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Tourist jailed over nude stunt at Bali temple

<p>A German tourist could face time in jail after stripping naked and crashing a sacred dance performance at a temple in Bali. </p> <p>The backpacker, identified by police as 28-year-old Darja Tuschinski, casually strolled up to the stage with no clothes on while the dancers remained professional and calm. </p> <p>In the now-viral clip filmed earlier this week, the backpacker was filmed climbing the stairs and attempting to open a door into the temple, as a local man attempted to stop her. </p> <p>After barging the door open, she was then filmed then walking down and kneeling in front of the stage, where she appeared to pray in front of horrified onlookers. </p> <p>“The female foreigner went naked on the stage of Saraswati Ubud Temple owned by Tjokorda Ngurah Suyadnya AKA Cok Wah,” Bali Police spokesman Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto told local media outlet <em><a title="coconuts.co" href="https://coconuts.co/bali/news/naked-german-woman-crashes-balinese-dance-show-at-ubud-temple/">Coconuts Bali</a></em>.</p> <p>The bizarre stunt sparked backlash online, with one local writing, “Why weren’t you immediately given clothes and secured first? There was someone who was performing the Balinese dance … We don’t need crazy caucasians, do we?”</p> <p>Another wrote, “Sad to see the behaviour of this one person.” </p> <p>A third pointed out the cultural clash, writing, “Caucasians who go to Asia usually feel the most spiritual freedom (and) enlightenment … But (their) life and mindset are not in accordance with traditional Asian spiritual and spiritual values, especially in Bali.”</p> <p>Local council chief Wayan Widana told another local media outlet, <em><a title="radarbali.jawapos.com" href="https://radarbali.jawapos.com/pariwisata/24/05/2023/dewa-ratu-viral-wanita-jerman-bugil-di-pentas-tari-polda-bali-telisik-begini-kata-camat-ubud/">Radar Bali</a></em>, that Tuschinski was known to suffer mental health issues and had been “brought to the Bangli Mental Institution.”</p> <p>In recent months, Indonesian officials have expressed their frustrations with unruly tourists.</p> <p>Ravindra Singh Shekhawat, who is the general manager for Bali operations at Melbourne-based tour company Intrepid Travel, told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/crazy-caucasians-bali-community-slams-german-tourists-naked-act/news-story/035939942bb25f7e127ee419131031fb" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>news.com.au</em></a> earlier this year, “Recently there has been an increase in tourists not following the local laws and respecting local culture and traditions, including instances of tourists getting into heated arguments with local police for not wearing helmets or breaking traffic laws.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Twitter</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Covid memorial temple leaves visitors “overwhelmed”

<p dir="ltr">A huge Wickerman-style Covid memorial temple that has been erected in the UK town of Bedworth and is due to be set alight on May 28 has been covered in messages to loved ones lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported by the <em><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-61572832" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">David Best, the designer of the 20-metre-high wooden structure dubbed “<em><a href="https://sanctuary-event.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sanctuary</a></em>”, said he wanted people to “bring some of the worst things you have in your life and we’ll burn them”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-a78f1681-7fff-5ff6-9eb6-9c5459f88ea2"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Messages included: “We miss you mum”, and “To all my friends and family I love you so much”, while others thanked the National Health Service (NHS) for helping people in their “darkest moments”.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/05/124903965_notes.jpg" alt="" width="976" height="579" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: BBC</em></p> <p dir="ltr">When local residents Maureen and Ann went to visit Sanctuary, a tearful Ann left a message of her own and said it was “very emotional” and “didn’t think it would affect me like that”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I just think it’s wonderful. I have never seen anything quite like it, it’s quite overwhelming,” Maureen said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Helen Marriage, the director of Artichoke Trust, which created the memorial, described it as a “rising temple of grief and loss that people have experienced over the last two years”.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd6QN1lrMW5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd6QN1lrMW5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Jon Gisby (@jongisby)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">She added that the ceremonial burning would be an opportunity for everything to be let go, where “all that pain and grief is just up in the sky”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Best, who is well-known for his large scale wooden structures at the US Burning Man festival, collaborated with members of the local North Warwickshire community to create Sanctuary.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-26b64a02-7fff-8ad6-a06d-957ed06f48b3"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @artichoketrust (Instagram) </em></p>

