Indonesia Environment

Cultural tourism

Indonesia consists of at least 300 ethnic groups, spread over a 1.8 million km² area of 6,000 inhabited islands.This creates a cultural diversity, further compounded by Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and European colonialist influences.

From the 3^rd century until the 13^th century, Hinduism and Buddhism shaped the culture of Indonesia. The best-preserved Buddhist shrine, which was built during the Sailendra dynasty in the 8th century, is Borobudur temple in Central Java. A few kilometers to the southeast is the Prambanan complex, a Hindu temple built during the second Mataram dynasty. Both the Borobudur and the Prambanan temple compounds have been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1991. In Bali, where most Hindus live, cultural festivals are major attractions to foreign tourists.

Islam has also contributed greatly to the cultural society in Indonesia. As of 2006, about 88% of Indonesians are Moslem. Islamic culture is prominent in Sumatra, and a few of the remaining sultanate palaces can be seen in Medan and Pekanbaru.

Despite foreign influences, a diverse array of indigenous traditional cultures is still evident in Indonesia. The indigenous ethnic group of Toraja in South Sulawesi, which still has strong animistic beliefs, offers a unique cultural tradition, especially during funeral rituals. The Minangkabau ethic group retain a unique matrilineal culture, despite being devoted Muslims. Other indigenous ethnic groups include the Asmat and Dani in Papua, Dayak in Kalimantan and Mentawai in Sumatra, where traditional rituals are still observed.

A discussion of cultural tourism is not complete without a mention of Yogyakarta, a special province in Indonesia known as a centre of classical Javanese fine art and culture. The rise and fall of Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic kingdoms in Central Java has transformed Yogyakarta into a melting pot of Indonesian culture.

Accommodation

The standards and types of accommodation available to the tourist varies from 5 star hotels to basic beach huts, with something to suit every taste and budget. Most large cities and tourist resorts have a selection of hotels, but the predominant form of accommodation is the family run hostel which can be found wherever there are budget travellers.These losmen provide not only accommodation, but often also will offer food and information for the traveller. In very remote villages, it might be necessary to discuss accommodation requirements with the village head. In Ubud, and elsewhere in Bali, many guest houses have been set up using the traditional family compound as their setting.

Food in Indonesia

The variety of cultures in Indonesia is reflected in the wide range of foods in the nation. Since the 15th century, many European traders have visited the archipelago to buy different kinds of spices, including pepper and mace. In modern times, many cultures and countries have influenced the cuisine of Indonesia, such as Western culture and Asian culture. Many claim that this diversity has resulted in one of the most unique cuisines in the world.

Rice is Indonesia's most important staple food. The rice is usually served with a side dish, such as chicken, meats and vegetables. Although the meals are generally simple, the plentiful use of various roots, spices, grasses, and leaves adds flavour to most dishes. Other main meals, such as potato, noodles, soybeans and wheat are common. The most common method for preparing food is frying, though grilling, simmering, steaming and stewing are also used.

Indonesian cuisine is also influenced by Western culture. The most obvious example is the presence of fast food companies in Indonesia, such as McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut.

International airports

Each of the larger Indonesian islands, have at least one international airport. The biggest airport in Indonesia, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, is located in Tangerang Regency, Banten. There are four more international airports on Java, Adisumarmo International Airport in Central Java, Juanda International Airport in East Java, Achmad Yani International Airport in Central Java and Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta. On Kalimantan there is one international airport and there are two on Sumatra. Bali, which is part of the Nusa Tenggara Islands, has the Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Get around

By plane

The only rapid means of long-distance travel within Indonesia is the plane. The largest domestic carriers are state-owned Garuda and private competitor Lion Air, but in recent years a host of low-cost competitors have sprung up, including Adam Air, Indonesia Air Asia (formerly AWAIR), Air Efata, Batavia Air, Mandala and many more. Routes for less popular destinations and routes (particularly in eastern Indonesia) are served by Garuda's little buddy Merpati, memorably summarized as "It's Merpati and I'll fly if I want to", AirFast, Sriwijaya, Jatayu and more, often flying smaller planes. If you really get off the beaten track, eg. settlements in Papua, there are no scheduled services at all and you'll need to charter a plane or hitch rides with missionaries.

Prices are low by international standards, with more or less any domestic return flight available for under US$100 even on short notice, and fares for a fraction of that if you plan ahead. When traveling off the beaten track, it's imperative to reconfirm early and often. Make sure you arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before the departure time.

By boat

Indonesia is all islands and consequently ferries have long been the most popular means of inter island travel. The largest company is PELNI, which visits practically every inhabited island in Indonesia.

By train

PT Kereta Api runs trains across most of Java and some parts of Sumatra. The network was originally built by the Dutch, and few new lines have been built since the Independence. Double-tracking of the most congested lines have been done, though, and is still ongoing.

Java by far has the best railway network, with trains connecting the capital city of Jakarta with other main cities, i.e. Surabaya both via Semarang on the north coast and via Yogyakarta and Solo through the southern main line. Bandung is connected to Jakarta by some 30 trains per day, and is itself connected to Surabaya through Yogyakarta. Bali has no railway lines, but there are trains from Surabaya to Banyuwangi, connecting with ferries to the island.

Sumatra's networks are concentrated on the northern (around Medan) and the southern (Lampung to Palembang) parts of the island. Passenger trains on the island are much less frequent than in Java.

Type of service: 1. Air-conditioned Executive class 2. Bisnis 3. Ekonomi classes are also available for the more budget-conscious traveler, but comfort and safety are noticeably less (due to congestion and length of travel time).

