Pickpocket in Kuta

I was in Bali recently to attend a media presentation of a TV network here in Indonesia. I was having such a grand time exploring and appreciating the beauty of the island, when it had to be screwed up by a pickpocket.

We were walking along Kuta, and stopped at a stall to buy candelabras. When the vendor did not accept the price I was offering, I decided to leave. He blocked my way and kept on insisting that his price was already low. It took a while to negotiate again. When I finally decided to leave, my wallet was gone. Normally, I would not take my hands off my bag. But when I held candelabras to further inspect them, I knew that it was stolen during that time.

We looked for a police officer in the street to report the incident, but unfortunately, there was none. It was 9:45 on a Saturday night when there were a lot of tourists going around, yet there were no police officers in the busiest part of town.

I felt so violated that it had to happen to me. I lost my passport, my work permit, credit cards, ATM cards, Rp 800,000 and my plane ticket back to the Philippines. I would not mind losing all these, but not on the island or in the country I am beginning to love, and not at this time, when I must go home to spend the holidays with my family.

I just hope the authorities in Bali will do something about this. It is not easy to go through all the trouble fixing papers again because of one selfish soul.

ACHIE N. FRANCIA

Jakarta