Bali: Never Trust a Money Changer

Some sensible advise on changing money in Bali from Chris at Nomad4ever:

I usually don’t use Money Changers at all. Other than the ones at Singapore’s Changi Airport or big, official Banks with receipts and all I just don’t trust them. It’s what you read and hear, that most of the time people get cheated or aren’t paid the agreed rates or simply have less money at the end, then what they bargained for. The next episode only confirmed those worries:

Over the last 3 weeks we had some visitors from Germany and Singapore. Driving around the Island it became almost inevitable that someone had to change their cash EURO oder Singapore Dollar into the local currency Rupiah.

What is the obvious institution that comes to mind? Right, a Money Changer!

There is an abundance of Money Changers in Kuta, Legian or Seminyak along the main tourist routes, like Jalan Dhyana Pura, Jalan Legian or Jalan Raya Seminyak. Piece of cake you might say. They announce their rates on billboard signs (see left) standing by their shops. On the above mentioned roads you can see them every few metres.

So what problem should arise? Count your Cash, do the math, hand the bills over and count the Cash you get in return? Unfortunately, not here in Bali.

3 out of 3 Money Changers we tried to exchange Money tried to cheat us. With pretty obvious tricks though:

First, they almost always come in a pair of 2 guys, who run a Money Changer shop. So one is always trying to keep you busy, by asking questions like “Where you from?”, “What you do?”, “Where you stay in Bali?” and other standard chit-chat.
The other one will quote you a rate, sometimes already an other, than advertised. They type you the local sum into a calculator, which could be rigged too, although we didn’t have that problem yet. If you didn’t walk out by now already, you are ready for the main show

After handing over your 50 Euro, 75 USD, 100 SGD or whatever other currency, they will count the local agreed equivalent right in front of your eyes. It matches perfectly the agreed sum. Now it’s your turn. You count and everything is fine usually. Hold the notes tight - because now he wants to count them again! Don’t let him!

They mainly try to hold it close to their belly so notes can easily be slid out and fall under the high desk on which both sides the 2 of you are standing. All while the other guy is pumping up his ‘chit-chat’ attack, maybe even touching your arm, showing you something he want to sell or jumping around next to you, so you can’t but look at him from time to time.

Very quickly you have the double-counted money back. Deal done? No. You can bet that you have much less than the agreed sum, especially, if you changed for than just a few dollars or if the sum is pretty uneven

When you insist to count the money in front of their eyes again, they will begin to make some ‘tohuwabou’ or telling you, that *you* want to cheat *them*. You might say “Excuse me? I just want to count my money again.” and that’s basically it.
They will grab the money away from you and will quote you another (much lower) rate, say that you have to pay a 5% (!) commission or that they have to ask their boss, if you are allowed to change money with them. Their money is withdrawn.

You can walk out now!

Nomad4ever Link

How to Follow the News on Burma

Graham Holliday at the food blog Noodlepie has some excellent tips on how to follow news updates on Burma, or any other breaking situation you might want to follow in real time. I haven't gone this far with my news gathering skills, but this seems like a great way to follow breaking stories and post last-second notices on your blog.

Just by the by... I find that whenever I want to follow a news event like this very, very closely I don't bother with the TV, the radio or even a news website like the BBC. I do five things:

Subscribe to the Google news RSS feed on the keyword "Burma"

Subscribe to the Google/YouTube video RSS feed on the keyword "Burma"

Subscribe to the Global Voices RSS feed from the Burma section - although they've been pretty slow on this story...

Subscribe to the del.icio.us RSS feed for bookmarks tagged "Burma"

Find and follow websites and blogs that monitor the situation closely. In this case I'm following, Irrawaddy, Mizzima, ko htik and newsblog.

I know it's only news junkies who do this, but it does help keep you informed in as near a real time basis as is possible.

