In Reply to: people and places i met in my 2 months posted by inmyblood on Wednesday, 12. July 2006 at 21:56 Bali Time:
What you did was wonderful and I am sure this lady thought so and still does. There are many people who go to Bali who take on families and assist by paying childrens school fees, buying househols items, motorbikes and even vehicles to enable the father to work as a guide. The stories of these people get around and also as others have said it's common knowledge what we pay for hotel rooms, meals and even a few bintangs. Our driver once said to us I can't afford to buy 1 bintang.
We have often tried to explain the relevance of costs as in what we pay in Australia compared to what they pay in Bali. I think that helps a little but a waitress said to me just last week.. I work 6 days I get much less money than you do for your job, I pay much less money for things than you do in Australia but I will never be able to save any money for a holiday. I tried to explain that there are people in Australia also who would not be able to save enough money for a holiday, but that is not what they see, they only see those of us who are able to do what we do.
I understand how you feel Shauna we took my daughter to Bali last year, her first trip outside Australia. Late one night she wandered up to the bar in our hotel to have a drink and to sit and listen to some musicians playing. One of the guys sat down beside her during a break from playing and started a conversation with her. He very quickly turned the conversation to the have and have nots thing. She then explained that she was a divorced working mum raising her children alone and that she couldn't have afforded this holiday except for her parents. He started in on how our government pays us if we don't work etc; she felt that he was very angry and agressive about everything and directing it at her because she was better off than he was, she was really upset for the next couple of days.
On the other side are the people that we have known for many years and since the bombings they have been doing it hard. Some are beach sellers and we have often said we honestly don't need to buy any more sarongs, jewllery, whatever, but discretely hand them 50,000 or 100,000rp, they simply refuse to take our money for nothing, we finish up getting a shoulder massage or a pedicure or a bag of gifts to take home for our family, no matter how much we protest, they insist on giving us something.
The ceremony at the temple sounded great, wish I could have been there.
Coco