The recent bombings in Bali were an awful of what humans can do to each other. Mass media fans the sensation aspects of events like the Bali bombings and makes places like Bali seem like the Beirut. I remember after Bali Bomb I reading on Yahoo! a news item that said “President Bush visits the bomb scarred island of Bali, the front lines of the war on terror.” That doesn’t sound like the place I live, I thought.
Each week in Bali somebody drowns and that news get about as far as the Bali Advertiser. I watched 2 ladies almost drown a month ago, until some local guys rescued them. Anyone who has been to Bali will tell you the traffic situation can be a madhouse. Try riding a motorbike from Nusa Dua to Kuta during the rush hour, you will feel like you are on a race track.
A recent travel article published on Worldhum talks about the risks associated with coming to Bali. The theme is that coming to Bali has some risk, but everything we do in life has risk associated with it. Insurance is all about spreading the risk, for a price and I personally have a year long travel insurance plan, just in case.
Two hours after the recent Bali bombings I was in a sports bar 200 meters away watching soccer. I wanted to gauge people’s reactions and also didn’t really know hat else I sould be doing. There was no sense of danger, the deed had already been done and reading the world news online seemed weird as it fanned the flames and to the outside world must of seemed like we’d been hit by a nuclear device.
For those people who can’t decide whether or not come, I’d say let the island itself be your guide, not a handful of crazies.
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I guess for me what sets the Bali bombings apart perhaps is how unexpected they were–especially the first one (and I was in Kuta for the second round). Bali is not Beirut, let alone Cambodia or even Laos, for that matter. I am a frequent visitor and have to consider–how do these events affect me? Well, in crowded places like Kuta, I guess I have to say I’m going to be spending less time there, and keeping away from high risk areas, especially on certain dates. Sure, crossing the streets is dangerous, but that’s not the same as being on the lookout for some crazy intentionally trying to do me in. And insurance is no good to me if I’m dead.