Reply #5: Making the most of it... the mud lake is becoming a tourist attraction! [View All]

[depakid]

Mud tourism is about the only thing that is flourishing in Porong, an East Java suburb that two years ago became a disaster zone when hot volcanic mud began spewing from the site of a gas exploration well.

Today, the inland sea of mud is twice the size of Central Park in New York. Enough mud to fill 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools spews out every day and has already displaced 50,000 people, submerged homes, factories and schools.

The local economy has been devastated by the disaster, although, there are a few minor exceptions such as a local pharmacy that has seen sales soar as people seek treatment for allergies. The stench of sulphur hangs in the air from the grey, watery mud, although authorities deny it is a health hazard.

"Business is good," said a cashier at Porong Pharmacy. Nearby, motorbike taxis charge high prices to drive curious tourists to the towering levees of rock and earth that hold back the mud. Others hawk DVDs of the disaster.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/mud-lake-draws-tourists-to-disaster-zone/2008/09/09/1220857512027.html