How Might A Change Of Laws On Sex Affect Your Holiday In Indonesia?

Flag of Indonesia

The flag of Indonesia is a band of red above white.

 

What is the danger? Apart from deliberately having extra-marital sex, there's the risk of accidentally breaking the law and the trap. The tourist goes to a bar, a beach, a restaurant, anywhere, and meets an attractive person who says they are single, divorced or widowed.

Whether they are a local person or a fellow tourist, the love of your life, or a passing interest, pushes things further. Up pops a video camera's witness, or a spouse's detective with spouse in tow. 

You are subject to blackmail. Or a year in jail. 

Do you chat to a girl in a bar? Do you allow a group to befriend you? 

The person beside you on the bus will be warning you not to talk to the person sitting in front of you who tries to strike up a friendly conversation. I had this when I was single. Everybody was warning me in countries such as Turkey not to talk to another person.

The whole time you are wondering what will happen if the friendly person gives you a peck on the cheek. What about a goodbye hug and kiss, at the disco, after a day travelling together, or even bye-bye at the airport?   

What if you are not travelling, but a travel agent? You only need newspapers to report that one person claims to be imprisoned or blackmailed or forced into marriage, or to claim that, and your travel brochure for a business in London has to be reprinted. Your travel rep is laid off. Your aircraft's flight is cancelled because of falling bookings.

So you are a tourist and you are not worried. But you go on holiday and one of your group, a fellow passenger, your tour guide, is arrested. That puts a damper on your holiday.

Never mind. Besides, you are married. It is only a day or two stopover. You are planning on a round-the-world flight tour for your honeymoon. Round the world to New Zealand or Australia can be cheaper than a direct flight. So I was told by a fellow passenger on Singapore Airlines.

But other tourists are worried about one country. That leg of your trip is cancelled. The whole of your tour is in jeopardy.

People may book holidays up to a year ahead. People might deliberately cancel and go elsewhere. Or they might just have a nagging feeling that a particular country is not a good place to visit. The reason has been forgotten. But the negativity remains. 

I believe that is the reason for 'gut feelings', 'instincts'. You read or experience a bad event. You forget the event. But you are left with an uneasy feeling about person, or country. 

Could anything good come out of this for the tourist? They might cancel the law because of its possible or real effect on tourism. You might then be out of danger, no risk, but be offered bargain holidays. 

Useful Websites

https://www.flightcentre.co.uk/flights/round-the-world-flights/trip-planner?

What You Need To Know About Restrictions On Fences And Rainwater Collection In Homes In the USA

Problem
You move to the USA, or another state in the USA. At first, it's great. Huge properties. High ceilings, Big bedrooms. Swimming pools. Wonderful. Then you discover a host of local regulations which make no sense. Drinking, marrying, gambling, building a fence or collecting rainwater, buying and carrying guns, death penalty - allowed or banned? It depends where you live. That's why in films (movies) you see the criminal racing across state lines to escape the cops.

1 Some areas won't let you build a fence around the property.
2 In this State you can drink. In the next State, you can't.
2 It's illegal to save water in a water butt, or install water collection devices to make your property green and water the plants. Where?
Why? What the ...!

STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS DIFFER
Coming from England, it took me a while to understand why different states had different laws and what federal means.
A state is like a council in Britain. You have laws which apply to the whole of the USA, and others which apply only to one area.

ALCOHOL - WHAT YOU CAN & CAN'T DO
One state can ban alcohol. We drove through West Virginia looking for a restaurant and kept seeing signs which said Club. Eventually, we stopped and asked a passer-by for direction to a restaurant. He told us,
'There's one on the corner. You just passed it. It's huge. I don't know how you missed it."
 I replied,
"Yes, we saw it. But we didn't stop because it says it's a club."
"You can eat there. You just have to join the club. It costs a dollar. In our state, only clubs are allowed to sell alcohol, so a restaurant serving alcohol has to be a club and charge you a membership fee. Every member of your group has to pay the dollar club fee. Of course, we locals, just pay the dollar once to two or three local restaurants, so, for us, it's no big deal."

We drove back to the restaurant, which was about to close for the night, just one customer left, or maybe they only ever had one customer, but we were just in time.
Our conversation with the receptionist went something like this:

"Howdy, folks! How ya'll doin'?"

"Fine thanks. Can we eat? Three of us."