NoodlePie Link

Support for the Saffron Revolution

"China is the puppet-master of Burma. The Olympics is the only real lever we have to make China act. The civilised world must seriously consider shunning China by using the Beijing Olympics to send the clear message that such abuses of human rights are not acceptable." Edward McMillan-Scott, vice-president of the European Parliament

"I want to see all the pressures of the world put on this regime now - sanctions, the pressure of the UN, pressure from China and all the countries in the region, India, pressure from the whole of the world." UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown

"The world is watching the people of Burma take to the streets to demand their freedom and the American people stand in solidarity with these brave individuals." US President George W Bush

"We consider any attempts to use the latest developments to exercise outside pressure or interference in the domestic affairs of this sovereign state to be counterproductive. We still believe that the processes under way in Burma do not threaten international and regional peace and security." Russian foreign ministry

Front Films Link

Nation Newspaper Burma Watch Images

Sorry, No Gallery

One of Thailand's leading Engligh language newspapers has put up a special section called Burma Watch with news and views on recent events, plus there's an exciting page of images where you can view photographs and video stills of recent atrocities. Well, not really. When you go there, you get the above silly cartoon figure and a notice that there are no images of the "Saffron Revolution," despite the thousands of images circulating all over the net.

The Nation: The website without a clue.

The Nation Burma Watch Images Link

Everybody is Pissed at the Burmese Government

You know you have really screwed up when even the Shans threaten to take action. To their great credit, they also made the most logical suggestion that Burma should be dropped from ASEAN, a spineless political outfit which has welcomed the murderous regime for over a decade. Will they ever show some moral authority? I doubt it.

The Shan State Army (SSA) and six other rebel groups are considering military action on Burmese trade towns to pressure the junta to stop using violence against its people.

SSA leader Col Yodsuek said the alliance, which includes the Karen National Union (KNU), may resort to these measures if it deems them necessary.

"We may use military action in border trade towns to pressure the Burmese junta to stop killing people," he said.

Col Yodsuek also called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to expel Burma.

Bangkok Post Link

Burma: The Saffron Revolution

A History of Nana Plaza

Katoey at Nana Entertainment Plaza

After the rather gloomy look at the Balinese land situation discussed in my previous post, I'll mix it up with something more uplifting such as a recently posted short history of Nana Plaza. Pretty funny stuff, but probably only of interest to the guys who have wasted their time and money in this notorious fire hazard.

In 1981 ‘Nana Plaza’ was a mostly empty mini-mall with the standard run of Thai shops; a pharmacy, a travel agent, a beauty shop and a couple of restaurants (one of which was Lebanese). A small beer bar, Lucky Luke’s was located in the entranceway, neither on Soi 4 nor in Nana Plaza.

In that same year, in another nearby part of town, the Rachadapisek Inner Ring Road extension was pushing through the length of Soi Asoke and into the top of Soi 16, widening both to 8 lanes. Ancillary works, which commenced in 1982, included widening Sukhumvit itself to allow for turning lanes into and out of this new stretch of Rachadapisek. This latter widening along Sukhumvit caused the shops in that area of Sukhumvit to close down temporarily while they (literally) cut off the fronts of the buildings and reconstructed new fascia several meters back from the new curb.

This seemingly unrelated event was, however, the unwitting catalyst; causing immediate distress to the small group of A-Go-Go bars on Sukhumvit Road between Soi 16 and Soi 14. Some Bangkok regulars may recognize the names of these so-called “Soi 16 Bars” : Rosemary 1 , Rosemary 2 , The Three Roses , the Rainbow Bar , and the Sunshine Bar . These bars had to close almost overnight, with no guarantee as to when they might be able to reopen.

Nana Journals Link

Controversy on Bali Land Ownership

Kuta Beach 1979 by Carl Parkes

Reading over my weekly newsletter from Bali Discovery, I came across an editorial about the sad fact of land ownership on Bali. The article is somewhat dated, though I expect that the situation has gotten worse, rather than improved, over the last few years. Whether or not you think that longterm "freehold" provisions should be tightened, it's a discouraging affair to see the native Balinese losing control of their island to "outsiders," which, if I've got this correct, means wealthy Javanese political and economic powers from Jakarta.

Editorial: Stopping the Land Grab
Bali Post Editorial Sounds Warning to the Balinese to Start Controlling their Precious Land Resources.

(2/14/2005) The February 9, 2005, editorial in the Indonesian-language Bali Post published an urgent appeal to the people of Bali to take steps to preserve their quickly diminishing ancestral lands.

Written under the headline "Stopping Outside Investors From Controlling Bali's Land Resources," the editorial laments that 85% of the estimated Rp.150 trillion (approximately US$1.63 billion) already invested in the Island's tourism industry is in the control of investors hailing from outside Bali. This leaves the remaining 15% in the hands of Balinese who, the editorial claims, receive an equally meager share of the tourism income pie.

