“After the rental hour is up he asks for a discount, if he does not get a discount he takes his money with him!”
The dramatically gorgeous island of Bali, a spinning-top shaped paradise at the mid-point of the Indonesian archipelago there, is under siege by adult learner surfers, report local news sources.
Bali’s surf instructors say they are shocked by the adult learners’ “dirty haggling tactics” with one instructor, Jack Basri, noting that learners from India are the worst he’s ever encountered.
Basri, who is fifty, has been working the Kuta beat since the eighties. He was eleven when he hit the sand with his cooler and drinks; now he owns and runs a surf school and rents boards.
Better pay, same bullshit.
He charges ten bucks an hour for the lesson, three bucks for the board, an amount, he says, infuriates his Indian customers.
‘They are bidders, the price is too crazy when it’s finished. Then after [the rental hour is up] he asks for a discount, if [he does not get] a discount the money is taken again with him.”
In response, Julianto has fixed his prices though, he says, it don’t stop the pale-skin savages from trying to cut a deal.
“Caucasians are also bidding a lot, so we (set) it at the fixed range of IDR 200,000 (USD 12.80),” he said.
I remember, once, age seventeen, refusing to budge fifty cents north on the price of an already arranged fare to Uluwatu on the back of a motorcycle.
At one point the village surrounded me and those famous smiles turned upside down, a move that quickly halted my charge.
I counted the notes into his hand, noting loudly “It seems to me you’re a pretty tricky driver. Very bad man” before galloping away, pride intact.
What’s the most you’ve stiffed a poor brown man in a third world country?
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
Beam me up, Snotty
While I’m sure I have been ripped off a few times, I tried to take it all as ‘that was the price I was prepared to pay for it’ as a life lesson.
My highlights have been learning to bargain with a master. He showed me some effective tactics. Here’s my favourite:
1/. Start from the reverse position.
“Mate, this (item) looks fantastic. Great quality, there’s no way I could afford it.”
“No good sir. It is very cheap.”
“How much?”
“(Price)”
“Ahhh, see I told you it was too good for me. I can’t afford that. Sorry, I’ve only got (x amount), and that’s way less than this is worth. Sorry to waste your time…”
Depending where you are, bargaining is mostly about the social interaction. So many people go in seeing at as a judgement on personal skills, and then get upset when they get bested. If you go in with a smile on your face and know what you are prepared to pay, with maybe a bit of allowance for going over within limits. There’s nothing worse than seeing some bulé arguing over an extra 50c on anything.
Hey, she’s a bass.
Nobody knows, the trouble I seen.
That time in ‘97 when a banchong grabbed my crotch in garlic lane. Stiffed. Confusing. Exciting.
The first time I saw Spaceballs I didn’t like it.
When I saw it again i finally started to understand just how brilliant it is.
Definitely my second favorite Mel Brooks movie.
I just treat people way I’d like to be treated. It’s not hard.
French Quarter, New Orleans, early 90s: flew in with the peeps for New Years…Ears never cleared from altitude descent and was hurting bad. Checked in then roamed behind as the folks raced off to the piano bar…with a c-note in my wallet. Amongst the crowded street was a white dude, a vendor, it turned out…”You want some coke?” Still realing and dizzy, of course it was just what I needed…”$50…” So I grabbed the bill, exchanged a handshake, still in full stride…stashed the bindle…The guy starts running after me…”You paid too much…” Just wanting to leave the scene of the crime, I ignored him…that’s when he said…”I can give you some hashish…”
It sorta is specific to Russians or Indians but sorta not. Most people there who can afford to start surfing are rich and they have so many privileges that the rest do not so that’s what they expect everything in life to be. So they paddle out, think they’re superior humans because they’re rich, and then the rules do not apply to them.
This why so many tech bro adult learners are awful to surf with. So you get a 25 year old tech bro who has made 200k since he was 22 years old. If you have one of those jobs you’ve definitely work hard, but you’ve also had the red carpet laid out for you your whole life. The west is really weird about class but it definitely exists here. In school teachers are more supportive, cops more likely to give you a break or not hassle you for a broken tail light, you have power over people at work or in your community, etc. So when some low life concrete pourer tells them “you shouldn’t paddle for a wave someone is on” they tell them to fuck off because they simply are not told what to do by “those people”. Russians and Indians are basically this dynamic on steroids.
Shes gone from suck to blow!
India (like Afree-kah) must be holding soooo many unridden setups. Yes, I know about Sri Lanka.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
*also excluding that pier wave…looks amazing though no doubt.
Does ” poor brown (wo)man in a third world country” count? …asking for a Stab reader.
Water the horses ketut !
I just gifted some my glasses and a hat out of my scooter seat box. Gifted the road some skin, too.
I dud that coming out of the sari club, back when it was still a club.
I came out of the Chinese takeaway recently with $2.50 in real change and gave it away to an almost-attractive beggar who requested change for a meal. I felt that it was more than fair no matter what she excused it for.
Surfers are the worst people.
Travelers to third world countries and haggling for a discount on everything.
Blowing there carbon footprints away via Instagram.
Seriously, surfers are worse travelling race .
Plant a stick, put your photos on Instagram.
Rip off a brown family?
Happy white surfer?!?
You can afford a airfare but haggling for a bargain with locals.
Cue the “ but our travelling gives them income”.
Answer, “ all this place was paradise before surfers discovered it, all your all done is polluted it, why should I work for you for less than you want? Go home! Save up, work hardest for your MAN, come back when you can afford stay at my place!”
You know where all the trash in the water in bali comes from? Hint: not the tourists.
In Singapore the Filipino domestics hate working for wealthy Indians.
The good news for the Indians is that the Filipinos absolutely despise the Chinese so they will eventually find employees.
I’ve probably told this story here before but I met him in Seattle years ago. He asked me what my favorite movie was and without hesitation I blurted out “Blazing Saddles.”
His response was “oooh…that’s a good one.”
What a legend.
Is that a 100L board or you happy to see me.?
YES!!!
Truly a great equal opportunity offender! It should be on everyone’s(white, black, brown, yellow, green or purple) top 20 movie list!
And relevant today in our highly polarized, race obsessed society.
Mel is the best.
I had a Mate that used to proudly order plain rice to save money then make full use of the “free” tomato sauce on the table to season his meals. Yes, he is a Cunt.
One of dereks israeli friends?
https://external-content.du…
My first trip to Bali as an unaccompanied teen I was seperated from my group on arrival and had somebody grab my board and carry it 10 metres from the terminal door to the closest taxi. He demanded money so I gave him all I had which was $20AUD.
I like to think it fed his family for a week at least.
we’ve all been there mate…
In 2019 I exchanged American dollars at LAX before heading over. Got totally robbed on exchange rate. I still feel shame over it.