One of the worst things that could possibly happen on your trip to Indonesia is that you walk hand in hand with a ladyboy back to your hotel – believing that she’s actually a girl, not even asking yourself that question: “Could it be that…?”.

I know that a lot of newbies here go by the rule:

If she’s too hot to be a woman, she probably isn’t one.

But seriously that’s not just stupid as you will probably miss out on a lot of chances to sleep with a wonderful and exotic Asian girl, but it’s also not that difficult at all to spot the difference between an Indonesian girl and a shemale.

You are probably reading this post because you are in Bali right now (or planning your trip there), and that’s a good decision as Bali has by far the highest number of ladyboys in all of Indonesia.

Sure, Jakarta is the other hot spot, but it’s not as likely that you meet them in the bars and clubs there as they are usually not allowed to enter, different to Bali that also has many more “curious” first timers to Indonesia (or Asia altogether) so they know they have better chances to hook up with someone there.

So no matter if you want to avoid the ladyboys in Indonesia or actually meet and have sex with them, you should know the easiest and most useful tricks to tell if she’s a lady or a ladyboy:

Method 1 – The Ring Finger

The method that works in 99% of the cases is the good old finger trick: When you’re chatting with her in the bar (or wherever) try to inconspicuously take a look at her ring finger and compare it with her index finger. The ring fingers of women are almost always a little shorter than their index fingers. And for us guys it’s the other way around – our ring fingers are usually longer than our index fingers.

I don’t really need to use this technique anymore as I have enough experience to tell by observing their voice and behavior (see below), but if this is your first time here then this is my number one recommendation for you to go with.

Method 2 – The Adam’s Apple

The other body characteristic you can look out for is the Adam’s apple – does she have one or not? You might think that’s an easy question to answer, but you’d be surprised how many ladyboys in Indonesia have undergone a medical surgery to reduce their Adam’s apple (known as Chondrolaryngoplasty). And even if they haven’t, the size of the “apple” differentiates from person to person, and if someone has a naturally smaller one they can use makeup to hide it somewhat.

You hear a lot of people recommending this method, but due to surgeries and makeup it’s not nearly as reliable as it once was, so I recommend you to focus on the other tips described here.

Method 3 – The Voice

Girls have higher voices than guys, and of course this also holds true in Indonesia. But you still need at least some experience here to really be able to tell if she’s a girl or not, because a lot of ladyboys are very good in altering their voice when they talk with foreigners. That’s sometimes really funny when you hear them talking with their friends using their lower, masculine type of voice and then turning to you and sounding like the sweetest doll of the island.

So that’s really a more advanced technique and not that suitable for beginners, but it’s always good to be aware of it or to use it as a double-check method.

Method 4 – The Behavior

Indonesian ladyboys are much more confident in the way they talk and deal with other people. Sure, a lot of freelancers in the clubs or on the streets also tend to make the first move, but the transgenders wouldn’t usually stop if you ignore them first or say “no, thank you”, they would continue looking at you, trying to talk to you again and again, run after you or even firmly grab your arm.

If she’s a little too confident in her approach or even somewhat aggressive, then you don’t just know her gender, but also have a sign to better stay away from her – unless you want her to grab your dick in a similar firm way she grabbed your arm.

Method 5 – Ask her

I know that might not always be the sweetest thing to do and could also ruin the whole chemistry, but if you are still unsure after using the four methods described above, just ask her to make sure she is what you think she is. There’s no need to be shy about that, the ladyboys know that most foreigners are unsure in this issue (and the girls know that too), so they won’t bite you for politely asking with a smile: “I’m sorry, I don’t want to offend you, but I heard there are many ladyboys here, and I’m really not sure… are you a ladyboy?”.

Every newbie here has his trouble with this “girl or ladyboy” thing, but if you use my 5 methods above, it’s really not that hard at all – especially if you just dare to ask her nicely.

And in case that all still doesn’t work for you, or you simply don’t find any ladyboys to meet up with (this isn’t Thailand or the Philippines after all), you can always go on one of the popular ladyboy dating sites.