Caring

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Priceless find in Egyptian temple

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a historical set of artifacts at the Temple of Pharaohs of great cultural significance. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The temple, an ancient structure </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">about 95 kilometres east of Alexandria, was used to perform religious ceremonies approximately 2,700 years ago. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The artifacts found were reportedly used in such ceremonies, and will help give researchers more insight into the complicated history of the temple. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The find was announced by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and was hailed as an “important discovery”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mustafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, shared a statement about the discovery and how it will be important for the whole country. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Among the objects found were pieces of ivory carved to resemble women carrying objects; statues of Taweret, the goddess of motherhood known as the “Great One”; incense burners crafted from faience, a kind of glazed ceramic; a piece of gold sculpted to resemble the eye of Wadjet, the goddess of Lower Egypt; and a maternity chair. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Researchers believe the artifacts were involved in ceremonies honouring Hathor, the goddess of fertility. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Experts have been led to believe that the objects may have been stashed away beneath a stack of heavy stone blocks as the Persian Empire began its conquest of Egypt. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This conquest ultimately led to the collapse of the 26th Dynasty, the last native Egyptian dynasty to rule.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some objects are inscribed with the name of Psamtik I, who ruled as king of Egypt from 664 B.C.E. to 610 B.C.E, during the 26th Dynasty, as well as those of the kings Wahibre Ibiau, who ruled ca. 1670 B.C.E., during the 13th Dynasty, and Ahmose II, who died in 526 B.C.E. and is considered the last great king of the 26th Dynasty.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As well as the fertility artifacts, archeologists found a well that once contained holy water and was considered a sacred site. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities </span></em></p>

Art

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Thailand's infamous tiger temple fights to keep big cats

<p>Thailand's controversial Tiger Temple, dogged for years by talk that it supplies the black market and mistreats its animals, is fighting to keep the big cats after wildlife authorities rejected a bid to extend a zoo license that expired in 2013.</p> <p>The Buddhist temple, home to more than 100 tigers, has been investigated for suspected links to wildlife trafficking and wildlife activists have accused it of illegal breeding of the animals</p> <p>Thai wildlife authorities have sent ten of the temple's tigers to a wildlife sanctuary.</p> <p>But the temple, which bills itself as a wildlife sanctuary, has denied links to illegal trafficking, and wants to hold on to its tigers.</p> <p>"This is their home. They are happy here," said Supitpong Pakdijarung, an official of the foundation that runs Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua, as the temple is known in Thailand.</p> <p>"The government has to find a budget to take care of them," Supitpong, the body's deputy chairman, told Reuters. "Here, the money comes from donations. It is about giving and generosity."</p> <p>Supitpong denies accusations that tigers bred at the temple have been sold on the black market.</p> <p>But the allegations of mistreatment of tigers had dented Thailand's tourism image, said Teunchai Noochdumrong, director of the country's Wildlife Conservation Office.</p> <p>"The world is looking at us," he added. "The temple did not allow officials to enforce the law. The temple has affected Thai tourism."</p> <p>In the past, attempts by wildlife officials to inspect the tigers have been blocked by the temple and its abbots.</p> <p>Thailand has long been a hub for illegal wildlife trafficking, as a place where everything from exotic birds to reptiles, and even bears, is for sale, driven by international demand for exotic meats and rare pets.</p> <p>Successive governments have launched campaigns to curb the trade in illegal wildlife, but with varying degrees of success.</p> <p>One visitor to the temple said the tigers should be left there, rather than being confiscated.</p> <p>"These animals are used to being around people," said Victoria Carpenter, an American tourist</p> <p><em>Image credit: KAMONRAT / Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>Written by Jutarat Skulpichetrat. First appeared on <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span>.</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/international-travel/2016/03/three-tigers-born-at-columbus-zoo-and-aquarium/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>Three Siberian tigers born at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium</em></strong></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/international-travel/2016/02/worlds-best-restaurant-locations/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>8 best restaurant locations in the world</em></strong></span></a></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/travel/international-travel/2016/02/holiday-ideas-for-animal-lovers/"><em><strong>8 holiday ideas every animal lover needs to experience</strong></em></a></span></p>

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