Strongly suggesting that Bali has become something of a "waste bin" where substantial tourism transactions take place only to see profits quickly repatriated offshore, the editorial insists that the lack of Balinese representation in the control and ownership of tourism assets results in a number of negative lead-on effects, including denying the Balinese both a proper share of the benefits of tourism and meaningful senior manager job creation within that sector of the economy.

Echoing comments made recently at a number of high profile seminars in Bali, the Bali Post editorial maintains that the escalating growth in foreign exchange earnings produced each year by Bali's tourism industry is meaningless unless such advances result in real improvements in the welfare of the people of Bali.

The Land Grab

Year after year, the editorial goes on, valuable tracts of agricultrual land change hands in Bali only to be transformed into tourism projects, owned and controlled by non-Balinese.

The editorial admits that while many tourism operators make efforts to recruit local staff and pay government-mandated bonuses and wage benefits, the inevitable fact remains that the long term effects of these investments are taking a damaging toll on the Island's environment and traditional social structure, diminishing both the harmony and cultural integrity of Bali.

The editorial estimates that more than 1,000 hectare (more than 10 million square meters) of land disappears from the island's agricultural land bank each year in order to accommodate the voracious demand of hotel sites, strip malls, villas projects and other tourism projects – all largely owned and controlled by non-Balinese.

Time for a Change in Policy?

The editorial points to the growing damage caused by tourism's rapid development, suggesting that now is the time to end the freehold land tenure system in Bali in favor of lease holds of only 20-30 years after which land rights must revert back to Balinese owners.

With national tourism targets set at 6 million visitors for 2005 - 1.7 million of which are to visit Bali, the editorial argues that now is the time for strategic steps to be taken to preserve Bali's land assets and ensure that the future benefits of tourism increasingly accrue to the people of Bali.

Reflecting a growing discontent with the rapid rate of change and development now underway in Bali, the editorial warns that the Balinese must take urgent steps to preserve their cultural interests or risk becoming the equivalent of "a chicken that dies although surrounded by plentiful stocks of feed."

Bali Discovery Link

Tiger Temple Negative Report

I just received a message from someone who recently volunteered at the Tiger Temple near Kanchanaburi, and she requested that I publicize the deplorable treatment of the animals. She's also not so wild about the way the monks are running the place. In other news, my internet connection has gone screwy, so it's been difficult to do much posting.

I have to confess to finding it very difficult to write this without resorting to profanity, sarcasm or overly emotive language. I hope that by getting this onto this and a few other websites I can play some minor part in providing information and hopefully doing something about stopping what is going on in the name of Buddhism and Conservation at this "Sanctuary" for wild animals – or at the very least stopping tourists from supporting this.

I applied to volunteer at the Tiger Temple because I wanted to be a part of the promised “tigers roaming free with Buddhist monks” experience – having an interest in both wild animals and Buddhism. Although I understood that there was probably an element of “marketing speak” due to the fund raising slant in the promotion of the Temple and the mysticism of the whole experience, I thought that, due to my research on the Temple website and other pages and blogs my expectations were realistic in terms of how these animals lived and were treated.

The animal cruelty and abuse at the Temple was blatant and obvious to me from the minute I arrived. (The first animal I came across was at the Volunteer’s House, a young and very distressed female cat who was engorged and in agony with too much milk. Her five 2 week old kittens had been removed from her by Temple staff and – we were told - taken to a “Cat Temple”. I was surprised and upset to come across an animal in such distress as this was not how I would imagine a sanctuary would treat any animal).

I arrived mid morning and on my first day one of the other volunteers who’d been there for a few weeks took me around to show me the captive animals. (There is also a large number of farm type animals – goats, cows, horses, chickens - and water buffalo, deer, wild boar and peacocks roaming around the Temple grounds.)

The first cage I came across was a large “chicken wire” cage under a tree with a hawk in it. The bird apparently had a broken wing. It is never released from the cage.

Then there was a row of concrete cages with single adult tigers, one with the baby tigers, and at the end of the row (with a large generator placed in front of it so one couldn’t really see what was in this dark, dingy dungeon) a leopard who has, apparently, not been let out of the cage since she arrived there 8 years ago.

My next visit was to a large, double sized concrete cage almost out of view of all the other cages, where they keep two very young (I would estimate them to be about 6 months old) lion cubs. The cage is bare but for a concrete bowl of water. There is nowhere for them to shelter or hide (they are clearly terrified of humans) and certainly nothing for them to play with – no tyres or branches or any sort of toys. We then saw all the other tigers – either on their own or with two in a cage.

