Kuta Price Professionals
Kuta, 16th March 2002
We woke fairly early on our last day in Bali to give us time to sort
out all the final bits and pieces before leaving.
The few hours passed quickly, and before we knew it, we were in a
taxi on our way to the airport. Incidentally, we'd bumped into our
old friend, the taxi driver who overcharged us on our first day. We
told him we were going to the airport and, of course, he asked if he
could take us. "How much?", I asked. "How much would you pay?", he
replied. "20,000Rp", I stated. Amazingly, he nodded in agreement! No
haggling, no arguing, just instant agreement! I guess it's because
we've been here for a while, so we'd grasped of how much things
should cost. The price we stated WAS the standard price, so he
thought there was no point arguing with us 'Kuta Price Pros'! Woot!
We told him when & where to pick us up, and when the time came, he
turned up 10 minutes early!
Note, if your hotel provides a shuttle, don't take it without
checking other prices. It's almost always more expensive to go with
your hotel. Our hotel would have charged 30,000Rp per person, a
total of 3 times more than the taxi cost!
We soon reached the airport, so we thanked the driver (who was much
happier than he was on our last journey) and entered the airport.
Checking in at Denpasar airport was quick & easy. But just as we'd
checked our bags in, I noticed a sign saying: "Personal Service
Charge, 100,000Rp. Payable by Cash only." We quickly discovered that
this was another airport tax (again hidden by a different name) that
hadn't been included in the price of our tickets. Even though we
were told that they were ALL included. Typical. Just as we'd spent
just about all of our Indonesian money, we had to hunt out a cash
machine. Luckily, there was one just outside the airport.
We then headed up to the departure lounge, and on the way we passed
through the gate where we had to pay the 'Service Charge'. We
reluctantly handed over the 100,000Rp each, still a bit irked about
paying for yet another departure fee. Stinge decided to channel his
annoyance onto the poor clerk collecting the payment. After handing
over his money, Stinge asked: "Why do we have to pay this money?"
The guy looked up blankly at him. Stinge repeated the question. In
very broken English, the clerk repeated the question, trying to
understand what was being asked. The poor guy could barely
understand us, never mind explain the intricacies of a government
implemented tax! Under Stinge's angry gaze, the guy was getting
increasingly flustered. I came to his rescue by saying, "We pay it
because the government wants us to.", then ushered Stinge on.
We spent the next couple of hours waiting in the airport, trying to
find something to pass the time.
Eventually, the time drained away, and we were soon sitting in the
plane. As the plane roared and pulled off of the ground, Bali began
to disappear out of view. This was my last flight before I would be
travelling solo. One adventure over, another to begin soon...
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