Posted by Lisa on Wednesday, 10. February 1999 at 11:34 Bali Time:
Just returned from Bali, yesterday. I jsut wanted to share a recent Bali story that made me laugh and put a smile on my face.
We were getting our nails painted on the streets down near Kuta Plaza with about 10 Balinese women around us offering us their funky gems,(as they do). Anyway, I told the ladies that I had brought clothes from Australia that I no longer wanted, with the intention of giving them away. Their little faces lit up like angels at the thought of some new threads, and they calmly and politely asked me to open my bag and show them what I had to offer. So here I was, sitting on the floor with a balinese working on my toes doing the nail painting thing, and I carefully opened this plastic bag, ready to do a bit of a show and tell thing with each item, when all of a sudden, these angelic faces turned to hungry seagulls. Women came out from nowhere and they all began ravishing this bag of clothes like there was no tomorrow, snatching what they could, almost creating fights amongst themselves. Unfortunate for me, I was holding this plastic bag still so you can imagine that all these women were doing this chip eating thing practically on my lap.
It was the funniest sight. Afterwards though, they were the happiest Balinese women I had seen, except for the few who missed out.
So, when travelling to Bali, you should have plenty of room in your suitcase to bring over all your unwanted clothes, shoes - anything!! They really appreciate our materials, more than I realised, and it made me feel really good too!!