Threatened with jihad

Yesterday Travis and I met a guy on the beach trying to get us to rent snorkel gear from him. It was already mid-afternoon, and so we didn’t really see the point. We kept saying ‘Maybe tomorrow, maybe tomorrow,’ but he hung around. “Where you from?” “Where you staying? How long you be in Bali? ” We went in the water just to get away from him.

Today he was waiting for us at the top of the steps down to the beach. We’d talked to the owners of the place we’re staying, and they said to guarantee we get good equipment (and some fins to fit Travis’ gianormous foot, in Asian standards), we should go to Euro Dive down the street. He kept hassling us and hassling us as we walked. “They promised they’d rent from me. Why you go to Euro Dive? You don’t want to help the Balinese people.” Finally, my aunt gave in and said she’d rent equipment from him but that she wanted quality stuff for the “kids.” We got our equipment and started walking back. We noticed a guy on a motorcycle kept coming around. By the time we’d walked back down to the beach, this guy and his buddy from the bike had started to get really nasty. It went something like this:

Them: People just come here to relax. They don’t think about how they can help Bali people. I work hard. Why only one?
Aunt: If you don’t quit hassling me, I’m not going to take anything.
Them: You go home. Go away.
Aunt: If you guys don’t stop, I’m going to call the police.
Them: Ha, call the police.

And that was a really scary thought. Here we are, on the coast of nowhere, Bali. Where are the police? And who are they? If something happened, would anyone know? My uncle agreed to stay with out stuff while we went in the water. The original guy sat down next to him, literally inches away, and started talking again: “We don’t want you here. We Muslims hate Americans.” His friend was spitting all over the place. Eventually they gave into the silent treatment and left.

In all the years my aunt and uncle have been vacationing in Bali, they’ve never had anything happen like this. Everybody knows about Bali beach boys – known to be built, offer you drugs or surfing lessons or sex or transport – but these guys were something else.