In Reply to: Please tell me the sequence............. posted by colabro on Tuesday, 8. February 2005 at 16:04 Bali Time:
I knew about the porters before I went to Bali for the first time and was fully expecting them. What I wasn;t expecting is that they would be in the secure area prior to customs checks (freely walking in and out) and that they would present themselves as officials of the indo government!
How it happened with us on our first trip was that we were removing our luggage from the carousel and this dude comes over and asks for our passports. We thought we were in trouble. He then says, "this way please", and whisks us towards the customs area. But he didn't stop. He walked straight past the customs counter and out into the public area and put his hand out for money! Cheeky bugger. Gave him a few bucks and argued a bit and then he went on his way.
I really don't mind giving money to the porters.