Harsh but necessary: Dealing with the continual hassle
“Becak, Sir?”, “To Malioboro, Sir… Five thousand rupiah, Sir?”, “Need hotel? I can help you find one!”. If you go to Jogjakarta, you will find those greetings. I mean, many people will offer their “help”. But, I am sure that not all people will consider this as helpful offers. Some will consider them as ‘interupting’ or ‘disturbance’. I just read an interesting story from Pete Ellison:
In Yogyakarta, the streets are littered with becaks. The becak is a tricycle in reverse, with the two wheels supporting a passenger seat in the front. The first thing to note is the sheer number of them. Dozens line every street, awaiting a fare. It is an incredible excess, and business is so slack that most drivers spend their day sleeping on them. I would say that becaks outnumber tourists by a factor of at least 20-1, and this is no exaggeration! The other thing to note is the persistance of the drivers in trying to attract a fare. another prambanan temple the workmanship was impressive, especially considering this was built in 800 AD “Bechay!” they cry (this is how another prambanan temple the workmanship was impressive, especially considering this was built in 800 ADbecak is pronounced). A chorus of bechay, bechay, bechay greets you down every street. Or “Hello mister! Transport?” Some of them leap off their becak and follow you asking “where are you going?”. When I first arrived I would respond to “where are you going?”by pointing to a shop a few doors down and say “I’m going THERE”. Otherwise they will not stop pestering you. But eventually the continual hassle of dealng with becak drivers on every street wore me down, and I would just march past them and ignore them. Harsh but necessary.
But, seriously… It’s probably the best example of dealing with this kind of hassles. I believe that people are friendly. Tourists are still a human, when he/she had his/her own definition of “being friendly”. So, if you’re facing the same experince like what Pete Ellison wrote there, you know what to do: ignore them. Becak drivers, local food sellers, tourist guides are just want to ‘work’, get some money for their living. That’s all. But, of course, not all of them have a good strategy in selling their services/products.