Gay Life in Indonesia – Nomadic Boys

Gay Life in Indonesia - Nomadic Boys

“OMG you two: careful you don’t get caned for being gay!”

A rather extreme reaction by some of our friends when we told them we’re going to Indonesia, but one we understand.

On the one hand, when it comes to LGBTQ rights in Indonesia, there are none. The government heavily panders to religious extremists and in the ultra-conservative province of Aceh, homosexuality is punishable with up to 100 public lashes with a rattan cane, which also applies to foreigners!

Yet, on the other hand, this is (officially!) a secular country with no anti-gay laws in place (outside of places like Aceh), it has the right to change legal gender (with judicial approval) and don’t forget, this is the home to one of the LGBTQ hotspots in Asia: Bali!

That’s right, this small island in Southeast Indonesia is not only a pink haven in this very conservative country but also a popular gay holiday destination in Asia. When we visited Bali, we met local boy Joko who now lives and works in Bali. Originally from Java Island, Joko moved to Bali for a better life. In this interview about gay life in Indonesia, he tells us more about what it was like for him growing up and the gay scene of Bali. However, Joko has requested that he is kept anonymous for security, much like our article with Kaluu about gay Sri Lanka.

Full Story at The Nomadic Boys

Indonesia Gay Travel Resources

Cruising As a Gay Couple – The Globetrotter Guys

Cruising As a Gay Couple - The Globetrotter Guys

After our last gay cruise with Atlantis Events we sat down and talked about all the different types of people on board and how incredible it was to see everyone be themselves, free from outside judgement. We reached out and asked the community for their own personal experiences on-board the Atlantis gay cruise and had an overwhelming amount of responses.

One response that really stood out was from Jon and Blake from Oregon. They have been on three gay cruises and have seen their relationship develop over time. They shared some incredibly interesting and refreshing insights in our interview below.

To read about other types of people on a gay cruise, head over to ‘Who goes on a gay cruise‘ where we have spoken to everyone from solo travellers, to couples, throuples and groups of friends. Over to Jon and Blake to talk about cruising as an open gay couple:

Cruising as a Gay Couple: An Interview with Jon and Blake

Hi guys, thanks so much for offering to speak with us. Please could you introduce yourselves to our readers.

Hi there, I’m Jon, here with my husband Blake, in Portland, OR by way of NM and AZ. We’ve now been together just over 10 years.

Can you tell us a little about your cruises with Atlantis to date?

We first joined the Atlantis cruise family in 2018, so this was our third consecutive “January cruise.” Our first was as a closed, engaged couple in an 8 year relationship. We went with a group of about 30 friends, and as we were considered a more ‘uptight’ couple, they weren’t sure whether we would come along! By our second cruise, much of that group had decided not to return, though with a few carryovers, friends, and others we had met on the 2018 cruise, our orbit continued to grow. Just a few months prior to the cruise, we had begun discussing the idea of an ‘open’ relationship, in part from exposure to it via coupled friends, and in part, via the 2018 cruise.

By Sion & Ben – Full Story at the Globetrotter Guys