Bahasa Indonesian Lesson Five

Immigration

Like most other places in the world, when entering a country you will need to notify immigration of why you are visiting, how long for and where you are staying. Keep an eye out for signs like "Bea Cukai" (Customs), "Permeriksaan Paspor" (Passport Control)

"Permisi, Saya mau melihat Bapak/Ibu-mu paspor" (Excuse me, I want to see your passport)
"Kami di sini untuk berlibur/urusan bisnis" (We are here on holiday/on business)
"Kami di sini selama empat belas hari" (We are here for forteen days)
"Kami tinggal di Yulia-Yulia di Sanur" (We are staying at Yulia-Yulia in Sanur)
"Ini harus dilaporkan obat?" (Do I have to declare this medicine?)

And, given recent policy decisions...

"Kami harus pakai surat jalan kalau mau ke Irian Jaya" (Do we need a permit to travel to Irian Jaya?)

Directions

Requests for directions should be preceded with "Tolong tanya" (I wish to ask, literally: Help ask) or "Boleh saya tanya?" ("May I ask?"). The general form is request + place + di mana? ("is where?")

"Boleh saya tanya, losmen Yulia-Yulia/bank/pasar di mana?" (May I ask, guesthouse Yulia2/bank/market is where?")
"Yulia-Yulia di Jalan Danau Tamblingan" ("Yulia-Yulia is on Danau Tamblingan Road")
"Di Mana? Ini jurusan ke utara/selatan/timur/barat?" ("Where is that? Is it to the north/south/east/west?")
"Di Bebet, dekat pantai/lurus/di sini/di sana/kiri/kanan/di lampu/di lurus" ("In Bebet, near the beach/straight ahead/here/there/left/right/ahead/behind")

Transport

"Bis yang mana menuju ke Ubud?" (Which bus goes to Ubud?")
"Di mana saya bisa beli tiket?" (Where do I buy a ticket?")
"Dua tiket ke Ubud" (Two tickets to Ubud)
"Jam berapa bis ke Ubud" (When is the bus to Ubud?")
"Berapa lama/juah perjalanannya?" (How long/far to the destination?) Or, an easier question, "Berapa lama/jauh di sini" (How long/far is it?)
"Satu jam/empat pulah kilometer" (One hour/Forty kilometers)
"Ini bis/bemo yang ke Ubud?" (Is this the bus/minibus to Ubud?)
"Tolong beritahu waktu kita sampai di Ubud" (Please tell me when we are at Ubud)
"Tolong, berhinti di sini" (Please stop here)

More exotically, you may wish to ask for a bicycle-rickshaw (becak) or a horse and cart (dokar). A train is "kereta api" and a train station is "stasisoon api". Trains in Java are particularly good and it's worth spending the extra money for first class. "Saya mau dua tiket kelas satu ke Yogyakarta" (I would like two first class tickets to Yogyakarta"). A common way to get between islands is via boat ("perahu") with the inexpensive Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni).

Finally, the necessary taxi conversation. "Sama-sama tiap tempat" (It's the same everywhere).

"Ke airport, pak" (To the airport)
"Mau lewat mana?" (By which route)
"Yang paling cepat" (The fastest one)

Bookings

"Permisi, kami mau pesan satu kamur" (Excuse me, we would like to book a room")
"Kami mau selama tiga malam minggu" (We would like to book for three nights")
"Saya salalu datang Yulia-Yulia di Sanur. Saya berpikir ini bersih, meway, tidak mahal" (I always come to Yulia-Yulia in Sanur. I think it is clean, luxurious and not expensive")