i finally received a call from my friend in Bali and he's totally fine!! :) phew! what a great relief!! told me he usually doesn't hang out at noisy places like that and the bomb site was actually quite far from where he lives so he wasn't affected much..

heard the phone lines were all jammed up over the past couple of days with people calling home to all parts of the world telling their families they are fine so it was really hard to get through. .. must be so frightening for the loved ones of these people who are wondering where they are.. especially for all the Brit and Aussie backpackers who usually leave home for indefinite periods to travel around the world.

a nasty incident like that has shrunken the "visitable" world for so many of us globetrotting backpackers... it's frustrating...

i wonder when we will see a world free from wars, fighting, terrorism and terrorist activities again... as far as i know, bombs are still going off in all sorts of places, killing civilians and disrupting lives... US is still threatening to bomb Iraq, Saddam Hussein is still as defiant as before.. doesn't the future just look so terribly bleak now.. :(

i'm gonna pray for peace, and for wisdom for all the leaders who are responsible or able to influence in one way or other in what's happening in the world now.. do join me if you can... and may God keep us all safe..