Posted by Lynne on Thursday, 4. February 1999 at 11:17 Bali Time:
In Reply to: Indonesians are slack posted by Big C on Thursday, 4. February 1999 at 10:42 Bali Time:
Are you expecting the Balinese to change their culture to suit
you? If you are, then why don't you go to Hawaii, or Europe,
or maybe just travel in Austrailia? I don't think it is fair
to expect the Balinese to perform to your standards. They are
business people, many of them, but they deal in a culture that
is thousands of years old. Who wants them to race into the
twenty first century? Most of the charm of Bali lies in its
simplicity. If it became just another place that catered solely to
tourists, then it would be just another big tourist trap. As it
is, Kuta is an aberration, not representative of Bali at all.
I saw people like you in Bali. They didn't mind bargaining
the poor vendors right into the ground, taking advantage to
the last penny, and then later bragging about it. The only
arrogant people I met in Bali were foreigners, the worst was
an Englishman who opened a restaurant in Kuta, after twenty
years, he still hadn't caught on to the Bali way.
Do the Balinese a favor, and stay home. There are plenty of us who respect their ways, and a few bad apples don't spoil the whole bunch.