As I looked behind my back, I saw that the bar staff was after me as I ran through the crowd trying to get myself to safety. The bar staff wanted me to pay a fine of 2.5 million rupiahs (300 US$) for demolishing a freaking toilet door!
Somehow I just knew they had locked me in there, I just knew it.... Indonesians always have their clever tricks to scam tourists. Scamming isn't too difficult in Indonesia because many of the local authorities are corrupt. Tourists often obey because they don't want to have any trouble with them. Anyways, it was December 2015, and we were on the Gili Islands, west of Lombok. I suspected that the bar staff had locked me in the toilet that night, but on the other side... I was the one who had been drinking all night? Soooo... I am not so sure whether it was my own stupidity, the alcohol, or the bar staff's intention, but I do know that I was locked in an Indonesian toilet for over an hour. But folks, I did fing my way out of the toilet during a sequence of bizarre moments under quite unusual circumstances!After calling for help for over 15 minutes, I decided to give up. "They probably locked me in here, they're ignoring me, so I have to find my own way out of this toilet room!" What would you do if you were locked in a stinky stuffy toilet where nobody seems to hear you? At first, I wanted to get out the toilet by climbing up the roof. I tried to pull myself up the ceiling beams. This failed.. I clearly overestimated my muscle capacity as I kept falling down from the ceiling. After many attempts, many bruises and a torn white t-shirt covered with dirt, I concluded the roof wasn't a good option anymore. Kicking the door seemed to be the only solution as I was becoming quite claustrophobic in there. At the very moment my behaviour seemed quite logical to myself. "Bar staff, you shouldn't have locked me in here, it's your own fault that I'm going to kick your door". Confident as I was, I started kicking the door and demolished some planks as I tried to find my way out.
The Police came by too!
All of a sudden, the door opened from the other side. I was thinking; "How can they open the door from the other side? The door was locked for sure, so it must have been locked from the outside." One of the workers stood in front of me and saw the mess in the toilet. It must have been a weird sight: me being wasted in my torn dirty t-shirt in quite a messy toilet room. The worker told me to pay the ridiculous price of 2.500.000 rupiahs to reimburse the damage (which was probably about 5 US$). This amount is well matched as 2.500.000 rupiah is the daily maximum you can get out of an ATM in Indonesia. Within a minute, I was surrounded by four bar workers and a local policemen. Even the local police officer told me to get the 2.5 million rupiahs. How ridiculous that someone with the authority tells me to do such a ridiculous thing. They more or less forced me to go to an ATM to get their "well-deserved" 300 US$. I was like: "This situation.... how do I get out of this? I mean, I was wrong for demolishing the door but I pretty much believed they were wrong too. The price of 2.500.000 rupiahs says enough!"Unfortunately, there was no room for discussion...
I was 100% sure that I was not gonna pay the 2.500.000 rupiahs...
so I found myself a good solution to handle the situation. By acting extremely drunk... and acting like I had no idea of what was actually going on, they gave me permission to get some fresh air before I'd go to the ATM. One by one, my friends became aware of the situation and asked me what was going on. As I told my friends to distract the police officer and the bar staff, I patiently waited for the right moment, the right moment to run! The right moment was there, my friends were distracting both the bar staff and police officer so I started to run! As I looked behind me, I saw the bar staff coming after me. "If I could only manage to reach the beach, there might be a possibility to get rid of these guys." They did catch up, but I jumped down and ended up on the beach. I kept running faster and faster until they lost me.
But..
Oh fuck, I didn't want to go home yet and my friends were still at that bar! Oh... here we go again.. It wasn't the best plan, but I decided to walk back towards the bar. I was having a little chat with some Indonesians next to the bar and my friends noticed that I was back. Unfortunately the bar staff too. Before I was ready for it, I was surrounded by the bar staff and police officer. My friends tried to defend me but this resulted into quite a confrontation. After an effective bargaining session, I was free to go if I would pay 400.000 rupiahs (45 US$). And so did I, it wasn't the best price, but it was okay to me! It has been an expensive night, but definitely one to remember!
Gili Trawangan
Gili Trawangan is the perfect place to go if you wish to have a typical "sun, sand, sex" experience. In the strictly controlled and largest Islamic country in the world, Gili Trawangan is unlike most other places in Indonesia. As for example, magic mushrooms are being sold at every corner of the street. It is peculiar that in a country where the usage and trade of drugs is harshly punished, places like Gili Trawangan still exist. An oversupply of good dive spots, cheap bars and party atmospheres make the island a "must-see-and-experience" for budget travellers and those out to have a good time! I would recommend to go to the Gili Islands, but you should be careful because of the corruption, drugs and partying. The locals will try to find different ways to "help you" get rid of your money.
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