Oh Meester.....

During our stay in Seminyak, we learned about a quiet beach named Geger Beach and decided to visit it on our way to Uluwatu and Jimbaran.

Geger beach was beautiful, and relatively quiet…except for the hotel construction next door.  Ah, development.

One of the things you find in many developing countries, and is quite aggressive in Bali are the vendors.  No matter where you go, no matter if you’re sleeping, eating or swimming – people will come up to you with their offers of sarongs, bracelets, and massage.  I swear if I was on a surfboard in the middle of the ocean I could see one of them swimming out, basket on head and shouting at me, “You like bracelet?  Massage?”

Geger Beach was no exception.  James was targeted by two cute little kids who were determined to each sell him three bracelets.  They got close: 2 bracelets each and a magnet.  

                 

                                                  One haggler,

                                            Two hagglers,

                                           Three hagglers.

The negotiations took about 20 minutes and their mothers and grandmother were soon seated in beach chairs around us watching the proceedings as well. 

The beach kids were aggressive, but it was when we visited the mother temple that the word aggressive took on a whole new meaning.

This girl attached herself to James from the moment we entered the temple.  She followed him up all the stairs, around the temple and partway down.  And the whole time she followed him she repeated the same thing in a sing-song voice, “Meester…buy my postcards….1 dollar.  Meester…you buy postcards…1 dollar.” 

Sometimes she made eye contact, but mostly she just looked glassy-eyed.  I think she may have been hypnotized.  I thought maybe if I shook her she would come out of it and say, “Where am I?  What am I doing?  And why do I have all these postcards??”

Anyway, at first it was cute, then it got annoying, then it got hysterical.  I couldn’t believe the endurance.  And the whole time she did it our guide just kept trying to talk over her and pretended he didn’t notice.  Quite surreal.

I am saddened to report that she walked away with no dollar and James walked away with no postcard.  I probably would have rewarded that kind of persistence, but James is a man of steel.