December is a part of the rainy season in Bali. It really did rain a lot, but the temperatures were still in the mid-to-high thirty's (centigrade), which made the humidity extremely high. Indeed, it was humid even by Singaporean standards. The washing would not dry, and statues seemed to turn mossy in a matter of days. Still, it was perfect, brilliant, tropical beach weather: with the slight cooling breeze and warm showers, we could have wandered the empty beaches forever.
The evenings were wonderful: we would usually sit alone in some small restaurant by the sea, enjoying the breeze and the waves and the stars. In many places we were the only tourists; people are still wary of travelling to Bali because of the bombing tragedy on 12 October 2002. The tourism has suffered greatly, and with it most of the inhabitants of the island. The hotels, restaurants, art-galleries and hawkers all try to compete for the few visitors, lowering the prices and, if at all possible, improving the service. We were treated like royals, for such modest prices that we sometimes even bargained upwards.
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Silvija Seres, January 2004