Candy as change

This is in response to the letter from Wendy (of Freiburg, Germany) who complains of getting candy in lieu of Rp 100 change at Balinese stores (Cheating in Bali, The Jakarta Post, Dec. 16).

Indeed, your life must be idyllic if something as insignificant as that has prompted you to write a letter of complaint to this newspaper.

At the moment the amount of money you are making an issue of is 0.008 of a euro; an amount so small that you don't even have a coin in a denomination of 10 times that value. The candy is a convenience and a courtesy. It is actually worth more than the Rp 100 change you are complaining about.

The Balinese are, in fact, a very religious people and do pray daily, as you point out. Perhaps it is that devotion to their religion that prompts them to offer such a lovely gesture over an amount of money that you wouldn't trouble yourself to bend over and pick up if you saw it on the street.

PATRICK GUNTENSPERGER Jakarta