Talk about Shake, Rattle and Roll. 
It wasn't a dance that many enjoyed

I was with a group of friends staying at the Kumula Pantai in Legion when the quake struck.  The Pantai has a wonderful restaurant that is literally across the road from the beach at Legian.

It was just after 7:45 and a very large crowd of diners were at various stages of eating and we were into the second of a multiple set of entertainment acts and never being one to miss an opportunity to take photographs, I was kneeling on the ground to shoot upward.

There was a very festive atmosphere, the music was literally being pumped out, the area had been brightly lit with fire dances and the next act had just begun – when it hit!

At first I was simply confused. Why was someone shaking me, yet not shaking me?  When you are shaken by another person there is that physical contact and no matter how gentle of strong you are shaken, there is a certain regularity about it.

This was so different!

Mind you, all this happened to me in probably no more than three or so seconds. My natural reaction was to stand up to see why this was happening.  But I couldn’t!

My immediate conclusion was that I was having some kind of dizzy attack. I had no control of my body in the process of standing and, there was indeed a kind of nausea type giddiness.  But I kept trying and stood. I was suddenly aware of everyone being on their feet with a few people shouting – Earthquake!

Lights were swaying, a large chandelier inside the actual restaurant was swinging wildly and there was certainly panic among some people.  However, most just stood at their tables, whether in fear, confusion or wonderment, who knows.

By now barely 10 seconds had passed but the floor was swaying quite strongly and in a totally unpredictable manny, which made it hard for our bodies to adjust. I told my wife, June, that it would be OK and felt the choice some had made to head toward the beach probably wasn’t the wisest choice for if their was a tsunami, then all they were doing was putting themselves in further danger.

I just felt that the building we were near was structually sound and certainly IF there was a sign of damage the best choice would be to move toward the centre area which was largely clear and in the worse case scenario to get under one of the tables which were very solid. My advice to my wife? Sit down so she couldn’t fall.

So we did and we rode it out for what was probably in total just short of 90 seconds.

Then is stopped as suddenly as it started and if not for swaying lights and the swaying Chandelier you would never have known it happened.

15 minutes after the earthquake, lights were still swaying

The same certainly is not the case for Lombok where it appears that a number of people just short of a hundred have perished.

My reaction the next morning is too look back at it in wonderment. The power of the earth when it decides to move is indeed awesome. Personally it was an experience that I decided that having no control over, to just take it in.

Mind you, such a rational decision is one that is easier to make when buildings around us weren’t falling, and easier to make when people around me remained uninjured.

Otherwise I may not have been so calm and rational!

When Bug Joe Turner wrote:

I said shake, rattle and roll, shake, rattle and roll
Shake, rattle and roll, shake, rattle and roll
Well, you won’t do right to save your doggone soul

It was almost as if he had being in an earthquake in mind.

This article was written in Bali by:

Rob Greaves – [Senior Editor Toorak Times]