Hi we are in Bali now, been here 6 days now and loving it. Staying at Kuta now, just come from Ubud, weather not hot, cloudy but good shopping weather!
I had a bit of trouble coming into Bali through customs. I decided to take a big old DVD player with me for the kids to use as we would be moving around a bit and changing hotels and too hard to rent with moves. I though Id leave it in Bali as it was probably due to die soon, I had bought a new cheap one to take - $68 - but hubby said it was heaps better than the one we had and to keep it - so I did and took old one.
When I picked up suitcase at Bali airport it had 3 chalk "x" at the top. Customs man said he would look at it. When he saw dvd player he asked what is this, I said dvd player, he said No No too big for that. I said it was just old one. He said Why bring to Bali, I said as moving round easier for kids to watch dvds on it. He say I must pay tax for it. I say no it old one I no pay tax, I will probably leave in country when i go anyway as it is old and heavy. He say you no leave if you do you must pay tax. I say I no leave then I take home. He say Promise I say yes. He then questioned on the cigarette carton I had bought, you can only bring 200 cigs into Bali the cartons actually have 250 in them I thought he was going to confiscate 2 packets of them for a while but he did not. Then he questioned my migrane tablets. He looked at label and saw they were $22.50 for 20 tablets and then said You no need these, I say yes I do, after much discussion we decided I really did need them and he gave them back.
He said ok all done so with much relief for me and Kids (they thought he was taking me away) I zipped up case, as I went to go he leaned over and put out his hand to shake mine and said - right we have deal, I thought; good heavens what have i done did i say id pay him something? I said what deal? He said you take dvd player back home promise - with reief I say Yes I promise.
So it looks like after all the shrimping with weight, taking half full containers of creams so I could throw them out, hardly any clothes to wear so I could buy new ones, I am now stuck with taking home a roughly 2 kilo dvd player. I suppose at Bali and Sydney I will again have the same trouble coming back with them thinking I am trying to avoid taxes or perhaps hide a bomb in there. It makes you want to cry doesnt it...
Has this dvd thing happened to anyone else?
On the plus side Bali is beautiful and the kids love it my daughter almost took over barganing for somethimg the other day.