Pickpocket in Kuta

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