Bombing sites become 'must-see' attractions

Bombing sites become 'must-see' attractions

Loic Vennin, Agence France-Presse, Kuta, Bali

Just days after the deadly Bali bombings, the sites of Saturday's
attacks have become the latest "must-see" attraction for foreign
tourists on the resort island.

"We wanted to see what it was like," said Kris Clape, a 35-
year-old Australian, who was dropped by taxi in front of the now
closed entrance to Kuta Square, a small street of boutiques and
restaurants in the heart of the seaside resort of Kuta.

One of the three bombs that exploded in Bali on Saturday,
killing at least 19 people, ripped through the packed Raja
restaurant here.

The area is now closed, with dozens of curious onlookers,
journalists and foreign tourists pressing against the security
barriers that seal off both ends of the street.

Among the crowd, Clape tries to find the best spot to take
photos. A few dozen meters away, shards of glass still litter the
ground along with plants toppled by the blast.

"I'm taking pictures just to keep them. It feels more real,"
she explained, zooming in on a billboard reading "Bali loves
peace".

"We pray to God to bless the victims," read a short tribute
surrounded by multicolored flowers.

"I'm gonna show this one to my friends to make them understand
the Balinese love peace," said Clape.

"I'm here to pay respect," explained Donni Lindnar, 44, from
Sydney. "We leave today, as scheduled but we wanted to pass by."

Her swimsuit-clad daughter Rochelle, 20, said she was taking
photographs of the scene "to show how big it is".

Behind her, a minibus full of foreign tourists slowed down to
allow the passengers to take photos.

In the days since the bloody weekend attacks, Kuta Square has
already become an obligatory stop for tourists, along with the
site of the 2002 attacks, also in Kuta, which has drawn visitors
for the past three years.

Several kilometers to the south on Jimbaran beach, Magnus
Lande, a 19-year-old Norwegian surfer, uses the camera on his
mobile phone to record the scene at the two beach restaurants
where the other bombs exploded on Saturday.

"I wanted to see how big it was," said Lande, from Oslo.

"It's not that big actually," he said, with a tinge of
disappointment.

Upturned chairs and tables still lie on the fine sand on the
terraces of the Nyoman and Menega cafes, both hit by the blasts.

"It's terrible," said 43-year-old German Christa Neubacher,
whose glance locked on a pair of child's sandals lying abandoned
at the site of the explosion.

"I waited several days before I felt able to come but I wanted
to see it," she added.

Her husband Tom, 51, captured the scene on film "to show
friends with whom we dined, at this same place, not long ago," he
explained.

Clape said she did not wish to linger in front of the site of
the Kuta explosion.

"I don't really feel safe here," she said, before quickly
climbing into her taxi.