Hi guys, we meet again for the Indonesian Language series. Don’t forget to also read the first two lessons where I talked about the introduction here and numbers & money here. I am sure if you master this, you will be able to communicate a little with the locals, which I think is going to be super cool and fun.
Just today I saw two local students passionately greeting a tourist who was walking on the street. “Selamat Pagi” and the tourist just smiled. Wouldn’t it have been great if he could understand them and reply? Wouldn’t it be even better if YOU (yes, You!) can understand locals and able to reply?
In this lesson we will cover Directions or in Bahasa is “Arah”. It is extremely important, even more if your GPS is not working. You can’t count on those digital maps if you don’t even get signal. And in these kinds of places, which are so isolated, people usually can’t speak much English. So, you should be able to find out and ask how to get to your destinations in the local language.
Here you go:
Excuse me: Maaf / Permisi
Do you know where the xxxxxx is?: Apakah Anda tau dimana xxxxxx?
How do you get to xxxxxxx?: Bagaimana cara ke xxxxxx?
How far is it?: Berapa jauh kira-kira? Oh, we usually use time as a measurement or kilometers. For example: to go there, just carry on going straight for around 20 minutes.
Straight: Lurus
Left: Kiri
Right: Kanan
Traffic Light: Lampu Merah
Intersection: Perempatan
T-junction: Pertigaan
Stop: Stop / Berhenti
First turn on the right: Belokan pertama di sebelah kanan
Second turn: Belokan kedua
Third turn: Belokan ketiga
Turn around: Putar balik
Is there anything about directions that you need to know that I haven’t included here? Let me know and I can add it 🙂
I would love to visit Indonesia some day, the only place I’ve been to so far is Bali, but I would love to see some other islands.
I’m inviting you to join us for Travel Photo Mondays, the link runs all week so I hope you can join us for the next installment?
Hi Noel, you should see the other islands!
About Travel Photo Mondays, can you send me more details to [email protected]?
Cheers.
[…] Renting your own transportation is of course very convenient, because you can go everywhere you want to at anytime. If you are driving yourself just make sure your phone works so you can access the maps. Knowing a few basic Indonesian words will also help if you need to get directions […]
[…] yourself This is actually a great option IF you can speak a bit of Indonesian – go check my Indonesian language section about direction here. Renting a motorbike in Jogja is as cheap as Rp50,000 per day. Make your phone works (buy an […]