In Reply to: going to bali november posted by paulaback on Friday, 7. October 2005 at 08:32 Bali Time:
hi there, I went to Bali one month after the 2002 bombings and again in the week the Mariott Hotel was bombed in Jakarta. I am SO glad I did. I think firstly you have to come to a peace in your own heart & mind about going or you wont enjoy it when you get there, but if you can reach that place I would encourage you to still go. My first time to Bali was straight after the 2002 bomb and so I was anxious anyway let alone with what had happened but after being there for a couple of days & seeing how grateful the Balinese were to see us, I was so happy that I overcame my fears and went AND it changed my perspective on life completely. When we there Bali was like a ghost town, I think that in the three weeks we were there we only bumped into a handful of Western tourists. I worked in travel at the time & the statistics dropped from 20000 tourists entering Bali each week to 2000. A Massive impact on the inosant Balinese. I guess if you can overcome your fears (which we all have) and your willing to be a little more sensible when you get there (I.e. avoiding any conspicuous places etc) its your way of helping out....besides...who wants to let those terrorist bastards win. I dont want them to know Im afraid of them!!!