In Reply to: Balinese or bahasa indonesian???? posted by cinta on Tuesday, 18. April 2006 at 21:14 Bali Time:
I get a good reception when I attempt to speak (basic) Balinese but of course it leads to questions asked in Balinese to which I cannot repsond. Keep in mind that there are several levels (roughly five but pragmatically three)of Bahasa Balinese and these are all to do with the "caste" of person to whom you are speaking and the level from which you are approaching eg. villager to official or friend to friend.
Without overcomplicating this issue I would encourage anyone to learn basic polite phrases which any Balinese person would be happy to verse you in. You will be pleasantly surprised at the reactions you get. And it's only a matter of time before you are using a mixture of Bahasa Inglis, Indonesia and Balinese. It all adds to the rich tapestry :)