Are the local people friendly and how do they handle tourists in their area?
A..In general they are very friendly .and curious about our ways. The kids are a great way to improve your language skills. If you must give them something, make it food or t-shirts etc. Never give them money as that sends the wrong message and spoils the whole deal when you get a lot of kids who approach you with their hands out begging. They’re poor in this area but there are better ways to help than just giving money. Some of the locals are a bit suspicious about our motives but that’s because tourism is a relatively new thing is this part of Indonesia. Nev has been surfing and hanging around in Indo for over 20yrs and he reckons he’s run into a few wankers, but no serious terrorist types. They’re pretty few and far between. The locals are learning we’re not about changing their religion or eating their kids or devil worship and raping and pillaging. Mainly they see we just come to surf have fun and maybe learn about the culture and lifestyle in this area. Hopefully they’ll realize