Some of the tigers are never released from their concrete cages. But others, on average 8 tigers a day (usually the same better behaved and better looking tigers – not the stroppy ones or those with scars or bloody eyes) are taken into the Canyon to be photographed with tourists. This “outing” liberates them from their cages for a 10 minute walk on stony gravel to the Canyon, three hours chained by the neck to a ring in the blazing sun, and a 10 minute walk back “home” to their cages.

On their way to and from the canyon the tigers are encouraged to move by being lifted by the base of the tail, shoved and punched. One “tiger girl” would always walk next to the tiger with a garden hoe in her hand, this she waved in front of the tiger’s face or banged on the ground next to it whenever it slowed down or stopped. (The threat was implicit, but the tiger was motivated to move whenever it saw that hoe.) Whilst in the Canyon, the tigers are disciplined with Tiger Balm being rubbed onto their faces, tiger urine being sprayed into their mouths and (surreptitiously, but in full view of tourists) being punched quickly on the face and head.

As to whether the animals are drugged or not, I cannot be sure. (Although sedation would surely be the kindest way of helping them get through those long hot hours in the canyon.) The argument against drugging is the expense and, I believe, the difficulty of dosage (meticulously worked out amount of drug to body weight) – although local herbs mixed in with their boiled chicken could possibly work. (Some of them were completely unresponsive all the time, even when we visited their cages in the early mornings or in the evenings, and this could possibly imply properly prescribed drugs.)

In the Canyon the volunteers are there essentially for crowd control. I felt ashamed at being apparently complicit in the running of this circus - which is really no more than a money making scam where tourists are required to “donate” B300 to come into a Buddhist Temple (illegal to charge, by the way), and another B1000 for a ‘special’ photo with a tigers head placed in your lap. This place is operated along the lines of a very badly run zoo with no money - not an animal sanctuary which receives all this money (work it out, an average of 400 people a day – and that’s on a slow day – with, say, very conservatively 50 people paying for photos) from tourists.

Much of the money received over the years since the Animal Planet programme has been promoting it (since about 2003, I think) appears to have been (very recently, as in it has just started being built) spent on building a "Buddhist Park Project" which will essentially be an area to accommodate the followers of the Abbot's Teacher when he comes to visit the Temple!

The Tiger Island (“for their freedom and return to the forest”) which is apparently the reason we all throw money at the Temple is not yet complete, but seems to be nothing more that an area for tiger cages with a moat built around it so tourists can't actually get at them and see how they live – they will still operate the Canyon Photo Circus and, as they will still be hand reared, there is no plan to release tigers back into the wild.

Although we could wander around the cages at any time and watch the workers with the tigers, volunteers were now prevented from ever actually being with the tigers (no cleaning of cages, no bathing of babies) and I was only ever really in the same position as the tourists and never able to see how the staff treated the animals when there were no tourists watching them – but I feel that the way the tigers cringed away from chains, lengths of hose pipe, the garden hoe and some of the male staff members, that there was certainly discipline metered out behind ‘closed doors’.

In the morning the baby tigers are brought to the temple where we have breakfast and are allowed to roam around with the monks, staff and volunteers. Every time a cub came anywhere near one of the volunteers, a staff member would yank it away, the babies (four of them are really little, 2 months old and one quite boisterous 5 month old – he was tied to a pillar) were pulled around by one leg or held back by the tail, slapped so they skidded across the wooden floor boards, thrown up into the air, their faces held and noses punched, pinched and flicked, they were continuously mauled, teased and tormented. I have to admit that I couldn’t stand it for very long and my planned 4 week stay lasted a mere 4 days.

There is a flagrant lack of respect and compassion and certainly no love for these tigers. And this lack of feeling clearly gets worse as the animals get older and bigger and stronger.

Essentially, the animal welfare laws in South East Asia are not stringent enough to close down this establishment due to the cruelty and abuse that is metered out there (along with the illegal breeding - one tigress is kept with the sole purpose of producing cubs - which are removed from her almost immediately after birth and reared by humans).

All we can do in the short term is spread the word to stop tourists from supporting this place. Please boycott the Tiger Temple and report what you have seen to animal welfare organisations like Care for the Wild – www.careforthewild.com.