No sleeping car service is provided in Indonesia, and the best accommodation provided is air-conditioned, adjustable reclining seats in the Argo and other executive class trains.

Ticket reservations can be made one month in advance, although generally tickets will still be available almost to the last minute. An exception is the very busy Lebaran season, in which time it is not advisable to travel due to the extremely high demand for tickets. No on-line ticket reservation is available, but availability can be gleaned on PT Kereta Api's ticketing site.

By bus

The major types of buses are air-conditioned bus (AC) and non-air-conditioned bus (non-AC or "economy class"). The air-conditioned chartered buses can be rented with its drivers for a tourist group. Indonesian bus companies offer intercity and interprovince routes. The interprovince routes usually include transportation to other islands mainly between Java and Sumatra.

By car

That said, renting a car in Indonesia is cheap compared to renting in other country, and despite recent fare hikes gas remains cheap (fixed price for gasoline is Rp 4500/litre and price of diesel fuel is Rp 4300/litre). To drive a car yourself, an International Driver Permit is required, but it is strongly recommended that you consider renting a car with driver, because the additional cost is quite low .Traffic moves on the left in Indonesia.

By becak

Becak is a tricycle (pedicab) transportation mode for short distances such as residential areas in many cities. In some areas, the driver is sitting at the back of the passenger, but in some areas (like Medan) the driver is sitting on the side of the passenger. Good communication skills is integral to prevent getting overcharged on these rides. Note that there are no becak in Jakarta. Instead, the motorized bajaj), somewhat similar to the Thai tuk-tuk, serves the same function. In some other provinces (eg. North Sumatra, Aceh) you can also find motorbikes with sidecars, known as bentor (short for becak bermotor).

By ojek

If you're in such a hurry that you're willing to lose a limb to get there, then ojek motorcycle taxis might be the ticket for you. Ojek services consist of guys with bikes lounging around street corners, perhaps identified with a colored, numbered jacket, who usually shuttle short distances down alleys and roads but will also do longer trips for a price

Talk

The sole official language is Indonesian, known as Bahasa Indonesia. It's based on the dialect of Malay spoken in the Riau Islands and Malay speakers will pick it up very quickly, the main differences being in loanwords — Indonesian borrowed from Arabic, Dutch, Sanskrit, while Malay's loans are mostly from English. The language went through a series of spelling reforms in the 1950s and 60s to smoothe over differences with Malay and expunge its Dutch roots. Although the reforms are long complete, you may still see old signs with dj for j, j for y, or oe for u.

Many educated Indonesians understand and are able to speak English. While Indonesian is the lingua franca throughout the archipelago, there are thousands of local languages as well, and if you really get off the beaten track you may have to learn them as well.

Most educated seniors (65 years/older) in Indonesia understand Dutch.

Educated Indonesians who graduated from Islamic Religious Institutes/Islamic Universities understand and are able to speak Arabic.

English language TV channels are available on most hotels. MetroTV (local TV channel) broadcasts news in Chinese from Monday to Friday at 07.00 AM. MetroTV also broacasts news in English from Monday to Friday at 07.30 AM. TVRI (state owned TV station) broadcasts news in English from Monday to Friday at 04.30 PM in the afternoon. All schedules are in Waktu Indonesia Barat (WIB).

Buy

Indonesia's currency is the rupiah (IDR), abbreviated Rp. The rupiah's value plummeted during the 1997 economic crisis and has slowly drifted downward ever since, and as of 2006 you need more than Rp 9,000 to buy one US dollar. The trailing three zeros are often abbreviated with rb (ribu, thousand) or even dropped completely, and for more expensive items you will often even see jt (juta, million).

The largest banknote is Rp 100,000, which may only be US$10 but is still inconveniently large for most purchases. Next in the series are Rp 50,000, Rp 20,000, Rp 10,000, Rp 5,000 and finally Rp 1,000. Bill size is the easiest way to distinguish them, as the designs — all pale pastel shades of yellow, green and brown — are confusingly similar and the smaller bills in particular are often filthy and mangled. A chronic shortage of small change has been to some extent alleviated by a new flood of plasticky aluminum coins, available in denominations of Rp 500, Rp 200, Rp 100, Rp 50 and the thoroughly useless Rp 25. Older golden metallic versions are also still floating around, and you may occasionally even run into a sub-1000 banknote. Bills printed in 1992 or earlier are no longer in circulation, but can be exchanged at banks.

US dollars are the second currency of Indonesia and will be accepted by anyone in a pinch, but are typically used as an investment and for larger purchases, not buying a bowl of noodles on the street. Many hotels quote rates in dollars, but all accept payment in rupiah.

ATMs

ATMs are common in the larger cities on the islands of Java, Bali and Lombok and are generally reliable. They are non-existent on most other islands.

Credit Cards

Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted, but American Express can be problematic. At smaller operations, surcharges of 2-5% over cash are common.

Costs

Living in Indonesia is cheap — as long as you're willing to live like an Indonesian. For example, Rp 10,000 (~$1) will get you a meal on the street, two packets of kretek cigarettes, three kilometers in a taxi or three bottles of water. But as a tourist it's absolutely necessary to chaffer a minimum of 50%-70% off the initial price, otherwise you will spend your money quick.

Fancy restaurants, hotels and the like will often slap on a 10% service charge plus 6-11% tax. This may be denoted with "++" after the price or just written in tiny print on the bottom of the menu