Terrorism: Yes we are in Bali and yes many foreign governments and others point out there is an ongoing terrorist attack risk. But terrorists in Indonesia pick targets in the mass tourism areas of Bali for one reason; they are not easily detected. Where many tourists spend their time, many Indonesians also come and go, so terrorists can also walk around without suspicion. We are in a small village on the remote side of the island. Although the main (although very quiet) north coast road goes past the village center (we are away from the main road ourselves) and trucks, buses, cars and bikes from other parts of Indonesia use this road to get to their final destination, they generally have no reason to stop at Sambirenteng. Strangers are quickly noticed and the natural curiosity of rural Balinese life means that any stranger will be asked who they are within seconds or minutes (Balinese culture is to ask others what their name is, where they are from and who they know - it is important to establish things such as a person's "caste" and therefore what tone to use when speaking to them, or indeed whether to speak Balinese or Indonesian). This makes carrying out surveillance of our villas, which are at the end of the dead end beach road, a virtual impossibility. Even if a terrorist cell had a notion to attack Balinese villas, they would almost certainly target an area, rather than specific villas, and want to watch and plan for days. The entrance to the beach road that leads to us has a house at the top which is a popular meeting place for locals, who park their bikes on the narrow road which makes it normally impossible for a car to get past unless they move them (a curse in the normal sense, but not in this one). At night, unless our staff let the house owner know we will need access, the road will often be blocked with a truck, and any visitor would have a long walk down to the villas where our security staff would greet them.

Tsunamis / Tidal Waves: Unfortunately the fault line that caused the December 2004 tsunami runs all the way from Aceh in Sumatra (where the epicenter that caused the tidal wave was located) all along the southern national boundary of Indonesia, including Bali. The fault line is referred to as a vertical fault line because one tectonic plate rises above another. When there is a significant earthquake under the sea involving a vertical fault line, it can push up enough water to create a tsunami. Southern Bali is therefore at risk (very slight risk please note) from a tidal wave from this fault line, but we on the north coast are not as we are sheltered by the island of Bali itself. Fault lines to the north of us in the so called "Pacific Rim of Fire" or elsewhere are either lateral fault lines (plates move in opposite directions against, not over each other) or are the other side of either Borneo or Sulawesi. We are therefore not at risk from tsunamis.