Bali - A story

These pictures were taken the 1-month period before the terrorist bombing in Bali on Saturday night, October 12, 2002. My plane ticket was for the next day on Sunday the 13th in the morning. So these pictures are about Bali during the month before the terrorist attack.
The terrorist attack on Bali has damaged Bali's reputation of being one of the safest places to travel. Bali has always had a peaceful image of easy going and happy loving people of mostly Balinese Hinduism religion. Some kind of relation, perhaps with karma, mixes in a pleasant harmony for a visitor with the Balinese. The livelihood of most people in Bali depends on tourism and this tragic event is sure to affect them a lot. This horrible event could of happened anywhere and at any time considering the world we are living since September 11.
These pictures show a positive view of Bali. A paradise island to all that have being there and are sure to identify flashbacks while looking at this photos. A place that I said to myself that I want to come back next year before I had even left. A preview of what you will experience if you visit Bali.
This website is not meant to be a guide. I found the "Lonely Planet" guide extremely accurate and helpful for that. These are photographs of an intrepid adventurer and curious observer. This was my first travel to Bali and definitely not my last.
Families in Bali rent out rooms or little bungalows to travellers. The experience is like being part of the family. Its not the five or three star hotel experience, but a close encounter with the people and their culture. It's a "National Geographic" experience. Bali is full of these little places that are easy to find on the road by their little signs that offer for rent. There is all kind of places and prices and we stayed in a simple place that was comfortable and beautiful. Part of the fun is finding your own little place you can call home while you´re there. And when you leave, its like leaving family behind. These places are to be found in the rural areas away from Kuta, Dempasar, and Nusa Dua. Places away from all the chaos of cities and mass tourism.
While staying here you start thinking that this is like a paradise and these people are so lucky and they live like in Disney's movie "The Lion King" : Hakuna Matata ; means don't worry. But then an accident happens and you realize that Hakuna Matata is not enough. Like for example, when we were there, a seventeen-year-old native girl we knew, named Mia, got in a motorcycle accident with a dog and broke her leg. They took her to a pharmacy doctor from the area that took a look and just simply placed a bandage on her leg, because they did not have money for a professional doctor. A couple of friends and us gathered some money and made sure she saw a proper doctor. Luckily it was not badly broken and she didn't need an operation. But the whole cost of 150 US dollars is what her father makes in 4 months of work. The family was very grateful and helping them made us feel very happy.
After the terrorist bomb in Bali I felt scared and confused. It was my last night in Bali when it all happened and luckily none of my friends or us was badly hurt. But I vividly imagined the horror for I had being in that club a few days before. I feel deeply for those who died and their loved ones.
I started thinking if there was anything I could do to help and thought of this website. To show what a charming place Bali is and how wonderful the people are. Sometimes we look at photos from war and places were people are starving and we think of how we can help to stop the suffering. I'm showing photos of what it is, and to help prevent it from turning into like those shocking photos. If people stop going to Bali then the terrorists win and the people from Bali will suffer. So don't let terrorists scare you for that is what they want.