[[ Stickman & Stickbabe ]]

we're just two simple stickpeople who :-
met,
clicked,
hitched,
till death do us part...


[[ All I want in 2007... ]]

Seeing loved ones happy
Mission trips
Have a cute baby
Learn bridal makeup
Speak Camb/Viet
Pay off our housing loan!


[[ Leaving? ]]

~C-Cup : cupcakes from heaven... (perfect 4 parties)
~My Bali Photo Blog
~Melonbabe (my female sibling)
~Angelia (a kid i tutored, who grew up!)
~WZB (a woman with an expensive rock)
~Get Blobbed... (splish splash plop blobbe)
~My Primary School Classmate
~My pescatarian recipe blog
~Simplicity - making a difference in Kenya
~A visually delightful blog of a stranger
~Another visual treat...
Been read free hit counters by free-counters.net times!

Saturday, June 17, 2006
BALI : THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

[ The GOOD ]
This is our tour guide, Sawana, in the background. He knows practically everything about Bali. I'm holding up one of the several varieties of leaves used for cooking curry. He also introduced me to a delicious fruit called Salak (Snakeskin fruit). It is delicious.

Good too, were our travel companions, a well-travelled Malay family of four. We frequently depended on them for interpretation and bargaining tips. We were sad to part ways at the end of the second day. In the picture, Sawana is taking a picture of them on Beratan Lake, Bedugul. Stickman was running around crazily in the park, taking pictures of everything.

[ The BAD ]
Local men we talked to mostly claim to be married, and the wifey is always pregnant. I'm wary of sob stories used to wring more rupiah out of me. Here, our taxi driver took us for a long spin. He even had the gall to drive past the shop where his 'wife' was working. No wonder he was thrilled when we asked for 'meter'!

When we eventually arrived at Monkey Forest Road, we wrangled with him for a fixed fare. In return, he waited for us and brought us to Tanah Lot after that. It was still expensive. We nicknamed him "That Monkey".

Bad also, was our brush with vice. On Kuta Beach to the left, we were besieged not only by massage women, surf instructors and touts. We were also asked if we wanted "Dama" (marijuana)!


And the long awaited... [ THE UGLY ]
This ugly incident really happened in an Armani Exchange (AX) shop (opposite the latest Bali bomb site shown in the picture).

I was paying for a T-shirt which cost me Rp 75,000 (~S$15). I placed a Rp50,000 note on the counter while I fumbled clumsily for the rest of the notes. Crazily, the salesperson became aggressive and pointed at the note on the counter. To my surprise, the note on the table was Rp 5,000! She insisted rudely that I give another Rp 70,000. I protested, but she told me off, saying I had read the number wrongly. I did cough up another Rp 70,000 unhappily, but as I was leaving, I caught her sneaking a knowing look at another salesperson.

Outside the shop, I met Stickman, and I started recalling all the purchases we made. Indeed, I was missing Rp50,000! That [deleted text] switched my Rp50,000 for Rp5,000! I was incensed, but Stickman said there was nothing I could do since I was already outside the shop. We walked to Hard Rock Shop, but I was getting angrier by the moment. I didn't like the fact that she bullied me into giving her money! I could not be appeased, and got Stickman to return with me to the shop. I felt something had to be done, but I didn't know what. I told Stickman that if he could capture shots of the salesgirls, I could at least perform some voodoo (haha). At least I was hoping to freak them out. I would not let them sleep peacefully that night.

Once inside, however, I was happy to note that there were two angmoh customers. It was my trump card. At first, I didn't know what to say, and they were uneasy that I had returned. Once I opened my mouth however, I started heating up, and here I am, pointing my finger rudely at them, giving them a taste of their own medicine.

The bolder girl had the cheek to ask me "Did you see me switching the note?!" to which I replied, "I don't have to see it. I am sure! You still want your angmoh customer?" I was angry enough to brush her argument aside. So what if I didn't see her grubby fingers switching the notes?

Finally they capitulated, and took out one whole stack of notes behind the counter. My Rp50,000 was inside the stack. YOU SEE... the stack of notes was NOT kept in the cash register, meaning that it was their stolen stash from all their victims! It was a really big stack too!


I am going to see if there're any tourist blogs I can post this in. These two stupid ugly dishonest wretches should be stopped. As you can see, I was f-u-r-i-o-u-s. They picked the wrong woman to mess with. Grr...

I'm in the midst of putting up another blog on for the photographs I took in Bali. It's my maiden attempt at using the manual function to capture shots. It'll be up soon. Despite the UGLY side to Bali, I'd love to visit again.


stickbabe [ 11:28 PM ]