"Yes, sir. But we serve alcohol, so, first, you have to join our club, which costs five dollars, each, for a  full lifetime membership. Fill out this form, pay me the money, and I'll give you your cards."
My husband does a quick calculation.
"Fifteen dollars! But we're only here one night."
"In that case, Sir, only one dollar each. And that's for the whole year! Keep your cards. And I'll keep your records, all year. Just in case you come back drivin' this way."
"That's an extra three dollars. For all of us? I'm not drinking alcohol. I'm driving. Can't my wife be a member, and let me in as a guest? Our son's under age. So he's not drinking."
"But, sir, if you was to take only one sip of your good wife's drink, and that state trooper, sittin' over there, watchin' us, saw you, you would be in big trouble, for drinkin' without the paperwork. And I could lose my business for servin' you! Let me explain ..."
"It's late, and I'm tired and hungry," said my husband. "Here's the money. Just give us the membership cards."

Every now and then I read that a debate is on to change drinking or other laws in one state or another. You have to watch it. But at least we now know what it's all about.

FENCES ARE RESTRICTED - WHY?
We used to drive around wondering why the big ranch houses (in the UK we say bungalows) had no fences. They looked unfinished. Like show homes.

And what about security! I suppose that's why they have guns. Anybody can walk in, and right around your house, looking in the windows to see if anybody's at home.

Then one day the mystery was solved. Some estates have bye-laws saying no fences. All the houses must look the same. Not different walls and fences on each one. (A bit like Hampstead Garden suburb in England, where you can't change windows nor doors, nor update antique wood with white ersatz double glazing, nor paint your house pink and purple stripes and dots.)

In America, on some estates, you have to keep the grass mown, because everybody can see. Lawns are around every house. Bushes over a certain height and tall trees are banned. No surrounding your property with fast-growing Cypress Leylandi and blocking the neighbour's light.

 No flowers. (I'm not sure if flowers are banned. But, I suppose the postman, delivery boy, or children, imaginary children, could pick them.)

If you don't have fences, you are rather paranoid. Rightly so. You keep a gun.

FENCES AND DOGS
How do you keep your dog inside your property and stop it running out to annoy neighbours or getting killed on the road? A Canadian company and others have made invisible fences, using electrified wires around the property. Oops - won't that injure children and other people and scare animals? It can be made connected to a dog collar which bleeps a warning when the dog gets close, without giving it a nasty shock. (See Wikipedia.)

What about dogs from outside coming onto your property. What if a dog comes onto your property, damaging your plants, leaving dog mess, threatenign you, your gods or your small children? A much-publicised court case in 2018 concerned a dog shot by a neighbour.

GUNS - TELL ME MORE
Gun laws vary from State to State in the USA, just as other laws vary.

So do the laws on when you can use guns.

'Stand your ground', is the catchphrase. Well, folks, you ain't got no place to go. As they say, the police are only half an hour away. Shoot first, asked questions later. Better judged by twelve than carried by six.' That puzzled me for ten seconds the first time I read it. It means judged in a court of law by a jury of twelve, for killing somebody, is better than carried in a coffin by six, because somebody killed you.

And the death penalty, or lack of it, varies, too, from state to state. States are like little countries. America is the size of a continent.

Okay, now I have visited America, taken a Greyhound bus, in a big circle, coast to coast, New York to LA and on to New Orleans. I lived in America, in three different states, and driven around from New York to Florida. I've also been on press trips to Florida, the mid-west, and California. I can go along with all of those laws, that stuff about drinking, and fences.

I also understand guns. Quite apart from those unprotected houses without fences. I have been to the mid-West and seen a preserved room where somebody got shot over a game of cards. I met a man on horseback who had a gun, when we were driving across a mountain range in Utah in the middle of nowhere.

I have sat on a boat in water, not Disneyland, real water, in the deep south, surrounded by crocodiles, giving toothy grins. Not me, them. Alligator or crocodile, same difference. Anybody got a gun? I hope it's not one which takes three minutes to re-load. There's another crocodile - behind you!

WATER COLLECTING RESTRICTIONS
Rainwater
But what about water? Bottled water, if you want it in a restaurant, but there's movement against plastic bottles. Drink tap water.
Some people install filters in their kitchen tap. Others collect rainwater as it falls on the garden. Or draw it out of wells.

Flashing around Facebook is a demand to fight and change laws stopping you from collecting rainwater in the USA. What's that all about?

