Berapa harga itu?

As most everyone else in my neighborhood laid down for sleep, I exited the kampung alley and made my way up the side street, looking left and right for a becak (basically a tricycle but backwards and between the front two wheels there's a seat to ride in). It seems that whenever I'm actually looking for one, they all mysteriously vanish. When I just want to walk somewhere, on the other hand, they're all over the place - each becak driver I pass asks where I'm going, if I need "transport", and, if it's late enough, whether I'm "cari cewek-cewek" (looking for girls). Passers by try to flag me down and sleeping becak drivers shoot up like freshly activated zombies to harass me from across the street. But this time? Nada.

I continued walking toward the main street, passing dimly lit food stalls and the odd idler. I paused briefly to watch a toad hop alongside a warung (temporary street stall), and as I looked up I saw a becak riding past and flagged it down. My intended destination, Via Via cafe, was about a half a mile up the street. I asked the driver how much the trip would cost. "Sepuluh" ("10 [thousand rupiah]"), he said. "Bagaimana dengan lima?" ("How about 5 [thousand rupiah]") I asked. He agreed, no contest. As we teetered along toward Via Via, my driver steadily pedaling through the cool night air, I began to contemplate the fairness the price I was about to pay for my ride. Five thousand Indonesian rupiah. That's about US $0.50. While I struggled with the potential ethical implications of the fare, the prices of American public transportation and Indonesian street food swirling through my head, we rolled right past Via Via. I realized it before we got too far, though, and stepped down from the becak, paying the man.

Just about everything is negotiable here - for better or worse. More and more, I'm impressed with how much the price of things can change with a little bargaining. But what is anything really worth, anyway?

... Fifty cents for a becak ride, two bucks for a long taxi ride, 75 cents for a simple meal at a street stall, two and a half dollars for combo number 5 at McDonald's, ten cents for parking assistance, six bucks for sex, three dollars for a two-hour Javanese massage (the real thing, as in an old lady coming to your house), one and a half dollars for a 3ft x 2ft batik painting (if you have the right connections), three bucks for a purse, a dollar-fifty for a beer, 30 cents for an hour of internet access...

The more I'm here the less sure I am of the answer to that question.