I must say I found the Corby case interesting and I have been through Denpasar airport many times. If you go behind the blue eyes, big coughs and the media circus however, I think there is a lot more too it.
I don't know if Corby is innocent or guilty. Only she knows that. I think on the evidence the court probably came up with the right verdict. I was surprised in fact they did not give her a life sentence. But lets dig a little deeper. Both brother and father have been convicted of drug offences. Brother "disappeared" very quickly from the airport when sister was arrested. Would it be presumptuous of me to suggest her brother put the drugs in the boogy board bag ? That he was going to sell the drugs in Bali ? Or am I just barking up the wrong tree ?
Somebody suggested in this forum that she should have offered the customs people a few dollars. If Corby had Asian travel smarts, she would have known for a few hundred dollars this could probably all have gone away. Instead, her, her family and her lawyer turned this into a media circus. From Corby's perspective, this was the WORST thing that could happen. The Indonesian police and courts were never going to let her go once the media got involved. What I find amusing is that our media here are so stupid they actually thought they could help her. In fact, they did the opposite.
I read in The Melbourne Age today we should boycott Qantas over this. I am certainly not a Qantas fan, but it was my understanding that Qantas baggage people handle ALL international baggage in Sydney - not just Qantas flights ? (Somebody please correct me if I am wrong). Should should we therefore boycott ALL flights through Sydney International Airport ? Bit silly I thought. But it is true Qantas should keep better records of luggage on flights. Maybe this would have provided Corby with evidence to support her claims - maybe it would not. Who knows.
But whether you go on holiday to Bali is another story. Bali is part of a Muslim country. While the Balinese are predominately Hindu, the businesses and hotels in Bali are predominately owned by the Suharto generals in Jakarta. And most of these guys are no sweethearts. So if you want to support these kind of people, sure spend your tourist dollars in Bali. If you think providing income to corrupt public officials, many of whom are supporting and assisting JI terrorists, is not such a good idea, then spend your tourist dollar elsewhere. Maybe in Malaysia, the centre of terrorism is Asia, is a good place to go ??
Get serious. Indonesia is corrupt countries. While they put on a pretty face for tourists and the Balinese certainly want our money, do you think they really want us decadent Westerners in their country ? Do you really believe the Bali bombers didn't have help from the Indonesian military ? Nothing moves in Indonesia without the approval of the military.
Personally, I would go to Thailand any day. And that is not to say Thailand is not corrupt too. But, the people are much nicer, the hotels better and they are fighting the terrorists supported by Malaysia in the south of their country. If I want to spend my tourist dollar in Asia, that's is certainly where I would go