I finally caught up with Smudge last week and over a few beers at Gracie Kelly's we found we had quite a lot in common.
Great to meet you mate!
First up, to let you know that Smudge has promised to be at Gracies for the 16th & 17th March gatherings, so that's great news.
From around 4pm on the 17th there will be someone on the door of Gracies to welcome you and put your name sticker on you. As promised a bag will be organized for the Medical donations some of you are bringing.
I am sure we can get Smudge to say a few words on the microphone to update us all with regards to his charity organization.
I can guarantee that Gracies will fill up by 7pm, so if you all try to get there between 4pm and 5pm, then there will be time enough before the rush to do some formalities. For sure seats will be difficult to get after 7pm.
I am really looking forward to putting names to faces.
Here's a bit of an update about Bali at the moment.
It normally takes me 1 hour to circumnavigate the one way system...down Jl. Legian around the Hard Rock to the beach, down past Bali Rock and around again to Legian.
On Saturday afternoon at 3pm I did it in about 20 minutes!
You see, this island is built for tourism. It is the only real industry here. Bali is completely dependent upon tourism for its financial life blood and the bastards that set that bomb off killed our friends, drove away all the tourists and left the Balinese to cop it hard. We are now watching local businesses going broke and our Balinese friends walking around with sad eyes and broken hearts asking themselves what they have done to deserve this.
It pretty much amazes me how the local people are coping, there was a huge full moon ceremony last night and you can bet most of the prayers were for the tourists to return.
After the first bomb it was mainly the resilience of the Aussies (some Kiwis too) who helped Bali recover.....bottom line is.....they need your help and support again!
To quote one Australian visitor here 'If it was the Bomber's goal to ruin the economy and the spirit of Bali then they have succeeded, but if it was their goal to stop us coming to Bali then they have failed'.
It has been really encouraging to see so many returnee guests come back to Bali, some almost immediately after the second bomb, you do not realize how happy the people here are to see you.
I see many Dutch, Russians, Indians, Scandinavians, but mainly local tourists here enjoying the great weather lately, could it be the end of the rainy season? Fingers crossed.
There's still a lot of events going on, besides a big SONY music conference next week, there's a Back to Bali Recovery Run for the Bali Hash House Harriers coming up this weekend with over 500 Hashers coming to Bali for a weekend of running, drinking and partying from all over Asia.
For those of you lucky enough to be here in April look out for the 12th Annual Bali Bartenders Competition which will be a great moral booster for the local bar staff of many top Hotels and Restaurants around Bali. The show is quite amazing!
There may be some of you out there who have never been to Bali.
The small size of the Island means that you can stay in a hotel on a tropical beach and still drive only an hour to get to deep river valleys, jungle ravines, pristine rice terraces, volcanoes, waterfalls and tropical rainforests,
Where else in the world will you find a land rich in tradition and culture with such an amazing selection of activities.
Surf, Scuba, Sail, Spa, Shop, See a Sunset, Drink, Dine, Dance, Fish, Golf, Massage, Bungy, Bowl, visit a Volcano, ride an Elephant, Raft and Helicopter ride to name a few!
And indeed a Bintang Beer waiting for you at every bar!
See you in Bali!
Stitch