Why are Balinese always late?

spicyayam

For anyone who has spent some time in Bali or even come for a holiday, you might be wondering why Balinese are usually late to appointments. I was having a chat to my wife about it this morning and she said if you say a time to meet, say 10am, then in that person's mind that is the time they should leave their house, it is not the actual appointment time. I said that it can't be true, surely?

Fred2

Rubber time, no such thing as on time.:)

Balifrog

spicyayam wroteFor anyone who has spent some time in Bali or even come for a holiday, you might be wondering why Balinese are usually late to appointments. I was having a chat to my wife about it this morning and she said if you say a time to meet, say 10am, then in that person's mind that is the time they should leave their house, it is not the actual appointment time. I said that it can't be true, surely?

Same is valid in Thailand. Worst is some long term expats adapting it !

Mark

I think it's a generalization. I've met with loads of Balinese who have been prompt in showing up at the agreed time.

Juggler

Mark wroteI think it's a generalization. I've met with loads of Balinese who have been prompt in showing up at the agreed time.

"Daytime" then you nver late...unless its dark outside

Markit

If you say you have their Oleh oleh they'll be early.

tintin

Of course, in Bali it's jam karet. After you have lived for a while in the country, you'll know that . However, as a European (I mean a white man, as I must include my Australian brothers), you will also learn that the Balinese do not expect us to follow the jam karet clock, and I can assure from experience that they would be somewhat resentful if you followed their tradition.

PERtoDPS

My partner was terrible with this one. coming 4-6 hours late to our first dates and just dawdling around with beauty appointments, it was almost enough for me to waste the relationship. Someone a little more senior in her family explained that in Bali time is not money like in western, there is plenty of time and since no one is getting overtime or even hourly rate just a tiny salary people aren't that fussed about being on time. Thankfully now my partner is adjusted and never like that again and of course there must be companies/employers who are strict about time but that explanation seemed to make sense to me.

JohnnyCool

I'd ask why do westerners [B][I]expect[/I][/B] Balinese to be "on-time" here? Maybe their watch is broken (if they wear one), maybe the battery's dead, smartphone ain't working, traffic's too bad, or as [I]Spicyayam's[/I] wife said above... See you at 10am means he/she leaves at 10am to get to you. Sounds "silly" but makes sense. My favourite is the use of the word "besok". Like, see you "besok". [I]Besok[/I] can mean tomorrow, the next day, next week, next month, maybe never. And no watch required. :rolleyes: