Why were we stopped?

As a visitor to Indonesia, I am very impressed with the friendliness of the people and the many wonderful sights in the cities and the countryside. Having already traveled around Jakarta and Yogyakarta with my family, earlier this week we set our minds toward the sights and sounds of Bali.

On a day trip to Mt. Batur, we were very surprised when our Indonesian driver was pulled over twice by police. He told us that the police had asked him for money or cigarettes. He said he felt confident enough to refuse them on both occasions because we (being Westerners) were in the car with him. We were waved on both times. Had he been alone, we were told, the penalty for refusal would probably have been a shakedown, which would have had inevitable consequences.

With so many wonderful memories to take back home, we do not want an incident like this to cloud our impression of your great country.

Come on Indonesia, you are better than this!

R. WEIGHTMAN

Tea Gardens, NSW

Australia