Bali has its share of poor people and some of the poorest show up where the richest live. Today while sipping a juice at the Kuta Galeria, I noticed a young girl carrying a small basket of fruit on her head. She had a young friend with her and with the minimum of effort gestured up to her basket. Without any English language skills, these beggars and their parents rely on body language to read a stranger and get their message across. I don’t usually give beggars money it only encourages them to hang out and make a nuisance of themselves. Its a rather pathetic sight to see a mother dressed in rags, who originates from Kintamani in the highlands, sitting outside an ATM machine in Seminyak. Today I snapped a photo of this kid and showed it to her. The steely glare disappeared for a moment and she laughed. Maybe it was the heat, but I pulled out 1,000rp and handed it over.
Later that afternoon, while lining up at Circle K in Kuta, I saw a female beggar aged around 25 emptying her pockets of change. The counter staff were pleased to get it, as uang kacil (small money) is in short supply. Stacking up her coins and making a piles of the 1,000′s, they counted out 35,000rp. Most people don’t like beggars, but it must be a rotten way to make a living. Hope things get better for them.
