Making up my mind
Like everyone and like always I have to make decisions in life. Shall I have tea or coffee? Shall I go to Thailand or will it be Bali, after all?
While I make myself a tea I contemplate about the risks involved with a holiday in Bali. Two bombing attacks by terrorists within three years.... that makes you think twice..... Imagine, you're sitting in a restaurant enjoying dinner and than all of a sudden, with a 'bang'...... What is the chance, when that happens, to be there. Can you avoid being present at the wrong place, at the wrong time?
I sip from my tea and listen to a cd with bamboo rindik music. Then again, I think, how great is the chance to get killed in a car accident in a western city? Should I consider myself lucky, all these fortyseven years, for that hasn't happened to me yet, despite the fact that getting killed in a car accident here is much likelier than becoming a victim of a bomb attack in Bali?
The telephone starts to ring. It's mother. With a worried voice she asks if I've already decided to cancel my trip to Bali. Another thing to consider when it comes to making decisions. From an emotional point of view the chance to become a Bali bomb victim is much greater than getting involved in a dealy car crash.... Imagine, you decide not to go to Bali and stay safely home, only to get killed in a car crash! If only I decided to go to Bali, if only he decided to go to Bali.....
So, Bali after all? And once there, what can I do to minimize the risks?
Outside it has started to rain. At irregular intervals the rain hits the windows of my living. It makes me think of rainy season in Bali, although my memory comes up with louder and more heavier sounds of rainfall. A feeling of homesickness comes over me....
Avoiding the crowded touristic areas in the south, at least the most popular restaurants, bars, disco's and shopping centers, especially during the most busy hours, might do the job. I'll have to admit here that these areas don't make up the highlights of my Bali holidays. 'My' Bali is away from 'touristic Bali', I get more satisfaction out of the smaller, less popular restaurants than the 'must eats', I like the less well-known, more traditional attractions more than the 'must sees' and 'must do's'.
What terrorist would ever decide to bomb 'Kantin 21' in Lovina to make 10 or 15 victims? Which terrorist would risk his life to bomb 'warung Aria' to kill 5 or 10 eating tourists? What is the risk of visiting the Lemukih waterfalls in north Bali, which can only be reached by foot after trekking for over an hour through rice fields, jungles and plantations?
While I walk to the kitchen to fetch myself another cup of tea, I decide that, for me, going to Bali is at least be as safe, and probably safer, than staying here or going to any other destination in the world.
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