DeeKnow’s Grotto

Bombings in Paradise - was a title I spotted on a website this morning concerning the tragic blast that tore a couple of nightclubs to pieces on Saturday night in Bali killing about 200 patrons. The title of the page has since changed, but Bali hasnt been a paradise of any sort for a long time, and things will certainly be a little different in Kuta for awhile.

I spent an excellent couple of months travelling across Sumatra and Java a few years ago, but for me Bali (where I finished the holiday) was definately the low-light of the journey. The formerly friendly and hospitable Balinese have been overrun over the years by Javanese businessmen, politicians, and small time tourist operators and hawkers.

The Sydney Morning Herald has amassed an amazing ammount of content on their special report website and 10s of thousands of Australians and a good number of Kiwis (about 600 kiwis are said to be on Bali at present) will now be thinking to themselves... "wow, I was there a few years back... coulda been me."

No doubt there'll be plenty of talk on the likely connection between recent Al Qaeda activity and Islamic fundamentalists who dominate areas like Aceh in northern Sumatra. And no doubt the fact that Indonesia is the most populous predominantly Muslim nation on the planet will fuel the discussions.

Indonesia's tourisim industry will be hit hard of course, especially given that half of this vast country's tourism income comes from the one tiny Island of Bali. Its a shame that the whole country will suffer now from lost tourist dollars and associated foreign investment in the industry.

6:14:38 PM