S ATISFACTION This visit to Bali was a wonderful conclusion to our trip through Asia. We were able to relax but we were never allowed to be bored. We saw many beautiful sights, ate delicious meals, enjoyed local arts and crafts, drank in many glorious views, met warm and friendly people, and best of all, did not have to experience any part of terrorist activities. All was quiet while we were among these people. Even if our dolphin watch on Lovina Beach was a bust, we nonetheless had the opportunity to be out on the Bali Sea for a while. The activity was ridiculous because it ended with about 30 small boats chasing down a couple of dolphins who were not in any mood for interaction with people. We did see a couple of them perform complete flips into the air, but we quickly determined that the constant movement of the boats towards the dolphins constituted harassment and we instructed our boatman to take us back to shore. Dan quipped that we had kayaked faster in Halong Bay than this man was able to push through the sea with his small outboard motor! We did observe flying fish and that was amusing. Some small silvery fish also swam around the boat shimmering and shining in fascinating formations. So all was not lost on that particular activity. Would we want to return to Bali? Probably not, but then we probably won’t care to go back to the other places we visited on this trip either. But that doesn’t signify that we did not thoroughly enjoy ourselves, because we did! How do we feel about Bali’s prospects for the future? In spite of its grim past, this country seems filled with happy people who are content to pursue their own lives without interference from the larger Muslim community. If radical Islamists can be prevented from disrupting their tourist industry and frightening the populace, they will probably continue to thrive and support more industry with more education of the young people. Komang told us that the only significant export from Bali is cloves, so tourism is their chief source of foreign money since there is little or no investment in the country from outside. Nonetheless, we felt as we left Bali that these wonderful people are planning for their future and living satisfying lives now. Click Logo to View Kay's Photo Album of this Trip
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