Tripadvisor Hall Of Fame Award Winning. - PT. Bali Luxury Villas - Testimonials from Villa guests speak for Themselves

Our 2018 Testimonials from Villa guests speak for

Themselves

Lawrence. B. M. Bellefontaine, Owner, President and General Manager of 13 year old Pt. Bali Affordable Lifestyles International (PT. B.A.L.I.). Doing Business as Best Asia Real Estate. 

Together they and their 135 professional staff provide a one stop professional, efficient location for Buying, Selling, Leasing and Renting Asian Real Estate.

They manage  Best Asia Real Estate,  PT. Bali Luxury Villas with rentals starting at $99  ++ per room per night & Bali Luxury Villa Sales Starting at $158,000, plus Bali Paradise Beach Estates rentals starting at $128.00 ++ per night and Estate sales starting at $350,000. plus Emerald Restaurant.

They are a Seven-time Consecutive Certificate of Excellence recipient on the Worlds Largest Travel Site. This places them among the top 10 % of hotels and villas listed by Tripadvisor worldwide.

"Recipients Hall Of Fame Award, awarded to only 2 % of the Hotels listed on TripAdvisor World Wide"

Lawrence is also one of Asia’s best known travel and real estate investment experts. They publish the daily Bali & World News & Views Blog which combined with Bali News and Views Blog has had almost 1,500,000 pageviews. They also publish the Best Asia Real Estate Blog, Facebook and Twitter posts. He offers free real estate seminars throughout Asia every quarter . For Free Seminar schedule email to seminarsptbali@gmail.com

February 2018

“All wonderful, we couldn’t have asked for more”.

Mrs. P. S. Australian, 23^rd February 2018.

“Very nice stay. The maid hold the villa clean and tidy, she was very nice and helpful. The garden was nice and clean. The pool was exceptionally fine and very clean. The villa could need a bruch up. It looked a bit old. All in all a nice stay and we would like to come back”.

Mr. B. T. Denmark, 22^nd February 2018.

“Beautiful villa would highly recommend. Pupa was lovely very kind”.

 Mr. S. G. Australian, 21^st February 2018.

“Very nice. The staff was very helpful and the place exceeded our expectations”.

Mrs. S. C. American, 17^th February 2018.

“It has been a very pleasant stay. The villa is perfect for a private holiday. The service from the staff around the pool has been perfect. Especially Komang has provided a wonderful service! Thank you very much”.

Mr. M. E. R. Australian, 12^th February 2018.

January 2018

“Thank you for that nice stay. The villa we stayed in was beautiful and all the staff members were really nice. We had a great time and we will definitely recommend it. Food was good, villa was amazing. Location was beautiful and people were nice”.

Mr. C. A. Australian, 17^th January 2018.

“Excellent Staff”.

Mr. W. M. Netherland, 16^th January 2018. Email:

“We loved the villas and the staff were so beautiful. Thank you for a wonderful stay – we loved Tirta”

Mrs. C. G. Australian, 14^th January 2018.

We have had a fabulous 3 weeks staying at Emeralds Villas where the staff from villa cleaning, maintenance and restaurant staff have been fantastic, no request has been to much and provided with a smile”.

Mr. T. S. Australian, 14^th January 2018.

“This was our and visit this year. We have had another great stay. Staff are lovely & nothing is too much. We will be back. Location is great & our villa has been lovely”.

Mr. L. L. Australian, 04^th January 2018.

“Our stay was out standing. Komang was an excellent help in both housekeeping and tourist information. Thank you”.

Mrs. H. S. Canadian, 02^nd January 2018.

Democratic intelligence memo finally released - memo defended both the FBI and Justice Department's role in obtaining the FISA warrant

By Jeremy Herb, CNN
Updated 2329 GMT (0729 HKT) February 24, 2018

Dems release rebuttal memo after redactions



(CNN)The House Intelligence Committee on Saturday released a Democratic memo in redacted form that seeks to undercut Republican claims of FBI surveillance abuses.

The committee made the Democratic memo public after the White House signed off following negotiations between the FBI and the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, over what in the document should be redacted.

Earlier this month, the White House objected to releasing the memo, saying that sensitive material had to be removed first.
Schiff's memo was written to rebut a Republican memo that accuses the FBI of suppressing Democratic ties to an opposition research dossier on then-candidate Donald Trump and Russia used in the FISA warrant for former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

The memo defended both the FBI and Justice Department's role in obtaining the FISA warrant — agencies that have been under fire from Republican critics who have also sought to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

"The Democratic response memo released today should put to rest any concerns that the American people might have as to the conduct of the FBI, the Justice Department and the FISC," Schiff said in a statement. "

Our extensive review of the initial FISA application and three subsequent renewals failed to uncover any evidence of illegal, unethical, or unprofessional behavior by law enforcement and instead revealed that both the FBI and DOJ made extensive showings to justify all four requests."

