and sold in local markets, while the fins are auctioned to traders for export to China, Japan, Thailand, and other Asian destinations.

Indonesia’s reefs and deep-sea troughs are home to 218 of the world’s shark and ray species, making the archipelago one of the top three shark-fishing nations alongside India and Spain, and the world’s largest exporter of shark products, according to a 2024 report by the Switzerland-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Even shark teeth are sold.

Local crews use rods and lines to catch a few dozen animals per boat on trips lasting up to 20 days. Prices are good: up to 30 sharks are sold locally each day, fetching up to 1 million Indonesian rupiah ($59.50) each.

Global demand for shark meat is rising rapidly, having nearly doubled since 2005. However, dried fins are far more valuable, selling for between 3 million and 10 million rupiah per kilogram, mostly for export. Demand is surging in China, where shark fins are believed to have therapeutic and aphrodisiac qualities. Japan is also a major market, importing $2 million worth of fins in the five years to 2024.

But the trade is unsustainable. Prices remain high because global overfishing has reduced supply far below demand — humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks annually, according to the World Wildlife Fund. A decade ago, the Tanjung Luar market handled up to 200 sharks a day, nearly seven times today’s average daily sales.

The Indonesian government has regulated the trade by banning catches of the most threatened species and imposing a licensing system for traders. However, ending shark fishing in Tanjung Luar will not be easy, as it remains a crucial source of livelihood for local communities.

LAT Customer Service Contact Number Update

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We have now consolidated our text and voice support into a single contact number:

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Please update your record accordingly.

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Penang Footloose

High-rise buildings arrayed like a defensive wall along the eastern coast of Malaysia’s Penang Island make it hard to imagine how this tropical outpost appeared to the British naval officer who landed on its shores in 1786.

Francis Light, who secured Penang for the British after negotiating with the local Malay sultan, transformed the largely uninhabited island into Britain’s main Southeast Asian trading center alongside nearby Singapore. According to local legend, Light fired a gun loaded with Spanish dollars into the dense forest along the shoreline to motivate his workers to clear trees more quickly as Penang’s capital, George Town — named after Britain’s King George III — was gradually carved out of wilderness.

Today, a statue of Light, erected in 1936, stands within the grounds of Fort Cornwallis, marking the site of his landing. The fort is now home to alfresco restaurants and cafes, including the Michelin-recommended Kota, which fuses Western cuisine with Peranakan food — the cuisine of descendants of Chinese settlers and local Malays.

This turtle-shaped island is part of the northwestern state of Penang, roughly two-thirds of which lies on the Malaysian mainland, linked to the island by two of Asia’s longest bridges.

Penang Island’s remarkable multiethnic, multicultural, and multireligious identity was largely shaped by British colonialism. Tamil laborers were brought from southern India, Chinese traders settled alongside Malays, and migrants arrived from as far as Armenia and the Middle East.

This vibrant 18th- and 19th-century trading hub gave rise to George Town’s distinctive East-meets-West architecture, earning it UNESCO World Heritage status in 2008.

Among the most distinctive remnants of Penang’s Chinese heritage are its clan houses and jetties. The kongsis (clan houses), established by families sharing surnames, served as refuges for new settlers. The grandest is Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi on Cannon Street, adorned with intricate carvings depicting scenes from Chinese epics. Cheah Kongsi, opening onto Beach Street with its official entrance on Armenian Street, is also worth visiting. Armenian Street, once an enclave for Armenian immigrants, is now George Town’s most gentrified tourist strip, popularized by Ernest Zacharevic’s mural of two children on a bicycle, which sparked an Instagram-fueled Street art craze that continues to overshadow Penang’s rich history.

Bisected by Lebuh Chulia, which leads east to the Penang Ferry Port (ferries connect to Butterworth on the mainland, home to Penang Sentral — possibly the world’s only hub where ferries, buses, and trains converge), George Town is divided into Chinatown and Little India. Both are organized into neat grids of lanes packed with Sino-Portuguese shophouses, traditional traders, modern hotels, and industrial-chic cafes.

Little India exemplifies Penang’s multiethnic character. The 19th-century Arulmigu Sri Mahamariamman Temple on Queen Street is the oldest Hindu temple in the area. Its back walls face Kapitan Keling Street, better known as Harmony Street for its many religious buildings. West of the temple is the black-domed 19th-century Kapitan Keling Mosque, built by Indian Muslim traders. To the east stands the Goddess of Mercy Temple, the oldest Mahayana Buddhist temple in Penang, dating to 1728. Further east, near Fort Cornwallis, lies St. George’s, the oldest Anglican church in Southeast Asia, set on a well-manicured lawn.

