Bahasa Indonesia and Manners are very important to Indonesian people, and since you will be treated as an honoured guest in their country, it is only right you should learn how to repay that courtesy. Believe me, you will be invited into many homes, offered many cups of coffee, and the lessons in this site will prove invaluable. New friendships will be quickly cemented.
You will find the Indonesians happy to help you learn their language, freely offering insights into their customs and way of life. They will become Your Best Personal Teachers, so keep an open attitude to everyone you meet there, and ask their help with learning their language.
But first, a little about the history of this “made-up” language, a few basic rules and hints on pronunciation….
The Indonesian Language was created in 1929 as a means to unify the thousands of islands previously claimed by Holland as The Dutch East Indies. With over 250 different languages trough out the island, it was necessary to have one unifying national language. Bahasa Indonesia was based on Malay, but trough the years has adopted many new words and usages from Sanskrit, Dutch, Arabic, and more recently from English.

Bahasa Indonesia is spoken by all educated Indonesians from the north of Sumatra, trough Java, Bali and the eastern islands to Timor and Irian Jaya.
Basic Indonesian, as used by the majority of the population, is a simple language without many of the inconsistencies found in English.
There is no “the” or “a” in Indonesian, so to say “the Beach” for example, or “a beach”, you just say “beach”, or in Indonesian “Pantai” (Pun-tie).
Sometimes “this” or “that” can be used as an alternative for “the”. Eg. “This beach” = “Pantai ini” (Pun-tie in-nee) or “that beach” = “pantai itu” (Pun-tie it-too)
There is no equivalent of the intransitive verb “to be” so to say ‘The beach is close” you just say “Beach close” = “Pantai dekat” (Pun-tie dec-kaht)
are often expressed by just doubling the noun. Eg “Beaches” is “Pantai-pantai”. But the use of qualifying words that already imply plurality ca be enough alone eg. “Many beaches” is “Banyak pantai” (Bun-yuk pun-tie)
Tenses are handled simply by the use of a view adverbs to denote timing rather than conjugating the verb as in English. This is what helps make Indonesian so easy to learn! Eg. The verb for “Go”-“Pergi” does not change :

Saya pergi ke pantai = I go to the beach
Saya sedang pergi ke pantai = I am going to the beach
Saya belum pergi ke pantai = I have not yet gone to the beach

Saya akan pergi ke pantai = I will go to the beach
Saya mau pergi ke pantai = I want to go to the beach

Saya sudah pergi ke pantai = I have already gone to the beach
Saya baru pergi ke pantai = I just went to the beach
present tense

Belum (b’loom) = not yet Future tense

Akan (ah-kahn) = will Future tense

Mau (ma-oo) = want Future tense

Sudah (sue-dah) = already Past tense

Baru (bah-roo) = just Past tense

Timing can also be denoted by the words for “today”, “tomorrow”, “yesterday”, etc. or “earlier”, “later”, time and days of the week. Here are some examples………

Saya pergi kepantai hari ini = I (will)go to the beach today

Saya pergi kepantai kemarin = I went to the beach yesterday

Saya pergi kepantai besok = I (will)go to the beach tomorrow

Saya pergi kepantai tadi = I went to the beach earlier

Saya pergi kepantai nanti = I (will) go to the beach later

Saya pergi kepantai jam satu = I (will go/went) to the beach at one o’clock

Saya pergi kepantai hari minggu = I (will go/went) to the beach Sunday

are constructed similarly to English, usually with the subject first, then the verb, object and adjective. Adjectives usually follow nouns – to say “ the big wave” you say “wave big” (ombak besar)

There are no Possessive words for “mine”, “yours”, or “ours” – just the usage of “me”, “you” or “us” after the object denote possession. So, “My surfboard” is stated “Surfboard me” (“ski saya”). “My small surfboard” is stated “surfboard small me” (“ski kecil saya”).Only for “his” or “hers” can this change by the addition of “nya” at the end of the word to denote ownership eg. “His surfboard” = “Skinya”. However “dia” (he/she) is also very common eg. “ski dia”.( Note : You may hear some local saying “ku” (shortened “aku” = “I”) or “mu” (shortened “mu”= “you”) to denote ownership, but don’t copy this fading habit as these are regarded as less polite than using “saya” or “anda”.An understanding of just these few rules will allow you to speak and understand the basic Indonesian spoken in most everyday situations and get you on the road to discovering your own surf spots.Please understand that more formal, sophisticated levels of the language do exist, with their own complex rules of suffixes and prefixes, but for the average traveler to Indonesia, the basic rules outlined here are more than sufficient to get by, make friends and be understood.The only other “rule” is that like all nationalities, the Indonesian people respond marvelously to politeness and respect-the really will appreciate your attempts to speak their language. Also remember that often just a smile will go a long way to creating the opening for better understanding and friendship.

