Oh come on! It is good to know of such risks and act accordingly but really some reactions are over the top. Oh well fair enough I suppose people are entitled to their own reactions but I just don't get it.
In Australia there seems to be an habitual over reaction in the media to anything bad in Bali, actually make that Indonesia in general, whilst except in the travel pages nothing good ever rates a headline.
I well remember a case in point after the first bomb when, on Christmas day, Balinese Banjar members (Hindu) stood guard at Christian churches to be sure no harm was attempted against worshipers. Surely that was newsworthy. Didn't get a line in any paper that I saw and not a mention on the evening news. Let's not even get started on the reaction to the "Cowboys in Paradise" film.
Legionnaires disease occurs spasmodically across the world. Off the top of my head in the USA and SHOCK HORROR Australia. I heard somebody saying just last week that they would never go to Bali due to the danger of Dengue Fever. The recipient of this conversational gem looked a little puzzled and said that he came from Northern Queensland.
I have never liked those water mist sprays and like them even less so in a tropical climate. I can't do a whole lot about shopping centre water cooling towers her or in any other country of the world. Lucky I don't much like shopping centres but if I need to go in I will. What are the odds? No seriously, what are the odds, expressed as a percentage of shoppers going in during any one 5 week period of me getting sick from this?
Most of realize (don't we???) that infections, cuts etc. need more care and attention in a tropical climate and act accordingly so if I cut my foot on a piece of who knows what in the street and I am not diligent in treating it and later have my foot amputated from gangrene, how does this affect your odds of the same thing happening given your diligence in the antiseptic area?
Bombs were detonated by terrorists in Indonesia. Oh well that's it then isn't it can't go back for years. Let's go to London, Spain, USA and Ireland instead why don't we?
Bali Belly. Well there's another thing. Delhi Belly, Pharaohs Revenge and Montezuma's Revenge. Ring any bells anyone. If not don't bother searching the media to find it. Much better to make Google your friend.
Plainly I can never, if I have any sense at all (OK that's debatable) return to Bali for fear of getting Dengue and not knowing if it's Legionnaires disease or Bali Belly, being blown up, attacked in the street (by Javanese of course) or arrested for carrying drugs having accidentally missed the bloomin' big signs telling me about the death penalty.
God this is scary I don't think I can leave my home either in case of red back spiders. Sydney is off my list. FUNNEL WEBS! No outback tours for me. Snakes and scorpions. EEEK. I'm too terrified to go to USA in case I meet George W. and that is what I call really scary. I'm a bit put off and nervous about Canberra at the moment too.
Thank you for your time. This has been another useless rant by Hillary.