RIPPED OFF

If I was writing today's post in our family blog I'd title it "Kunts in Kuta." What started out to be a wonderful day trip ended in boiling my blood probably exaggerated by the fact that I was tired and ravenously hungry. Hunger doesn't scare me anymore, not like it used to. I've learnt it comes in waves and I can deal with it, usually. I always carry a raw cacao food bar in my bag, just in case, for those moments where I may have to wait a bit. We'd had a great day down on Kuta beach. I love the sun, I love the water, I love the sea air but I HATE the friggen sand. Always have and probably always will. I do it (the beach) though for the kids and Dave who love it. Sometimes I'll have a swim, but mostly I sunbake. Today was hot, really hot, like burning hot in the sun so I took the bags and went 100 metres backwards into the shade where I was swarmed, like honey to the bees, by the Balinese women. "You want massage Madam?," "I give you pedicure," "t-shirt for girl - I give you good price, good for me, good for you." I surrender to a seated back, neck and shoulder masssage (so I can keep an eye on my two backpacks), a pedicure, an eyebrow and lip pluck, and a t-shirt for Sofie. Total bliss really. Love being pampered. The kids are hungry, as am I. We walk to a resort restaurant on the beach. Exuberant prices for Bali but we're all so hungry that we don't care. There's something on the menu both Sofie and Jayden like so Dave and I agree here it is, we'll eat anything. There is, however, no vegetarian on the menu. I ask if they can do something for me to which they reply no. So, I take some money and go for a walk a bit further up to see if I can find something to no avail and I come back and ask them can they do me just some boiled rice and veges. Now they can! Dave and the kids eat, I sit there waiting, waiting, waiting and then decide it's too long, I can't be bothered waiting so we pay the bill minus what I'd ordered and walk up the street. I'm thinking I'll get something up here. We stop to change some money as we're now running low. We've been warned about how to go about it. Always be the last one to touch the money. Count it out yourself. Don't take your eyes off it. We'd been diddled already once in Sanur so we're onto them. $100 is all we are changing which equates to 819,000 rupiah. We know what's going to happen when we're dealing with 20,000 rupiah notes. We both watch carefully as it's being counted. Dave double counts it. I give him 1,000 rupiah to make 820,000 even. We think it's all good, shake hands and walk away. Toilet stop next in McDonald's for Jayden to do a number two and Dave counts the money again just to make sure. Fucking c*nt has ripped us off. How the fuck do they do it? They're so quick. We felt like we watched them like hawks. I'm dileriously hungry by this stage and now absolutely furious. I find it surprising how hunger can turn you into a raving fucking lunatic, even though I now know I'm not going to die from being hungry. I know my next meal is just around the corner, blah, blah, blah. I tell Dave we're going back and storm up the road all the whilst trying to hold back the tears. If there's one thing I hate it's dishonesty. I take a deep breath and approach him. "You remember us? We just exchanged some money with you and you've ripped us off." He asks to see and we give him all his money back. He counts it and then tries to tell us some bullshit about commission. I say "NO" and he gives us back our Australian $100. He knows we've got him. Still mad and unfed I say we're going home. "Transport?, transport?" "Sanur, 50,000, no bartering, I'm mad and I just want to go home." First man no go, we keep walking, second man agrees and we go home where I've now eaten, rested by the pool and calmed down.