Higher prices for foreigners

Higher prices for foreigners

"Foreigners are regarded by many Indonesians as walking bank
accounts, from which they would like to make a withdrawal." So
says our Lonely Planet travel guidebook to Indonesia. We thought
it was quite funny when we read it before coming to Indonesia.
After five weeks on Bali and Java we do not think it is so funny
anymore.

We can imagine and do not mind so much that a becak driver
wants to make some more money by asking a higher price than
usual. At least you can bargain.

We do mind though, for example, that an officer of a Post
Office charged us nearly twice the price for sending a postcard
or that an employee of a government tourist information center
lied by saying you can only buy the tickets for a specific bus
there, not on the bus. Of course, once on the bus, we found out
that you can buy the tickets on the bus and they were only half
the price we paid.

The most incredible thing however is the entrance fee for the
Borobudur temple in Central Java. Indonesians pay Rp 1,000 and
foreigners Rp 4,000. The manager explained that this is to make a
visit easier for us, so we do not have to pay separately for a
guide (we might not want) and for bringing a video camera (we
might not have). So much for freedom of choice!

We are very tired of being cheated all the time and are very
sorry to admit it spoiled our stay in Indonesia.

Ellen Baarslag and

Sandra Polderman

Utrecht, Netherlands