Bali pool chair etiquette: Aussie man claims victory over 'entitled' tourists
A couple holidaying in Bali made it their mission to teach fellow travellers a lesson about pool chair etiquette.
In the contentious battle to reserve pool chairs while on holiday, one Aussie couple in Bali has emerged victorious over a duo who called dibs on two sun beds before sunrise, only to do a no-show until 3.30pm.
Posting on Facebook, Thom Aspland shared that he and his wife Lisa were frustrated to find towels used to reserve chairs on the first morning of their stay at Grand Barong Resort. He said they then went about their day and came back at 1pm to find the lounges were still untouched despite being reserved since 6.30am.
The couple, who were in Bali to celebrate their anniversary, waited until about 2pm before telling staff they were moving the towels as no one had come to claim them all day. Mr Aspland revealed the errant guests returned nine hours after they'd claimed the chairs.
"We then waited until 3.30pm for them to eventually arrive, and the realisation their spots are gone — iPads and books in hand — was priceless. We accepted this mission out of spite and... to teach a lesson," Mr Aspland wrote in the post, which included a photo "taken after victory" of the couple lounging poolside.
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"Proof that not all heroes wear a cape. I salute you! Would shout you both a Bintang if I were there," responded one Aussie to the post, which has received over 5,300 likes. "Good on you! This bed reserving and not coming back for hours is just plain rude and greedy. We see it all the time!" added someone else.
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Speaking to Yahoo News, Mr Aspland offered further details about the incident. "We had been watching the towels. We moved next to the bar for about two hours, and just kept nudging each other every time we thought it was them," he shared. "When they came around the corner, they quickly walked towards the chairs, then stopped and looked at each other to pause."
"They then frantically looked for their two personal towels and the two hotel towels provided. Once they found them, they walked up to the towels and only took the personal towels, leaving the two hotel ones on the ground. They then walked away to go back to their hotel room and we never saw them again for as long as we sat there."
Making a statement
Mr Aspland said he and his wife later offered the lounges to other people, to make sure they got their point across. "We passed the beds to an older lady and her daughter, and told them the whole story and to continue to pass them to someone else," he shared.
He added that he was expecting a confrontation with the travellers whose towels he removed, but it didn't eventuate. "We definitely thought they were entitled, but we were surprised they didn't confront us and ask why we moved them. But I feel confident it's because they knew what they had done."
"We didn't even want the beds but just wanted to make a statement that that's definitely not okay," he continued. "Many places here have an hour rule, so we just made sure we gave them an hour once we got in the pool to make sure they weren't there."
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