GENEVIEVE A. SUZUKI / GSUZUKI@STARBULLETIN.COM Kailua residents Lisa Peddle and Eric Smith returned from their Bali vacation yesterday, a week earlier than they planned.

Kailua couple recalls
terror and confusion
after bombing in Bali

Isle residents canceling trips to Bali

Indonesia troubles unlikely to disrupt Hawaii oil supply

Bali regulars in shock over attack

Indonesia acknowledges al-Qaida presence

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By Genevieve A. Suzuki
gsuzuki@starbulletin.com

Kailua residents Lisa Peddle and her husband, Eric Smith, became confused when they walked along the Bali coast and ran into a group of Balinese crying and apologizing profusely early Sunday morning.

"Everyone was just crying their eyes out," Peddle, 38, said.

After running into the Balinese on the beach, Peddle, a nurse at Tripler Army Medical Center, said she and Smith hurried back to the villa they were renting with friends and turned on CNN.

After hearing the news about Saturday's bombings in the Kuta nightclub district -- only 2.5 miles away from their villa -- the couple immediately cut their vacation short and flew to Guam on Sunday. They arrived last night at Honolulu Airport.

The State Department has advised Americans to put off travel anywhere in Indonesia, saying the security situation there "puts U.S. citizens and U.S. interests at risk."

Peddle and Smith said they had felt the blast that killed about 200 people and injured 200 more Saturday night. "We all got woken up by the blast," said Smith, a 32-year-old pharmaceutical representative. "The front doors, the plants, everything rattled."

The couple went back to sleep, however, dismissing the disturbance as dynamite being used for construction.

The day after the attack, the lines to the phones seemed endless, said Peddle, who came to Hawaii from Manhattan 10 years ago.

For Peddle's family in New York, the bombings were like deja vu.

"They were in hysterics," said Peddle, whose brother was an emergency rescue worker at the World Trade Center. "Everyone was freaking out because they didn't know where in Bali we were."

"Since we left Bali, we've just been rambling," Peddle said, apologizing for speaking in quick spurts. "You just want to keep talking about it because it's so overwhelming."

"The saddest thing is, Bali was the one safe little island in the middle of a political hotbed," said Peddle, a frequent visitor to Bali, having been there five times before.

"You couldn't be treated nicer by anyone else in the world," said Smith, who came from Lakewood, Calif. about 12 years ago. "It was like kicking your grandmother."

Peddle shook her head. "They know they're screwed for the next two years," she said. "The terrorists really ruined it for their country."

"It's Indonesia. There's no money there," Smith said. "For them to target it, they had to be targeting Westerners."

Smith said Qantas Airways sent several extra planes for Australian citizens to return home. The club frequented by many Australians was apparently targeted by the terrorists.

The Indonesian army was driving trucks around Bali, picking up Australians to take to the airport, according to Peddle.

Peddle said she cries thinking about the injured Australians she saw at the airport, waiting to board the planes.

Still, Peddle said she will return to Bali someday after everything quiets down. "I just absolutely love it there," she said. "It's my favorite place. They are the friendliest, most kind people I've ever met. And they don't have a lot. They live hand to mouth.

"I just don't understand why they would do this to Bali."