Overheard: You Have to Bargain!

Overheard is our series of snippets/conversations that we have with other travelers and/or locals along the way.

Everyone knows you have to bargain in SE Asia, but it was only in Bali that we got yelled at for not participating in the game.

Dina and I only had one second of peace on the way up to Gunung Kawi before the salespeople started pitching the glories of their sarongs.

"How much?" I asked about the beautiful pink one Dina was holding up in her hands.

"100,000," said the woman.

We walked about 10 feet before she grabbed me by the arm. I turned around. She was shaking her head.

"You have to bargain!" she said. "I say 100, you say 50. OK?"

Dina bought the sarong for 50,000. I bought another one, pitched as 20,000 for 15,000.

"You bankrupt me," the woman said as we walked away. "Bankrupt!"

Interested in reading more about traveling cheap in Indonesia? Check out our Indonesia destination pages.

If you have any tips for backpacking Indonesia or any bargain stories of your own, leave a comment!

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