This was an interview about living and working in Indonesia from the perspective of a Balinese man:

Name: Suta

Business: Tour Guiding (Bali Bagus Tours)

Background: Grew up as a priests son and has had his own touring business for 9 years .

Do you find the Indonesian culture to plays a role in how you work?

Yes especially in Bali as there is no industry in regards to factories. Bali survives on tourism coming to visit the culture and see hwat it has to offer.

 Does religion play a significant part in Indonesian life ?

Yes, most Indonesians are muslim but in bali 90% are hindu but there is harmony as the Balinese say “god is one” and there are many different paths to get there.

How has Bali changed since you have been living there ?

Tourism has grown making the economy better allowing the taxes to be put towards education and health care for everyone. Some of the negatives are more people are into bars and drinking aswell as tattoes and gangs living the “glamour life”

What do you think of Indonesia in and how it was designed?

Too many islands

Are the local craftsman on the increase or the decrease or the increase ?

They are on the decrease because of the global financial crisis

 Is there anything you’d like to add ?

Bali was agriculture and now tourism but we have to preserve our heritage

From talking to Suta it was obvious that there was no way you can actually describe what it is like to live and work in Indonesia as a whole, as each island has its own language, traditions, customs and local resources and economy. There is 242 million people in Indonesia spread over 17, 508 islands with 300 native languages. Indonesia was designed to bring these islands together but is there to much distance from one end of the country to the other sure they have a flag, government, the same money and a common language as well as their native tongue. But is that enough or is there just “to many islands” to connect everyone ?? Does the fisherman in Sumatra have the same experiences as the taxi driver in Kuta in Bali or the same religion or the same environment, well no so do they feel like connected or just live under the same name of grouped islands ?????

• D Sandjaja, 2015, Indonesia, 27/4/15, https://asian.washington.edu/fields/indonesian