I spent a summer in Sumatra a decade ago. Western ex-pats warned me that after a while a native male friend would hold my hand, but that it was merely a sign t

I spent a summer in Sumatra a decade ago. Western ex-pats warned me that after a while a native male friend would hold my hand, but that it was merely a sign that we were now friends. (I am male.) It indeed happened and I was happy to have had the prior explanation or it could have been quite confusing!