Indonesia: a place for business and leisure when you speak their language.

Growing up, I had a friend whose father worked for an oil company in Jakarta. I knew little about the city or the country of Indonesia, I was at school and still in my early teens, but one thing I grasped very clearly was that to get ahead in Indonesia, being able to speak Indonesian was the key to everything. My friend spoke some Indonesian, I loved it when she did,  but even the little she had, opened the wonderful country up to her and to this day she still has friends there because of being able to communicate.

Indonesia is an archipelago, and for the business or leisure traveller alike, is an amazing place to visit. Over the years the country has had its ups and downs, but it still maintains a strong economy and a vibrant tourist industry. In modern-day Indonesia, a growing number of people speak English, but like many Asian countries, a great deal of respect is found when someone of non-Indonesian origin speaks Indonesian. 

With language, Indonesia, like any other country and its language, opens up in a manner that only those who have made an effort to learn a language will understand.  Business opportunities increase, business transactions become more successful as the vital human connection, the so-called “click” comes through language. Being able to speak Indonesian allows a person to get down to the nitty-gritty of a project, contract or simple job. Like any language, there are innuendos and humour, and when speaking the language, these translate into confidence when doing business. 
Language, in a strange way, can open our eyes to the way that Indonesians do business, and shows us many of the challenges that non Indonesian speaking business people may face. When you have the language, these challenges are either overcome, or simply disappear. Language, and being able to converse, is one of the most powerful business tools, far better than Google Translate that often loses the intrinsic meaning of the conversation. 

While Indonesia is a superb country to do business with and language makes a big difference to the way business is done, the country is also a wonderfully diverse place to visit. By speaking Indonesian, even a business trip can soon become a lot more pleasurable as the real country, and its people open up. However, for the leisure traveller speaking Indonesian is one of the most amazing pieces of luggage you can carry. 

Indonesia is a stunning country to visit, and speaking Indonesian allows a person to get under the skin of one of the most diverse and beautiful cultures on earth.  Going beyond Bali, language opens up other amazing, less touristy places in one of the most naturally beautiful countries in the world. Language allows a person to converse with locals and often allows lesser known parts of the country to be discovered that can leave you breathless. 
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Just a quick Google of Indonesia will soon show a person just what Indonesia has to offer beyond nice beaches. Learning to speak Indonesian will take a person beyond the beaches and tourist hot spots, as well as the places and sights others cannot get to, and they soon become very accessible.