It didn't happen, at least whilst we were there. Maybe later at night, when the non-lit access to the Busway was truly a death trap.
But we were trapped for a while once we entered Ratu Plaza. Although we were aiming for the third floor where the computer accessories and pirated DVDs could be had, we were nearly had before we'd even ascended from the ground floor via the escalators.
I was handed a nosegay, a hand-held bag of smelly stuff which, when I showed her later, 'Er Indoors thought was a teabag. I was also offered a choice of vouchers. I took the middle one of three. Whoopee, it was explained, as I pealed it open: I'd won an electric hob which supposedly 'only' used a maximum of 900 watts. Considering that that is more than the average Indonesia household has access to, it would prove uneconomical for most.
"Switch off the lights, darling, I'm boiling an egg."
Also, considering that its price as shown to us in a catalogue was a mere Rp.8.9 million ($750) our thoughts turned to its resale value.
Our Kid told me that he'd arranged all this as a birthday surprise. However, we soon realised that it was all a con.
"What's a con, Dad. Is it anything to do with condoms?"
I think he was joking.
A lot of fast talking, in Indonesian of course, with a phone call, which I let Our Kid take, and then came the clincher. Because my ATM card was issued in 2001, I was entitled to buy something in category A, the expensive stuff. The purchase of a vacuum cleaner which required water (eh?) was available for nigh on Rp.24 million, a mere $2,000 - WHAT? - would enable me to claim my 'free' electric hob.
"No, son," I said. "Con stands for confidence trick, a means of sucking nice commissions for sales folk from gullible people."
I tore up my voucher and we completed our planned purchases of pirated DVDs and other stuff on the third floor and wended our way, with a friendly wave to our erstwhile con merchants, via the death trap and onto the Busway.
At Ya-Udah the fish and chips are just as we Brits like them, with salt and vinegar.
