The Borneo Files, Version 2.0

THIS WAS WRITTEN SUNDAY NIGHT, 24 HOURS BEFORE I FINALLY POSTED IT.

Due to exhaustion, I’ve done a pretty bad job of documenting this trip so far. I’m feeling much better today. It’s about 9:00 p.m. and I’ve not only been awake all day, but I’ve felt pretty good. Think I’m finally adjusting to the time zone here.
So our guide picked us up at the hotel around 8:00a.m. this morning. They set up a trip for us to eat in the home of a native family about 1.5 hours from Kota Kinabalu. On the way we stopped at a cool straw market where I picked up a couple of souvenirs. One kinda funny thing happened at the Kota Belud market. Before we arrived our guide said if we see something we like, we should try to pay about 50% of the original asking price. I’m pretty familiar with this process because almost every 3rd world country has similar markets.

So I see some really old ladies making hand woven baskets. I estimate that they could make 2 to 3 baskets per day. I thought I might like to get one for Christena, but I thought they might be kind of expensive. So I ask a lady, “how much?” She responds, “10 ringgits” (which is basically $3 US). Thrilled that I can scoop this thing for such a cheap price, I pay her before she has time to change her mind. When my friends found out I paid full price for something, they ridiculed me unmercifully. They taunted me, called me Joe Kennedy, &c. I said, “Look, she worked on that thing for several hours and she sold it to me for $3. Even if I would have talked her down, there’s no way I could save more than $1.5!” I actually felt bad for paying the lady $3US for something she spent all day on.

So a few minutes later I’m trying to buy a belt. The guy quotes me a price of 20 ringitt ($7 US). I’d be happy to pay full price except I don’t want to be ridiculed. So I offer 15. The man declines and reiterates his price of 20 ringitt. Obviously word had leaked out that the blond idiot from America pays full price for handicrafts. Not willing to be a sucker twice in one day, I let him keep it. The rest of the day I laughed at myself for letting a deal fall apart over less than $2. Oh well.

Here are some photos: