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.

Indonesia?s roads can lead to adventure and good times, but they can also lead to an abrupt accidental end to your holiday. The roads can be extremely crowded, pot-holed and dangerous.
You?ll be sharing the narrow roads lots of traffic-truck, buses, jeeps, minibuses, cars, motorbikes, pushbikes, soup carts, pedestrians, horses, dogs, pigs, goats, ducks and chickens (remember, there are over 200 Million Indonesians crammed into a relatively small are the size of only Victoria and Queensland!)
The traffic buzzes along at warp-speed, with everyone seemingly hell bent upon overtaking everyone else constantly, often two or three abreast with horns blaring. People casually enter from side streets and blind alleys without so much as even glancing, completely oblivious of the dangerous oncoming traffic who are just expected to give way to anything in front.
It?s not very relaxing to be driving amidst all this chaos, but just remember to keep one foot hard down on the accelerator, the other ready on the brake, and your hand on the horn. Some ?rules? include constantly check your rearview mirror for overtaking trucks, and sound your horn whenever you approach another vehicle or person just to let them know you are there. This is considered very polite behaviour on Indonesian roads.
Hazard lights flashing as a car approaches an intersection seems to mean ?I?m coming trough no matter what, so get out of my way?. Right flashing indicator seems to mean ?I?m passing no matter what, so oncoming traffic had better pull over off my road?.
Motorbike should expect no respect whatsoever from approaching cars who will overtake even if it means forcing you off the fringe of the road into a ditch. Expect this to happen to you every day. The safest rule in to give way to anything bigger than you, and be well insured.
If you intent riding a motorbike regularly bring a full face crash helmet from home. Although when you rent a bike in Indonesia you get compulsory helmet included, they are often just lightweight construction-style hats, with no face protection. Gath helmets aren?t for road use.
For many reasons, it is much better to hire a car with a driver included. Often it is only a few dollars more and you will be free to relax and enjoy the view while the driver?s local knowledge gets you to the surf with a minimum of fuss. Plus it can be more fun traveling with a local who will know the best place to eat, unusual sights and maybe even introduce you to his family.
On the next page are a few words and sentences that may come in hand on your Road to Discovery.