The dragon boat competition ending Tuesday gave visitors a spectacle because it was held with the nice scenery of Suwung Water Reservoir near Denpasar as its backdrop.

It was cleared from garbage ahead of the games.

In the racing lanes, it was a competition worth watching with Indonesia and Myanmar locked in the latest round of a rivalry in the men's races and Indonesia managing to come up on top over China in the women's.

However, the showcase, which delivered an overall collection of four gold and two silver medals for the hosts, fell short in the cheering gallery.

The so-called VIP seats, where spectators got the best view of the races, were largely occupied by organizers, media workers and officials from the seven participating teams. Few people were seen scattered along the banks of the man-made lake, located near Simpang Siur area.

Spectators were also sparse at Serangan Island, where the sailing and windsurfing competitions were taking place. The expectation of a huge crowd did not materialize either at the beach soccer venue in Mertasari and beach volleyball venue in Sanur.

Bodybuiding and surfing, which have already wrapped up competitions, should have drawn spectators with both events held in public places, where locals and tourists flock everyday.

"I asked some people why they were not coming to watch. Some say they cannot stand the heat,"Sony Subrata, a marketing and public relation officer with the Bali Asian Beach Games Organizing Committee (BABGOC), said.

He said the organizers had campaigned hard, promoting the Games extensively through print, electronic and broadcast media, including on foreign channels the BBC, CNN, ESPN, the Discovery Channel and CNBC, and local channels TV One, Trans 7, RCTI,TPI, SCTV and Indosiar.

Fliers and guidebooks containing competition schedules were distributed in shopping malls and hotels, he said.

"Around 100 volunteers distributed 10,000 fliers three days ahead of the opening ceremony. Twenty thousand flags were placed on the island's streets to alert people about the big event,"he said Still, it has not steered people's anxiety.

I Made Sudira, who works in a villa in Jimbaran, came to Suwung Water Reservoir, but thirty minutes after the competition was over.

"I'm coming to watch the dragon boat competition.You know... it refreshes my mind after work," he said. He was not alone. Some others came, but they just missed the races.

I Wayan Sudi said many were interested to watch, but they did not know the schedule or the venues.

"We should have encouraged hotels to promote this event to their guests. I hope the sport events can be merrier next time. The promotion effort should have been bigger," he said.

Reza Heryoga said his classmates wanted to watch the beach soccer but they were fazed by ticket prices of Rp 75,000 (US$7.6).

"We were disappointed to learn that the tickets were that expensive.We actually planned to watch it tomorrow."

Soccer, volleyball and pencak silat are the only three of 19 sports charging spectators entrance fees. The organizers have loosened up so that entry tickets are compulsory only for semifinals and finals.

The woodball competition does not attract many spectators except for guests at Ayodya Resort Bali. Indonesian team manager Dominicus Sutrisno said this was because the game was not popular in the country yet. Furthermore, people are reluctant to travel far to Nusa Dua, he said.

The hotel's compound was selected as it provides competition fields that meet international standards.

"We would like to play at a venue where many people could watch, but we couldn't because we needed a venue that had both grass and sand grounds.

"That's why the competition is held here, where we can set up five grass fairways and seven sand fairways."

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