Can I take you on a tour. Sometimes locals will try to befriend you and offer to take you on a tour. Often this is genuine and once again its all about your feelings about the person. I met a female tourist who was approached by a local in Ubud and went for a 2 hour rice paddy walk with him. He then demanded 300,000rp.
There is something wrong with your car. One scam you might find in areas like Bedugal is people signaling to you that there is something wrong with your motorbike / car. You stop, take a look and the person will say, he saw smoke, or something looks loose. A friend or relative will arrive, or be close by and just by chance he is a mechanic. The 'problem' will get fixed for a large sum.
One thing that westerners are particularly susceptible to is the stranger who tries to befriend you and won't take no for an answer. If you feel someone aggressively going after you with questions, pushing that fake smile and giving you the old "Yes, yes, my friend, I will accompany you and will be your guide." "Yes, we will rent a car and you will come to my village and maybe we will business partners." Etc. You’ve got to realize that he knows exactly what he's doing. If you allow someone to push you into things and are afraid of 'upsetting him' or coming across as rude, don’t worry. Aggressively going after someone is rude and I cut these guys down to size with cold body language and direct communication. "I don't know you, you're not my friend, leave me alone." Usually the guy will realize there is nothing for him to bite on and will take off.
You've knocked over my motorbike. Some people will wait till you have parked your car, then push their motorbike up against the rear bumper, flush with the side of the car. When you return and try to back up you will knock it over and be charged a huge sum.
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“Can I take you on a tour?”
Although it’s always good to be careful and not see the world (and Bali) through rose colored glasses, some of the best experiences in Bali are available to a new tourist by going on a “tour” with some of the guys who stop you on the street. Granted, I’m talking more about Ubud, my base, then down south, where I don’t spend much time. Guides will often take you to their sister’s wedding, the family temple ceremony, all kinds of places and events the big companies won’t, and you will often be the only tourist there. Obviously, you need to talk to these guys and get everything straight up front. I have some good friends who are independent guides and drivers, and their customers always have a good time. As for the tourist who went on the walk through the rice paddy, did she think this guide was offering his services for free? She should have got the price upfront. This sounds more like it was her fault than the guide’s. She should have paid him something anyway, though certainly not 300,000 rp.
Ahh, Tonie wonderful insight, not least for being able to predict the behaviour of over 200 million people. A hardened whoremonger such as yourself should be able to forget the hookers in Bali tonie, lets be honest they’re not that great looking and extremely average in performance, with abilities like that you should be at least a multibillionaire and should never have to settle for less than having the worlds finest courtesans cum to you and hang on your every desire.
But of course as normal you are deeper than that and delve into the philosophy of language and metaphysics, could your assertion be true for the rest of humanity? or is it just indonesians?, how can you define a truely altruistic act?, and how is it really possible to judge?
Anyway, I’m beginning to enjoy our little chats Tonie.
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