Australian tourist on Bali vacation has ‘mini panic attack’ over restaurant bill: ‘Very costly mistake’

A tourist was charged nearly $2,000 for a bottle of wine while on vacation in Bali, Indonesia. 

Geoff Murphy, an Australian traveler, recounted his story in a Facebook group called “Bali Bogans.” 

“I wanted to share a classic ignorant tourist story and my miscalculations when it came to the exchange rate,” he wrote, explaining that it was his third trip to Bali.

The tourist was celebrating his partner’s birthday and decided to book an upscale restaurant called FIRE at W.

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“We usually don’t drink wine when in Bali due to the cost and average wine on offer but this time I decided I would splash out on a bottle of wine given the occasion,” Murphy explained. “Looking through the wine list I decided on a decent bottle of white wine which was $RP1700++.”

“The waiter paused and said, are you sure sir? I scoffed at him and said yup no worries (like how dare he think I’m not good for a $170 bottle of wine),” the post read.

Murphy said that the chef later introduced himself, which he thought was unusual.

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“The chef came out to introduce himself, which I did think at the time was strange but I just assumed it’s a nice restaurant and didn’t think about it again,” Murphy said. He didn’t realize his mistake until the next morning.

“I logged into internet banking and noticed a charge for $2050 from (the restaurant)!” the traveler said. “My heart dropped into my stomach and I had a mini panic attack.”

 “My heart dropped into my stomach and I had a mini panic attack.”

– Geoff Murphy

After retrieving his receipt, he realized the wine cost nearly $1,700. Murphy said that the wine was more expensive than all of his vacation expenses combined.

“I’m glad it’s entertaining for others, at the time it was a very costly mistake,” Murphy told Fox News Digital. 

Fox News Digital reached out to FIRE at W for comment but has not heard back.

Bali is a popular vacation spot for Australians and others from across the world. Bali welcomed over 6 million tourists in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted travel worldwide.