This is Part I of a couple of articles I wanted to write on my weekend meeting in Bali, Indonesia almost a year ago. I was one of the participants at the regional meeting on tourism ethics. I attended the regional meeting on Global Ethics in Tourism June last year. The meeting was jointly hosted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and the Indonesian Government on the alluring and beautiful island of Bali.
Upon arrival at the Ngurah Rai International Airport sometimes known as the Denpasar International Airport we were whisked through customs and immigration formalities and onto our bus.
Denspasar is also the capital city of Bali. It was a very hot day but being from Port Moresby we rose to the challenge. In the bus, the aircon kicked in soon after so we were saved from having to change our clothes yet again in less than 6 hours! You can read about Nusa Dua here. I was once again struck by the seeming chaos on the streets where more than one person is riding pillion on a motor bike — hundreds of them darting in and out of the traffic and in between buses and cars as we wove our way towards Nusa Dua beach.
I wondered how often there were accidents. My recollection was that very few but once in a while when an accident happens it is a very big thing and quite saddening as it is preventable! My colleague and I were accommodated in the Grand Bali Nusa Dua and grand may be a bit of a misnomer but the rooms were so spacious I could have my whole family sleeping in this one room.
The rooms were cool with no views to speak of but I was very comfortable. The aircon was working and that was what I needed at the beginning and end of each day. I took quite a lot of photos upon arrival at the hotel and realised that I was in tourist mode.