The White House said in a statement that nothing in the Democratic memo counters Trump's statements that neither he nor his campaign colluded with Russia.

"While the Democrats' memorandum attempts to undercut the President politically, the President supported its release in the interest of transparency," the statement read. "Nevertheless, this politically driven document fails to answer serious concerns raised by the Majority's memorandum about the use of partisan opposition research from one candidate, loaded with uncorroborated allegations, as a basis to ask a court to approve surveillance of a former associate of another candidate, at the height of a presidential campaign."

Later Saturday evening, Trump tweeted: "The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!"

Dem Memo: FBI did not disclose who the clients were - the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Wow!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2018

Schiff and other Democrats charge that the Republican memo led by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes of California is misleading and omits key facts, including that the FISA application did state that ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, the author of the dossier, was paid by a political entity. 

FBI Director Christopher Wray also expressed concerns about the Nunes memo, publicly warning the White House that omitted information could impact the memo's veracity.

Speaking Saturday afternoon at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Nunes said that he wanted the Democratic memo released "because we think it is clear evidence that the Democrats are not only trying to cover this up, but they're also colluding with parts of the government to help cover this up.

"So what you basically will read in the Democratic memo is that they are advocating that it's okay for the FBI and DOJ to use political dirt paid for by one campaign and use it against the other campaign," Nunes said.

In a written statement, Nunes added that "the FISA court was misled about Mr. Page's past interactions with the FBI in which he helped build a case against Russian operatives in America who were brought to justice. It defies belief that the Department of Justice and FBI failed to provide information to a secret court that they had provided to an open federal court regarding their past interactions with Mr. Page."

Main arguments

Two of the key arguments in Schiff's memo are that the FBI's request for a FISA warrant on Page was proper, and that the political motivations behind Steele's research were sufficiently disclosed.

The Schiff memo cites the FBI's previous interest in Page, including a March 2016 interview with him about his contact with Russian intelligence.

"The FBI's concern about and knowledge of Page's activities therefore long predate the FBI's receipt of Steele's information," the memo states.

The memo also argues that Steele, who authored the dossier on Trump and Russia, played no role in the FBI's launching of the counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which occurred on July 31, 2016.

"Steele's reporting did not reach the counterintelligence team investigating Russia at FBI headquarters until mid-September 2016, more than seven weeks after the FBI opened its investigation, because the probe's existence was so closely held within the FBI," the memo states.

By September 2016, the memo says, the FBI had already opened "sub-inquiries" into a number of Trump campaign associates beyond Page, although the number is redacted.
In the three subsequent FISA renewals, the Justice Department provided information "obtained through multiple independent sources" that corroborated parts of what Steele reported about Page, the memo states, though many details of that section are redacted.

Steele's role debated
The memo states that Steele's role was properly disclosed in the October 2016 FISA application, including his political motivations. The Republican memo argues that the FISA application failed to note that Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee were indirectly paying for Steele's research.

The Schiff memo cites the FISA application's note that Steele's research appeared intended for use "to discredit" Trump's campaign, and argues that the Justice Department appropriately did not "unmask" US officials in the FISA application.

The memo notes that when the FISA application was first filed, Steele was not told by Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson that Clinton's campaign and the DNC were paying Fusion GPS for his research.

"The identified US person (Simpson) never advised source #1 (Steele) as to the motivation behind the research into candidate #1's ties to Russia," the FISA application states, according to Schiff's memo. "The FBI speculates that the identified US person was likely looking for information that could be used to discredit candidate #1's campaign."

The Republican staff of the House Intelligence Committee issued a rebuttal to Schiff's memo, arguing the FBI appeared to be avoiding informing the court about Steele's connections to Clinton and the DNC — and they charged the Schiff memo also failed to note Steele's connections to Democrats.

"As clearly stated in the GOP memo, none of the Page FISA applications 'disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steele's efforts,'" the Republican document states. "Instead, the FISA application relies on a convoluted statement buried in a footnote. This is clearly an attempt to avoid informing the Court, in a straightforward manner that the DNC and Clinton campaign paid for the dossier."

Partisan feuding over memos
The release of the Schiff memo caps an unprecedented and tumultuous period for the committee, which has now voted to release two classified documents using an obscure committee rule that had never been invoked previously in the panel's history.

The committee's Republicans first voted to release the Republican memo last month, without the Democratic rebuttal document, before later agreeing to release the Democratic memo, too.

Trump indicated he wanted the Republican memo out — over the objections of the FBI and Justice Department. The committee rule puts the decision to object to releasing the classified material in the hands of the President, and he declassified the Republican document without changes.
But the White House objected to releasing the Democratic memo, citing the concerns about releasing sensitive information, and called for redactions before it could be made public.

That set off a period of negotiations between the Democratic committee staff and the FBI.

