In Reply to: Women with babies begging in Ubud... posted by Freogal on Wednesday, 11. July 2012 at 07:05 Bali Time:
More than a few times in the evening I have seen young women & babies dressed very poorly being dropped off every few hundred metres along Jl Legian. They are driven there in nice new shiny vans. No doubt their earnings pay for the drivers' flash vehicles. I have seen them laughing & smiling & having fun in the vans but as soon as they are out, their countenances change to miserable. It's a job for them, often a second one after their day job & easy money.
I give to the obviously infirm or crippled - maybe they are part of a begging ring, too, I don't know, but obviously they can't earn a living any other way.