JohnnyCool wroteA few years ago, I had rats thumping around in my ceilings, feral cats possibly trying to catch the rats, civets, and other animals.
It got to the point where I decided to call in some pest controllers.
I went to one large company in Renon and told the staff I was sick of the rats, and how much would their controllers charge me to eliminate them?
"Oh, sir - we cannot do that - that is not the Balinese way."
Excuse me, darling - this is a pest-control business, is it not?
"Yes - but we cannot kill the rats."
OK - So what do you actually do, then? And by the way, do you have rats in your house?
"Yes - they are a problem for me, too."
And you can't do anything about them, because it's not "the Balinese way"?
"Yes, sir..."
Is there a place near here where I can buy rat-poison, cyanide, a gun, or similar?
"I don't know about that, sir..."
Thankyou for your time. Oh - and one last question.
Know of any good flute players around here?
"In my village in Singaraja - (do you know Singaraja?) - my brother's brother has a friend of a friend whose family make suling - I can give you his handphone number..."
Your name-tag says that your name is Putuh. Can I call you Putuh?
"Yes - no problem."
Does this pest-control business have a branch in Singaraja (Buleleng - do you know Buleleng?). Is Buleleng full of "bules"? Just wondering.
Like, do people in Tabanana (sic) grow lots of bananas?
"We have office in also Tuban, Kuta."
Where do they buy their bananas from there, or do the rats eat them all?
Nice talking with you Putuh. You married, or just have lots of boyfriends?
"No have pacar..."
I'm not surprised...
This all makes perfect sense to me. But I suppose after 18 years everything is normal here to my brain.
