In Reply to: Lets talk about happiness posted by johnsfca on Wednesday, 29. June 2005 at 10:11 Bali Time:
I was a bit surprised at the response you got, too. Your post seemed more of a lament than anything remotely bitter. And all the flamers did was prove you right.
Indonesia is a very welcoming country. Visitors are treated as guests, and any eccentricities they have will be put down to their "foreign ways". You could wear a purple cape and walk around with a pineapple on your head, and they'd just smile and assume you are from Latvia or something. (Actually, you'd probably blend in with fruit on your head, so that's not a good example.)
A gay friend of mine from Jakarta says that about half the country is completely accepting (I hate that word) to gays, almost everyone else thinks that they will burn in Hell but that's between the gay people and God, and a very small percentage would burn your house down if you and your partner moved into the neighbourhood. So it sounds much the same as in Australia.
I'll bet you a sixpack that if you tell someone in Bali you are gay, the first thing they'll say is "Oh? My cousin is gay. You should meet him." Everyone has a million cousins. You could say you are a badger farmer and they'll have a cousin who does the same thing. Everyone in Indonesia has at least one gay cousin. And just about everyone everywhere else, too.
But, like everywhere else, there are a few retarded homophobes among the locals, so be a little bit careful coz it's a long way home. Actually, the main problem is likely to be the groups of latent homosexuals who travel together with the rest of their footy teams. But even straight people should avoid them
Have a great trip.