Money grubbing at an ancient site

The parting words of the boat ticket seller -- "The fare only covers your roundtrip, the rest is your own responsibility once you get there" --before heading across Lake Batur to Trunyan in Kintamani district, Bali should have been fair warning.

Trunyan, one of the Bali Age traditional Balinese villages, is famous for its open-air cemeteries, where bodies are placed within the protection of bamboo enclosures.

Unfortunately, at every turn, visitors are shaken down for money, whether it's for uninvited "tour guides" or to give "donations" for the cemetery's upkeep.

Although it is bothersome for visitors, it's also true that local people, left to their own devices but served up as a cultural "object", have no choice but to make money any which way they can.

-- Text and photos Tarko Sudiarno