WHY ARE THEY RESTRICTING WATER COLLECTIONS?
If you are asking why should it change: because we could be saving water in times of drought by collecting rainwater for plants. This would help your area not run out of purified water when the population increases or drought makes the water in dams run low. Poor people, those interested in conservation, people living 'off the grid', anybody moving a caravan or building a house and not yet on the water supply system, even demonstration centres and water butt sellers could be prosecuted if the law is allowed.

Why Collect Rainwater?
If you are asking why should restrictions on saving rainwater change: because we could be saving water in times of drought by collecting rainwater for plants. This would help your area not run out of purified water when the population increases or drought makes the water in dams run low. 

Poor people, those interested in conservation, people living 'off the grid', anybody moving a caravan or building a house and not yet on the water supply system, even demonstration centres and water butt sellers could be prosecuted if the law restricting water collection is allowed.

Useful Websites
US LAWS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_West_Virginia
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5108843/Woman-left-tears-man-shoots-pit-bull-dead.html
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/08/united-states-cant-fences-certain-height-front-backyard/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand-your-ground_law
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/is-rainwater-harvesting-legal-in-your-state-us/61586739
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/foreign-nationals-and-death-penalty-us
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage_in_the_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_the_United_States

St James Hotel, New Mexico. Photo from Wikipedia by Daniel Schwen. 

TOURIST SITES:
GUN HISTORY
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/8798 Chair where Wild Bill Hickock was shot dead during a poker game
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Hotel_(Cimarron,_New_Mexico)
St James Hotel, New Mexico, USA, fatal card game room. Everyone you can think of from the wild west stayed here. Wild Bill Cody, Wyatt Earp, Jesse James and many more. I loved it. Highlight of my trip.
WATER CONSERVATION
USA
https://www.hooverdamtourcompany.com/center.html

Hoover Dam showing the Hoover Dam bypass bridge, far left. Photo by Kuczora in Wikipedia.

HONG KONG
http://www.hypsos.com/en-us/cases/visitor-attraction/water-conservation-education-centre-in-hong-kong.aspx
TOURIST BOARDS
visitbritain.org
visit-usa.com
LANGUAGE & EMERGENCY
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/chinese-translation-of-emergency.html
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/american-and-british-english.html
Many more posts by Angela Lansbury about Americanisms, language, Esperanto, Chinese, learning languages, travel to the USA, Canada, UK, China, Singapore and more.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. 
I have many other posts on travel, living overseas, learning languages, and business travel and holidays.
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The Laws Are Different - Check Them

Problem
I was reading about accusations, apologies, pleading guilty and court cases in America.

In one case somebody says, 'All I want is an apology'. Another case: 'He never admitted his guilt.' 'He denied it!' One comment says, 'How can they deny it! The evidence is there for all to see!'

I read the comments and another reader has said:
The lawyer of the accused tells them to plead guilty so that they can plea bargain later and admit guilt in exchange for something else, a lighter sentence or dropping another charge.

I discussed this with somebody in the UK. They said, "In the UK the laws are different. A defendant will be advised by the lawyers to plead guilty, if they are guilty, and likely to be found guilty, because the penalties rise as you obstruct the court or cost money by making a longer trial to establish guilt.

In cases where a defendant claims to have been tortured, another case occurs. They might plead guilty to end the torture, then retract the confession in court. So things are not as straightforward as they seem at first glance.

In the UK laws can be established by precedent. A lawyer defending you might say, before or after a court case, that a previous trial the defendant was found not guilty in a certain set of circumstances. Therefore the lawyer, if you plead not guilty, will bring up the previous case to try to persuade the judge that it is a waste of time and public money persisting because the jury will follow the findings of the previous case. The defense lawyer will argue persuasively that the case cannot be proven.

The moral is, whether you are in a court or simply reading a newspaper article about a court case, check the laws at the place and time of the court case.

You might also recall the old saying, "Never explain, never apologise." (Was it Oscar Wilde who said that? Or a newspaper proprietor? One accused person said, 'Publish and be damned.')

Car Accident Claims
My instructions from my insurance company in the case of a car accident in the UK were that in the case of an accident you must never hastily apologise or admit guilt at the scene of the accident. You must simply give your name and address and insurance company details and let them establish guilt. The two insurance companies will argue it out between them.

All sorts of things can affect whether or not you are guilty. For examply, one person said after an accident, said 'It was our driver's fault. He was going too slowly in the slow lane.' Hwever, the truck driver collecting the damaged car said, the evidence is the car was hit from the back, so it's automatically the fult of the driver which hit the car in front.

That could compromise your insurance company. You need to check before you speak or judge.

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.