At the corner of King Street and Lebuh Chulia is the early 19th-century Nagore Durgha Sheriff, Penang’s oldest Sufi shrine. Like the Kapitan Keling Mosque, it stands as testament to Penang’s early Tamil Muslim community — ancestors of today’s Indian Muslim Mamak people, the originators of nasi kandar, a beloved Penang dish of rice topped with meat or vegetable curries.

Penang is famed for its street food. Carts serve local delicacies at hawker centres — open-air or covered clusters of stalls with communal seating. Chulia Street Hawker Food, at the end of Jalan Carnarvon, is a good starting point. The Jetty Food Court along Pengkalan Weld offers a mix of local and Western fare, as does Red Garden Food Paradise on Lebuh Leith, known for grilled seafood. Evenings see Lebuh Kimberley come alive with kopitiams — local coffee shops serving noodles, rice dishes, and street cart fare.

On the outskirts of George Town, the Air Hitam and Pulau Tikus districts host three of the island’s most important temples. Founded in 1890, Kek Lok Si Temple (Temple of Supreme Bliss) is one of Southeast Asia’s largest Buddhist temples. It sits on Penang Hill’s flanks between a 36.5-meter-tall Kuan Yin statue and Ban Pho Thar, a pagoda with Thai, Burmese, and Chinese architectural tiers symbolizing racial harmony.

Established in 1884, Penang Botanical Gardens span 242 hectares, home to macaques, giant squirrels, and the endangered dusky leaf monkey. Hidden within is a 122-meter-high three-tiered waterfall, now closed to visitors, which once supplied water to ships calling at George Town.

The gardens sit at the base of Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera), Malaysia’s first colonial hill station, founded by Light in 1788. Visitors flock to the five-minute ride up via the Penang Hill Funicular, one of the world’s steepest railways, which turned 100 in 2023. However, the selfie-snapping crowds have earned it the title “top tourist trap in Asia” from USA Today in 2023.

For a more serene experience, The Habitat nature park on Penang Hill offers a 1.6-kilometer guided walk through a 130-million-year-old rainforest, featuring ziplines, Curtis Crest (Penang’s highest viewing platform), and the 230-meter Langur Way Canopy Walk, which skirts the treetops 40 meters above ground.

The Habitat Foundation played a key role in research that led to Penang Hill’s designation as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2021. The reserve spans 12,481 hectares of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, stretching from the Botanical Gardens to Teluk Bahang’s beaches in the northwest. Visitors can hike, ride, or trail-run through this underappreciated green expanse, with at least a dozen trails marked on GPS apps such as AllTrails and Maps.me.

To the dismay of conservationists, the UNESCO inscription has spurred plans to clear about 50 non-heritage trees for a cable car project connecting the Botanical Gardens to the already crowded hilltop. Construction is underway, with operations expected to begin by early 2027.

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Kuala Lumpur mashups

It is Kuala Lumpur’s misfortune that its most iconic architectural feature is the Petronas Towers. Twin erections of glass and steel stand as monuments to the truth that oil money can buy you one of the world’s tallest buildings, but not necessarily good taste. Inside, corporate offices (blessed by offering no view of the towers themselves), a decent art gallery, and a vast mall of blandly forgettable luxury fill the space.

This failure is a shame, for KL’s broader architectural heritage is far more handsome and interesting. Two styles stand out. First, the neo-Moorish, imported along with architects from British India, evokes an Aladdin-esque fantasy of scalloped archways, onion domes, and geometric ornamentation.

Here is Masjid Jamek, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, and the peeling white-washed wedding cake of the Old Railway Station. The turquoise umbrella-roofed Masjid Negara is an intriguing modern riff on this style.

Less ostentatious but more pervasive is what architectural historian Soon-Tzu Speechley calls Malayan classicism. The shophouses lining KL’s older streets almost all follow this form. European, Chinese, and local influences merge: Grecian columns embroidered with plasterwork of British crowns, Chinese phoenixes, and durians; roofs and air wells styled after Chinese traditions. Snobs once dismissed this as “mutant classicism,” but it stands vindicated today.

Yet alongside these rises a third style – what one might call Kuala Lumpur modern: dull plastic and metal-sheeted malls, midrise concrete shop and apartment blocks, motorways slicing through neighbourhoods. This dominant style is like taking a strikingly attractive face and performing plastic surgery with knife and hammer.

Pretty shophouses moulder half-abandoned beneath ugly modern blocks, their facades buried under plastic signage. The city centre has been deserted by the middle classes for the suburbs. Jalan Tun Perak, a major thoroughfare, is perhaps the worst victim – the concrete bulk of an overhead metro line plunges it into dank gloom, obscuring the colonnades and domes of the Sultan Abdul building.

But beauty remains, and sometimes damage enhances art – the Venus de Milo’s missing arms are part of her allure. Similarly, the jumble of new buildings beside old ones – a legacy of wartime bombing – is central to my beloved London’s charm.

