I’ve never relied on the postal system here in Bali. At least twice a week I make shipments as part of our business, but I always rely on DHL to get the job done right. I’ve tried Fed Ex and TNT in the past, but DHL has worked very well for me. One reason is that all DHL shipments go directly out of Bali to Singapore, without any stops in Jakarta where further problems can develop.
When my mom passed away two years ago this coming Mother’s Day, I had her cremated in the states, and her ashes sent to me in Bali so we could perform her purification ceremony here, and scatter her ashes into the sea. She had been to Bali twice to spend time with her new daughter in law and grandsons and was in the middle of finalizing her plans to move here. The funeral home screwed up my instructions to send her ashes via DHL and used the post office.
At first I figured, well that’s it. I’ll never be able to do this ceremony for her…but low and behold, about a month later we got a call from the post office that a package was waiting for us. Sure enough, it was mom’s ashes. But when Eri and I went to collect them, the senior clerk produced some bogus bill for a good sum of money. I explained what the contents of the package were, and told the senior clerk, “fine with me…YOU pay for my mom’s purification ceremony” and proceeded to walk out of the post office. I didn’t even make it to the door before the clerk caught up to me, mom in hand, and graciously handed her over. My mom would have gotten a big laugh over that episode.
My point with this story is never to use the postal system for anything of value, especially, one’s mom.
