CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Among people in Hawaii worried about the well-being of friends and acquaintances in Bali is I Nyoman Arcana, left, a Balinese artist whose paintings are displayed at the East-West Center gallery. He discussed his worries yesterday along with former Honolulu resident Garrett Kam, right, who works as an art curator for Neka Museum in Bali.
Hawaii surfers and artists who frequent the resort island of Bali were still in shock over the car bomb that ripped through the popular Kuta nightclub district, killing more than 180 and injuring hundreds of others on Saturday. Bali regulars in shock
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By Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.comSurfing promoter Randy Rarick said he's heard from one surfer who was planning a trip to Bali but now is looking for another surf spot.
"You never thought it could happen there," he said.
Rarick, who periodically visits Bali, described Kuta Beach as a "Bohemian type of Waikiki," with young visitors on a mid-to-low traveling budget.
The bomb exploded outside of Paddy's Discotheque and an open-air nightclub called the Sari Club frequented by surfers and young foreign visitors between 18 and 24, said North Shore resident Ricardo Pomar, who has regularly taken surfing trips to Bali since 1974.
Former Honolulu resident Garrett Kam described the area as like the International Market Place in Waikiki, and expressed disgust at the bombing.
"It's really sick," said Kam, who works as an art curator for Neka Museum in Bali. "Everything is just going to fall apart."
Kam, who is in Honolulu for an art exhibition at the East-West Center, said his friend who lives 40 miles away from Kuta Beach heard the explosion.
"All their sense of security is gone," he said.
He added that the bombings would have a detrimental effect on the island's economy.
Through Kam, who acted as an interpreter, I Nyoman Arcana, a Balinese artist whose paintings are displayed at the East-West Center gallery, said he is worried about the well-being of several friends who work at hotels and restaurants at Kuta Beach. Arcana said he is also concerned about his own welfare when he returns to Bali next week, anticipating a downturn in tourism that will directly affect his painting sales.
Some phone lines were wiped out by the explosion while others were jammed by people seeking information on colleagues and friends.
Bernie Baker, contest director for the Triple Crown of Surfing and senior Hawaii editor for Surfer Magazine, has several friends who live in and travel to Bali. He couldn't get any information about a friend until he heard secondhand that a hotel clerk spotted him after the bombing and said he was OK.
Soon after news of the bombing broke, Rarick e-mailed two friends who were in Bali on a surfing trip. His mind was put at ease yesterday after a friend responded via e-mail saying he had left Bali a day after the bombing.