Some locals agree with my view. In central KL, shophouses are being snapped up and zhuzhed by the same breed that gentrifies decaying real estate the world over: bobo yuppies. Chinatown, around Jalan Petaling, is ground zero for this. Cheap hotels, locksmiths, and plastic-chair eateries now rub shoulders with chic bars, vegan restaurants, and laptop-crowded cafes – sanctuaries of well-to-do young professionals with bohemian values.

Most celebrate the buildings’ atmospheric decay alongside their architecture. Some refresh facades with paint; others leave cracked, rain-streaked plaster untouched for divey authenticity.

Inside, decor often defaults to a global industrial style: open-plan layouts, exposed brick, metal accents, pipes and wiring laid bare on ceilings. One might wish for a more creative local vernacular, but this style at least makes refurbishment cheaper.

Corporate money is following the hipsters. Rex KL, an old cinema thrice gutted by fire, has reopened with trendy food outlets, boutique shops, and Rexperience – an immersive digital art space that is, in fairness, quite fun.

There is also one of the worst bookshops I have ever visited: a design-forward place with sloping shelves cascading down the old cinema seating, where people pose for Instagram shots pretending to browse the meagre selection of plastic-wrapped books displayed cover-out, never spine-out.

Yet older businesses persist – betting shops, stalls selling traditional desserts. Not far from Petaling Street rises another huge tower, Merdeka 118, with angular flourishes but a silhouette that could belong to any global skyline.

Let us not be curmudgeonly, though. The era of writing cheap nostalgia about vulture-like gentrifiers gutting the soul of the city is at least a decade away. For now, these micro-experiments in KL’s old buildings may evolve into something more meaningful. Today, the style may be bland and social-media friendly. But just as classicism mutated in the tropical heat a century ago, time may nurture a new aesthetic voice – one refurbished godown or trendified shophouse at a time.

HIGHLIGHTS

Bali’s tourism levy surpasses expectations

The Bali provincial government has gathered US$19.2 million in 2024 through the Foreign Tourism Levy (PWA), paid by arriving travellers via the We Love Bali app or at dedicated airport counters. The collection has surpassed its target of US$15.2 million. According to the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, this money is being put to use this year to protect the environment; to improve Bali’s waste management – from collection and processing to disposal, including works at Suwung landfill; and to preserve Balinese culture by supporting traditional performances, such as those at the annual Bali Art Festival, and by funding artists’ communities.

Peranakan Sentosa

Sentosa celebrates Peranakan heritage with island-wide showcase. Sentosa Development Corporation and Mount Faber Leisure Group have unveiled Peranakan Reimagined, an island-wide showcase running until August 31, 2025, in celebration of SG60 and the 10th anniversary of the Sentosa Line cable car. The showcase delves into Peranakan heritage through immersive installations, storytelling sessions, live performances, hands-on workshops, and curated dining experiences. At Sensoryscape, spaces have been transformed with displays designed to engage every sense. A centerpiece is the 7.2-metre-tall Peranakan House at Lookout Loop, which serves as a photogenic landmark by day and a projection canvas by night. Inside, visitors will find a photo exhibition highlighting Peranakan communities, while after sunset the house comes alive with vivid digital projections.

Bali waste and traffic task force

The Bali Provincial Government is stepping up efforts to address the island’s persistent waste and traffic challenges with the formation of new cross-sector task forces. Announcing the initiative at the Bali and Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF) 2025 these teams would accelerate source-based waste management and oversee the implementation of environmentally friendly technologies for processing both organic and non-organic waste. In a further push for sustainability, Bali will ban producers from manufacturing plastic bottled water of under one litre. Addressing Bali’s notorious traffic congestion, Koster added that adjustments to working and school hours are being considered, while logistic vehicles will be barred from operating during daytime. Plans are also in place to enhance public transportation and construct new underpasses.

Our whole product for free and independent travellers, groups and MICE are based on a Climate Contribution programme. This means that part of the greenhouse gas emissions that will be generated are offset by projects in collaboration with Climate Partner, one of the leading climate protection solution providers for companies.

The arising emissions are being compensated by supporting a third-party certified geothermal energy project in Darajat, Java (Indonesia). The project helps to meet the growing demand for electricity in Indonesia. By increasing the share of renewable energy, the dependence on fossil fuel-based electricity decreases, and about 705,390 tonnes of CO2 emissions are saved per year.

For over thirty years, Lotus Asia Tours Group has provided services and assistance to travellers the world over, specialising in the design and implementation of corporate events, activities, incentive tours and motivational travel, targeted at FIT, GIT and MICE markets, in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indochina. The group also operates five boutique island hotels in Indonesia, in Lombok, Bali, Sulawesi, Papua and Maluku, as well as a seven-cabin luxury sailing yacht.

To learn more about our brand please head to our website, or contact us directly; we look forward to hearing how we could help make your next trip, tour or event memorable and successful.

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