Do and don't in Indonesia

I dun think it is difficult, just learn from the local and get adapted.

People in Indonesia are basically chilled out people

Cheerios

walkyourdreams

custom is a nightmare in Indonesia if you need to stay more than 30 days for a holiday!!!
There are no write regulations, rules or law... the police can stop you and tell that your business visa is not valid to make business and the only think you can do, as also the embassy say, is... pay them!
But note, before you're suggested to bargain! as for all the other things in here!

anyone can help me? i'm a student of graduate program majoring in translation studies. One of my assignments is cross-cultural understanding. Here i choose british people who live in Indonesia. i'm wondering what cultural constraints they probably meet during living in Indonesia n how they cope with. I would really aprreciate it to anyone who share their experiences. thank you...

I'm wondering what the cost of living would be for a single expat in Indonesia? Can someone live well enough on $2000/month?

dart05 wrote:

I'm wondering what the cost of living would be for a single expat in Indonesia? Can someone live well enough on $2000/month?

well..

It depends on you way of living really.
it is more than enough if you rent a US$500/ month and groceries US$100/ month,the rest if up to  your life style..

afin wrote:

anyone can help me? i'm a student of graduate program majoring in translation studies. One of my assignments is cross-cultural understanding. Here i choose british people who live in Indonesia. i'm wondering what cultural constraints they probably meet during living in Indonesia n how they cope with. I would really aprreciate it to anyone who share their experiences. thank you...

well afin, U can come and visit the british council library in surabaya. they have many fasilities about your study.

well well well...
you can do anything in indonesia, it does a really matter who you are...as long as you stand up for your rigt
you will automatically adapt to the environmant...

Here's some dos and don'ts

Dining
When you're going out for lunch or dinner with Indonesians, when the waiters do not serve food altogether, Indonesians politely won't eat and prefer to wait so they can eat together at the same time. And Indonesians usually will say "selamat makan" or "Let's eat" before eat.

Exchanging Business Cards
A lot of Indonesians follow the Japanese, when we are meeting with clients, we start it out by saying "Hai/Hi", handshake and introduce your name and what division are you working in, then exchanging business card by holding it with both hands and bow just a bit, remember a bit, no need to bend 90 degrees

Casual
When we are meeting old friends in mall or public area, we will do the handshake and then kiss both cheeks. Not kiss with lips though more like touching our left and right cheeks with theirs.

Use of The Left Hand
Being "kidal" or left handed surely not a problem, but in many occasions, handshake and hand something to someone, we use right hand, some people would think that is rude if you're giving something using the left hand. But it's totally understandable if your right hand is occupied, just tell them, "Sorry pakai tangan kiri ya" or "Sorry I had to use my left hand".

Burping
It is unpolite to burp in public, unless you are an attention stealer then you burp as loud as you can.

The Word Bule
Bule is how Indonesians call Westerners (Caucasian), the word itself means White. It's not a bad word or rude. And Bule is not 100% use to call Caucasian, when someone has fair skin (mostly Chinese), we would call them as Bule as well.

Jakarta Travel Guide

dart05 wrote:

I'm wondering what the cost of living would be for a single expat in Indonesia? Can someone live well enough on $2000/month?

$2.000 is around 20 million IDR, it's more than enough, but yes it depends on your lifestyle and where will you live. I know 2 bedrooms apartment in Sudirman Park (CBD Area) only cost you around 5mio/month.

There's 15mio left for meals, transportation, grocery and shopping. Meals range from 10-100k/meal depends on the location if you dine in malls would cost you more, even so wouldn't be more than 100k/meal.

dart05 wrote:

I'm wondering what the cost of living would be for a single expat in Indonesia? Can someone live well enough on $2000/month?

It'll be more than enough.But will be less than enough if you like to buy branded things.
My family(2adults & 2childs) only spend $700-$800 per month for foods,tuition fee for the kids,internet,telephone etc but not including rent(because we have our own house) and entertainment(like eating out,clubbing etc)

I think $1000 per month will be enough. Even some of college students only spend $100/IDR 1,000,000 per month including foods,rent,etc.

give me 2,000...i/ll live for 3 months.

All of this of course depends on where in Indonesia we are talking about.

We could also get into the keen difference between "living" or surviving in parts in Indonesia as opposed to having a life here in Indonesia.

Ubudian wrote:

All of this of course depends on where in Indonesia we are talking about..

There goes a truth.
I lived on 2 million/month when I lived in Wonosobo but there's no way I could do that anywhere near Jakarta.
Much depends on the area but a lot is also down to the lifestyle you want. I was up to there with the rat race and owning 'things' so it was fine by me. The food was mostly local stuff so that did wonders for my waist.
I was considered a bit extravagant in that village because I spent far more than the locals.
A few seriously chilled out years where time and money didn't mean much.

Need to know indon is a place to have fun and not to stay.

Shyazz wrote:

Need to know indon is a place to have fun and not to stay.

That depends on the expat, not the country

Ten years later, it has changed. Corruption like bribery, etc. is all but finished. If there is a bribe involved and you get caught, both of you will be jailed. Also government offices would not dare tell you to pay.