Starlit long exposure showing Bali's volcano silouette
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Image captionAFP/GettyExperts think Bali's Mount Agung could erupt for the first time since 1963
Usually, the lifespan of a volcano can be measured
 in millennia, and so waiting a few days for it to erupt may
 not sound too stressful.
Tens of thousands of Balinese people have been forced from 
their homes. They are being put up at temporary shelters.
This is due to warnings of a volcanic eruption which 
were issued by volcanologists. It is feared that Mount Agung 
could erupt at any time even though the last time this
happened was in 1963
Ketut Seri and her young family are pictured sitting on the floor of a center
Image captionMore than 140,000 people like Ketut Seri and her family arein temporary shelters

According to the volcanologists monitoring Mount Agung,
this situation could continue for weeks, maybe even months.
An eruption may not even happen, they simply don't know.
At the government observation base, senior seismologist
Devy Kamil remains patient - despite the long queue of
journalists who have been knocking on his door all week, 
hoping for some news.
"There are some examples where you have swarms of 
activity for as long as six years," he explains, "and it is 
not always ended by an eruption."
Landscape shot of fields and the volcano in he background
Image captionHundreds of tremors have been detected since August
When lava last flowed from Mount Agung in 1963, the
measuring instruments they use today were not in place, 
and so it is impossible to know the signature behaviour
that shows an eruption is coming.

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The village of Rendang sits just outside the exclusion
 zone, and normally the market place would be bustling
 with the traders selling fruit, flowers and rice.
traders are seen sorting food in a quiet market area
Image captionBusiness at Rendang market has plummeted since the volcano warnings were issued
But according to stallholder Ketut Astiningsih, most
 people have stopped coming and her income has taken
 a massive hit.
"No one is shopping. Before I could get 400,000 Rupiah
 ($30 USD) a day, now I can only earn 50,000 Rupiah
 ($3.7USD)" she explains.
So far the economic consequences for Bali's tourism 
industry have not been so grave.
At the hotels, the busloads of holidaymakers keep on
coming, reassured it seems by the government's 
message that they will be kept well out of harm's way.
Foreign tourists are pictured walking along a beachImage copyright
Image captionAFPTourism at most resorts has not been affected
Of course every tourist has heard or read about the 
volcano, and many have been contacted by worried 
relatives back home.
But for most the only concern is whether an eruption would
 mean they could be marooned here.
As he sipped a beer on the beach at Sanur, Mathew 
Hunter from Cairns in Australia seemed pretty relaxed
by that prospect.
"I could definitely do with a few more weeks here," he 
chuckles, before adding that he is far more concerned
 about the fate of the tens of thousands of evacuees 
in emergency shelters.
Like most people on Bali, he says he would like to
 see this waiting game with Mount Agung come to a
 swift but peaceful conclusion.
"I just hope it has a few little belly rumbles and then 
life goes on."