The arduous 10 hour boat trip to Nias start at Sibolga, or you can fly from Medan to Binaka airport (near Gunung Sitoli) in about an hour on a tiny Smac airlines plane. From there it is about 5-8 hours by bus to Lagundri which has over 30 good value losmens right on the sand of Lagundri Bay overlooking the point. The Nias natives used to indulge in head hunting and ritual human sacrifice, but thankfully those days seem over. The roads on Nias island have been greatly improved recently, so now is a great time to check out the west coast for new breaks previously only accessibly by boat. Lagundri Bay is now the starting point to new discoveries in the nearby islands. The Surf Travel Company runs the safest yacht tours to all these islands, but you need to book well in advance. Local speed boats can take you to the Hinako Islands within an hours or so, but it costs around US $200 per boat for a day trip. Local yachts have been reported to do week-long trips for about $100 per person, but this depends upon the number of guys on board and amount of food, beer etc. you need (it might also depend upon how well you can bargain in Indonesia). The right at Bawa and the left at Asu are seriously power full waves for very experienced surfers only. Accommodation on the Hinako islands is very limited, so don’t arrive without a booking. You must bring your own food, water and mosquito net. Ask around Lagundri for more information about any new discoveries on nearby islands.

South of Nias are the Mentawi islands, comprising the Telo group, Siberut, Sipora, Pagai Utara, Pagai Selatan and Enggano. These islands are home to the most primitive, tattoo covered natives in Indonesia. If you feel you can cope with a wild man-of-Borneo-style adventure trip, right out on the edge, this is the place to do it. But be warned, these islands are covered in dense rain forest jungles, there are hardly any decent roads, few place to stay, limited food supplies and few natives can even speak Indonesian. Although there are certainly great waves on these islands, there are plenty of other un crowded place much easier to get to. These islands are justifiably the last frontier, accessibly by boat only.

The Sumatra outer islands are very primitive. Many island require police permits before you arrive. Some may not be able to supply you with food and water, no matter how much money you have. Many natives live a simple subsistence lifestyle, based on bartering, not money. Some would rather receive knives, axes, fishing nets or even beads and betel nut rather than cash. Animistic religions and black magic are still strongly believed in, despite the spread of Islam. The indigenous people believe all things posses a soul, from rock to trees to rivers. It is their belief that illness is caused by upsets to the souls of the objects around us, so western medicines are almost non-existant here.

The Andaman and Nicobar islands north of Sumatra have very good reef surf potential, but are only accessibly through India, where you would be processed by Customs and Immigration. Don’t chance a boat trip from Sumatra-you may be arrested, or even worse, pirated! North of Nias is dangerous pirate territory.

When you look at map of Bali which has over 20 great surf spots, and than compare that small area to the huge size of Sumatra, the mind boggles-there must be hundreds of classic breaks waiting to be discovered! Go to it! But before you go, there are just a few things you should be warned about….

Malaria is a big problem in Indonesia. Bali’s luxury beach resorts are safe, but inland areas (eg Ubud) and most other islands are not. Each year 300 million people are infected world-wide by bites from the female Anopheles mosquito. One million people die. Drug resistant strains of malaria are spreading through Indonesia fast, so for the latest update on which malaria tablets are right for the region you are visiting, at least two months before you go write to Indo Surf & Lingo (PO Box 950 Noosa Qld 4567 Australia) for a fully-detailed Travel Health Brief application form.

Travel Health Briefs contain the most up-to-date information from the MASTA computer database (Medical Advisory Service for Travelers Aboard). For only $10, they prescribe all the shots you need, the right malaria tablets for your particular trip and much more including emergency numbers. Remember, surfers have died in Indonesia because they took the wrong pills!