Schiff had warned he was concerned the White House would make "political redactions," but a senior Democratic committee official said that the redacted document released Saturday "came back clean" from Justice Department and the FBI.

Best Bali Chinese new year in 21 years - Part ll

Continued from Best Bali Chinese new year in 21 years





The dragons continued to entertain as the drinks and wine were free-flowing.

The table was set and ready for a memorable Chinese new year dinner.





One last Lion dance with Azizah showing off her dancing talents while Tim's son Lucas played the drums, which obviously he had probably learned in Singapore or Taiwan.



Our son Xander sat and watched the activities





Lucas  had talent and kept the dragons going.





Tim enjoying the festivities.


















Longtime friends Lucas and Budhi who has been with this family for decades.



Good friends Lawrence and Tim who have been through ups and downs as any longtime friends have but are still celebrating their friendship after all these years



Our son Xander and I








Three of Bali's most beautiful ladies from far left Tina, Yulin, and Azizah



Tina and Close Friend.






Azizah with our oldest son Xander

Everyone anxiously waiting for the Grand entrance of the Babi Guling, Roast Young Pig



Finally you can tell the food is delicious because no one is talking.









As the sun finally sets we are stuffing ourselves with delicious Chinese delicacies.



And so ends the best Chinese new year ever in my life. 

Many thanks to you Yulin, Tim, Budhi and all their staff for making such a fantastic dinner and day.

Best Bali Chinese new year in 21 years

Over the years we have had many memorial Chinese New Years in Bali. Most of them have been at the homes of my good friends Yulin and Tim Robins.

This year as usual our two boys were hesitant to want to go and offered up some resistance.

I promised them that the one and a half hour drive from our East Coast home to their West Coast home would be worth it and that this would be the best Chinese New Year ever.

I'm happy to say that we were able to fulfill that promise.

I've been friends with Yulin and Tim for over 20 Years in Bali since when I had Bali Yacht Charters and Tim had a beautiful yacht he wanted to put into service.

Over the years we became very close. Yulin's mother and my mother were extremely friendly when we attended their annual Yulin Chinese New Year dinners. This year we sadly missed both of them.

As usual Yulin and Tim spared no expense to provide a memorial meal.

This year was extra special because it was held at their new Five Million Dollar Villa Vedas just North of Tanah Lot that was voted Best Villa In Bali in 2016.

The Villa that they completed over a five-year period has the latest highest quality features including a fabulous sound system etc. 
It was the perfect setting for what turned out to be a fabulous meal and entertainment

Villa Vedas is a unique residence on 3,500 m2 of pristine beachfront land, located one kilometre from the ancient and world famous Tanah Lot temple on the southwest coast of Bali, a leisurely 45 minute drive from the nightlife and restaurants of Seminyak.

Every element of the villa, from the floating staircases to the artworks, has been meticulously designed. Featuring 5 double bedrooms, all with solid stone baths carved from a solid piece of marble and enormous rain showers, a private bar, media room, and 3 swimming pools, the villa comfortably accommodates 10 guests, with an additional 4 bedrooms in the staff quarters. For guests with a taste for the latest technology, lighting, music and air-conditioning can all be controlled through your smartphone.

The formal dining table seats 20 guests, and the ocean front bale offers alfresco dining overlooking the Indian Ocean. The villa offers panoramic views in all directions. Looking out to sea is Java and the setting sun, while ancient rice paddies surround the villa to the north and south, and the stunning Batukaru volcano towers behind.

I highly recommend you check out their website at http://www.villavedasbali.com/



Having been a hotel manager of a Hall Of Fame Award wining PT Bali Luxury Villas  for the past 17 years I can honestly say that this is a perfect location for a very private group of friends, family or huge first class wedding.

Contact me to to obtain extra special prices through my friend direct lawrenceb@ptbali.com.



When we first arrived the Villa seemed vacant because everybody was working rigorously in the huge, professional quality kitchen that any chef would be proud of.



I found Yulin busily cooking one of what mostly likely is a traditional passed down from family Chinese dumpling which later I discovered is delicious.



A few friends began to show and we sat down for some cocktails and wine in the smallest of three dinning areas


We soon moved outside to a larger entertainment area looking out over the Bali Straits and the Indian Ocean.

It was very nice to see a long time friend Tina Shazell, formely married to a British Lord and owner of a very successful Bali real estate company.



We exchanged knowledge about the current market conditions and concluded as I have been saying for some time "that this is  the second best time to buy Bali real estate the century.







We were then  entertained by a fabulous local Chinese Lion dance group who had two colorful lions bouncing around to the delight of the children and adults alike.

This offered many Kodak moment photo ops.






































Boys will be boys and we soon found all five sons of three families snuggled in the entertainment room
play games and more.


















Then it was time for the main reason we were there and that was to enjoy a magnificent, authentic Chinese meal supervised by Yulin who is originally from Taiwan


See more photos and details click here Best Bali Chinese new year in 21 years Continued