After Bromo, it was time to hit the road again, and start the island-hop towards Dili in East Timor: the only port south/east of Jakarta with ships headed towards Darwin in Australia.

Each successive ferry journey became longer in duration, culminating in the mother of all voyages. However, the delights of Bali awaited first after the initial hop.

Say "Bali" to anybody today, and they immediately respond with "Bombing".

You may have seen pictures of Bali's beaches before, but have you ever seen it this empty?

I'm just off shot, surfing the waves. Honestly.

One can amass conspiracy theory upon conspiracy theory as to the reason for the bombing, who was behind it, who supported it, and who may have turned that blind eye. But one cannot now fail to agree on the result: all along the Indonesian archipelago, it is a tourist desert.

The LP guidebook (published pre-bomb) paints a picture of the main tourist area of Bali (Kuta) as being like ants around a chocolate bar. That was maybe the case 12 months ago. Now somebody's been out with the ant powder and decimated the tourists. Along with the livelihood of the majority of the inhabitants of this and the other islands, in what is predominantly a muslim country.

Whatever the intended purpose for the attack, one cannot help but feel a sense of backfire. Feet with bullet holes.

The further from Jakarta you travel, the quieter the roads become, and the more the friendliness of the people increases. Or, in the case of the youngsters, their timidity.

On the island of Flores, this group of school children were walking with their teacher. An attempt at a group photo gave only this scattered result, with most of the children maintaining a safe distance from the "alien". The lads in the foreground were older, and came forward, but most stayed at the back, peeking from behind the protection of their teacher. Who, must be said, seemed to be just as timid as her flock.

The lad on the left has his hands behind his back. He was taking no chances - he was holding a rock, just incase either I or the camera did something nasty.

"I don't give a damn how friendly you seem, I'm not coming any closer than this.

"And yes, I will grow into this shirt one day."