Let’s Visit Asia

Just a few days ago, our family hass been reeling with shock and apprehension upon receiving news of the Bali bombing. A cousin was on holiday there, exactly where the bombing, and has been on the exact location of the bombing just prior to the explosions. Needless to say, her parents were trying to phone her hotel for hours, without success. All lines busy. I can imagine the angst her mother went through, not knowing anything specific about her daughter, forcing herself to watch the horror unfolding in the news channels, but not hearing anything remotely connected to what she really wants to hear.

In an interview with the BBC, the Bali Blog tried to make light of it:

The point I made was that the media makes situations like this latest bombing seem like the end of the world. It’s serious for sure and I understand how relatives of the victims feel. But Bali is not Beirut or Baghdad and if you listen to main stream media that is how it sometimes comes across.

Perhaps. After all, what’s 26 casualties when you really think about it? But to that mother, those hours before she finally got a call saying her daughter was not one of them have been worse than Beirut or Baghdad.

Will these bombings affect Bali tourism? Definitely, although I sincerely hope not for long. Would I still personally want to go to Bali, personally knowing at least one person who escaped the blasts with the skin of her teeth, so to speak? Maybe not immediately, although there’s no logic in that. Afterall, they say lighting doesn’t strike twice (but.. the last bombings in the area occured just three years ago). But the shock is still raw.

But ultimately, yes. Bali is beautiful, an Asian destination must-see.

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