Tourists returning to the beaches of Bali two years after bombings killed 202 people say the resort island is now no more dangerous than anywhere else in the world as terrorism's global threat grows.
Bombs ripped through two bars in Bali's Kuta nightclub strip on Oct. 12, 2002, in what was seen as a deliberate strike by militant extremists on Westerners in the world's largest Muslim country.
The island's crucial tourism industry was paralyzed in the aftermath of the bombing as a normally heavy influx of visitors was reduced to a trickle.
But while there have been further shocks for Indonesia, in the shape of deadly bombings in Jakarta at a US-run hotel and the Australian embassy, trouble elsewhere has convinced many that Bali is no longer a threat.
"It is hard to tell if this place is still dangerous, an attack could happen anywhere, it could just as easily happen in Sydney," said Craig Norton, an Australian taking a holiday in Bali to coincide with the anniversary of the bombing in which two of his friends died.
Such fears were magnified this week when more than 30 people were killed and 120 wounded by car bombs at resorts packed with Israeli holidaymakers on the Red Sea coast of Egypt's Sinai peninsula.
Those attacks, like the bombings in Bali were said to be the work of terrorists linked to the al-Qaeda organization which masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001 strikes on New York and Washington.
In Indonesia, more than 30 people said to members of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror group have been captured and sentenced for the Bali blasts, although two Malaysian militants said to be behind the attack remain at large.
Police now have a high profile presence along Bali's main tourist streets, particularly around a monument to the bomb victims which will host several commemorative ceremonies on the anniversary of the attack.
But although Australia has enforced a travel warning advising its citizens against unnecessary travel to Indonesia following last month's embassy attack, its citizens are once again filling up Bali's hotels.
In the clubs of Kuta, including the rebuilt Paddy's Bar -- one of two venues targeted in the 2002 blasts -- sunburned young Australians and other Westerners are back in search of a good time, drinking and dancing into the night.
"You can't live your life thinking you're going to get blown up, you let the terrorists win if you think that," said James Kernot, 29, of Torquay, Victoria, visiting Bali for the first time.
For Helen Perry of Sydney, the island has returned to the safe haven she knew before 2002.
Some ordinary Balinese however fear that the threat lingers.
"I have a fear there are still many people like the bombers who never think about others when they are angry," said driver Nyoman Karya.
"But I think Westerners and Americans have to look at themselves as well, they have to admit if they have done wrong to others."
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