learning to bargain
Thursday, April 5th, 2007We’re leaving Indonesia/Bali, but our Asian section of our trip is just beginning. Of course, things are very different here compared to NZ and AUS, which were both typical first world, western countries. For much of the rest of our trip, we will be immersed in cultures that are completely different from what we are used to. It will require (and already has) quite a bit of adjustment on our part, but I’m looking forward to India and Southeast Asia.
We’re still not sure where we’re going after we leave this area of the world. There’s a possibility we could be here for the rest of our trip. We’ve also discussed flying to Istanbul in Turkey, crossing the Bosporus into Europe and making our way north through eastern Europe, towards Scandinavia, before flying home. This week, Paul got us thinking about a North Africa trip, starting in Cairo, Egypt and working our way west, through Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria and ending up in Morocco. I hadn’t given much thought to that section of Africa, but, compared to the rest of the continent, those countries are stable and safe, and the trip sounds like quite an adventure. It’s something we’ll have to think about and look into further.
I think we’ll be going to Nepal. Anna’s mother wasn’t too keen on it, having read the State Dept warnings about the instability caused by Maoist insurgents, but most of that has died down since the Maoists entered the Nepali parliament. Also, on her way to Bali, Anna’s mother spoke with a mountaineer on his way to Nepal to climb in the Himalayas, and he said what we’ve heard before, that Nepali insurgents don’t target westerners and tourists, because tourism is one of their only economic strengths. Nobody wants to slaughter the golden goose.
The next big decision, then, is when to go. Should we see India first, and then visit Nepal, or should we head straight for Nepal and then see India. The trouble is the weather. In May, India and the low areas of Nepal get very hot, like 45 Celsius, which is something like a billion degrees Fahrenheit, I’m not exactly sure. After the heat, in June, the monsoons begin, starting in the south and working their way north. Should we use April to see southern India and head for the Himalayas when the heat hits in March, or should we go straight into Nepal when we know the weather will be nice and do what we can of India later, leaving when we get too miserable? It’s a tough question, but like most of the rest of our dilemmas, it doesn’t really matter what we choose. We’ll be happy either way.
In Bali, we got our first taste of haggling, which I find both fun and exhausting. Walking through the markets, a person is accosted by vendors from every direction, all saying, “come inside, take a look, I give you cheap price.” Two days ago it rained for much of the day, so sales were way down for the vendors in the Ubud market. There were bargains everywhere, because the people needed to sell something just to have enough money for the day. The average daily income in Bali is 30,000 rupiah, which is about 3 bucks US, so most people are extremely poor anyway. Sometimes it seems a bit crass to haggle over $1 or $.50, but that’s how things are done. Those dollars add up and the vendor won’t agree to a price if they aren’t making enough. The strongest tactic that a person has as a buyer is to walk away. We usually offer our final price, and if they vendor won’t accept, we walk away. About 9 times out of 10, they vendor will say, ok, ok, and we’ll get the price we asked.
awrichner