Just returned from a great trip to Wakatobi (which I’ll cover later in another thread), and I wanted to address an issue which I would not have been aware of before this trip. We have never dived anywhere west of California before, not to mention the Asian Indo-Pacific. Be forewarned this thread is not about diving.
We decided to do five days in Bali prior to Wakatobi, since Bali is the required departure point for the shuttle to the resort. We had a wonderful time! Spent it in Ubud, and did day trips from there, some by car, some on foot. On the return trip, we spent one night in Kuta, to be near the airport the following day.
So, to the point of the title of this thread. We discovered in the Balinese a wonderful, generous, cheerful, warm-hearted group of people. There was no one who was not helpful to us, and they were eager to please in whatever service they offered. We would go back to Bali for a long stay in a New York minute (if we had one).
Since the terrorist bombing in a nightclub in Kuta on October 12, 2002, and subsequent ones in 2005, the Balinese tourist economy has been devastated, and without that they have little to produce income on their beautiful island. The bombers were not from Bali, and have admitted to acting out their pro-Muslim militant feelings by terrorizing Bali, a Hindu island in the midst of a Muslim nation (no, this post is not an anti-Muslim rant, so please don’t go there). The Balinese are angry that this would happen to their homeland.
OK, bottom line … if you are going to Southeast Asia, or anywhere in the Indo-Pacific area, and can put Bali on your itinerary, please do so to help these people. I’m speaking as an American, and if I listen to my Department of State, I should avoid Bali altogether. Give me Bali over a lot of cities in the US when it comes to personal safety. Be sensible, have a good time, don’t be an ugly American (or any other nationality), and help these people out. We went places where the locals said they hadn’t seen an American in six months, or a year or more. One individual only worked only one day in the year following the bombings. My wife talked with a group of ladies who had not sold anything in their shops in two weeks, and needed to buy rice. They didn’t have the advantage of rural folk in being able to plant and raise their own.
Even in Kuta, Bali’s “ground zero”, we were welcomed warmly. If you stay at one of the larger hotels in this area, you’ll find their grounds patrolled by security, with entering vehicles stopped and searched underneath with a mirror. They are taking seriously the need for a heightened level of awareness, but it hasn’t dampened their wonderful outlook on life. In the smaller independent hotels, you can “disappear” into the flow of life there.
OK, I’m done. Please, go have a great time with some great people, on a lovely island where a stay is a real bargain to boot. You will be a richer person for the experience.
We decided to do five days in Bali prior to Wakatobi, since Bali is the required departure point for the shuttle to the resort. We had a wonderful time! Spent it in Ubud, and did day trips from there, some by car, some on foot. On the return trip, we spent one night in Kuta, to be near the airport the following day.
So, to the point of the title of this thread. We discovered in the Balinese a wonderful, generous, cheerful, warm-hearted group of people. There was no one who was not helpful to us, and they were eager to please in whatever service they offered. We would go back to Bali for a long stay in a New York minute (if we had one).
Since the terrorist bombing in a nightclub in Kuta on October 12, 2002, and subsequent ones in 2005, the Balinese tourist economy has been devastated, and without that they have little to produce income on their beautiful island. The bombers were not from Bali, and have admitted to acting out their pro-Muslim militant feelings by terrorizing Bali, a Hindu island in the midst of a Muslim nation (no, this post is not an anti-Muslim rant, so please don’t go there). The Balinese are angry that this would happen to their homeland.
OK, bottom line … if you are going to Southeast Asia, or anywhere in the Indo-Pacific area, and can put Bali on your itinerary, please do so to help these people. I’m speaking as an American, and if I listen to my Department of State, I should avoid Bali altogether. Give me Bali over a lot of cities in the US when it comes to personal safety. Be sensible, have a good time, don’t be an ugly American (or any other nationality), and help these people out. We went places where the locals said they hadn’t seen an American in six months, or a year or more. One individual only worked only one day in the year following the bombings. My wife talked with a group of ladies who had not sold anything in their shops in two weeks, and needed to buy rice. They didn’t have the advantage of rural folk in being able to plant and raise their own.
Even in Kuta, Bali’s “ground zero”, we were welcomed warmly. If you stay at one of the larger hotels in this area, you’ll find their grounds patrolled by security, with entering vehicles stopped and searched underneath with a mirror. They are taking seriously the need for a heightened level of awareness, but it hasn’t dampened their wonderful outlook on life. In the smaller independent hotels, you can “disappear” into the flow of life there.
OK, I’m done. Please, go have a great time with some great people, on a lovely island where a stay is a real bargain to boot. You will be a richer person for the experience.
