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Destination
Indonesia
Facts at a Glance
Environment
History Economic Profile
Culture
Events
Facts
for the Travellers Money
and Costs When
to Go Warning
Off
the Beaten Track Activities
Getting
There and Away Getting
Around
The islands of the Indonesian archipelago
stretch almost 5000km (3100mi) from the Asian mainland into the
Pacific Ocean. Richly endowed with natural resources and hosting a
phenomenal array of distinct cultures, for centuries they have
been a magnet to Chinese and Indian traders, European colonisers,
proselytising missionaries, wayward adventurers, mining companies,
intrepid travellers and package tourists.
The islands are inhabited by 300 ethnic
groups with distinct cultures, speaking 365 languages and
dialects. Despite the national motto `unity in diversity', these
cultures are under threat from Indonesianisation as the
islands are gradually unified under centralised Javanese rule. The
multicultural concept of strength in difference has been a hard
one to maintain in the face of such geographic and cultural
fragmentation, and the Indonesian government has opted for strong,
centralised and undemocratic rule.
The consolidation of the Indonesian empire
has met with resistance and insurgencies but these have largely
been ignored by the international community. The country was
stable until the recent economic crisis, mainly because political
opposition was repressed and government authority rested squarely
on the foundation of military power. After Suharto's downfall,
second guessing the direction Indonesia would take became every
foreign correspondents' favourite pastime.
Increasing tensions between Muslims and
Christians, ethnic tensions in Kalimantan, and independence
movements in Aceh and Irian Jaya certainly don't augur well for
the new Habibe government but it is the East Timorese situation
which buries any notion of a free and democratic Indonesia. East
Timor's vote for independence lit a match to the inflammatory
emotions of Indonesian nationalism. Patriotic militia went on a
scorched earth rampage around East Timor and the country descended
into chaos and martial law. An ugly brand of jingoism swept across
most of Indonesia and westerners became the brunt of much wounded
pride. This makes it a particularly unattractive travel
destination for most western travellers.
 AdventureMap
of Indonesia Destination
Bali
Destination
BandungDestination
Java
Destination
JakartaDestination
India
Facts at a Glance
Full country name:
Republic of Indonesia
Area: 1,904,000 sq km
Population: 209,774,138 (growth rate 1.6%)
Capital city: Jakarta (pop 9 million)
People: There are 365 ethnic and tribal groups. The
principal ones are Acehnese, Bataks, Minangkabaus (Sumatra);
Javanese, Sundanese (Java); Balinese (Bali); Sasaks (Lombok); and
Dani (Irian Jaya)
Language: Bahasa Indonesia (plus 583 dialects), English
Religion: 87% Muslim, 9% Christian, 2% Hindu
Government: Military-ruled republic
President:Mr Abdurrahman Wahid
Environment
The Indonesian archipelago comprises more than 13,000 islands
and shares borders with Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. Stretching
like a backbone down the western coast of Sumatra is a line of
active and extinct volcanoes. These continue through Java, Bali,
Nusa Tenggara and then loop through the Banda Islands of Maluku to
north-eastern Sulawesi. Under 10% of the total land area is
suitable for farming, while two-thirds consists of woodland,
forests and mangrove swamp (mostly found in Sumatra, Kalimantan,
Sulawesi and Irian Jaya).
Indonesia's rich natural environment encourages a diversity of
flora and fauna. The archipelago is home to elephants, tigers,
leopards and orang-utans. Sea turtles are found in the waters
around Bali and the world's largest flowers - Rafflesias - grow in
Sumatra. The islands of Irian Jaya, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and
Sumatra have national parks, while other parks protect special
areas such as Komodo, home to the Komodo dragon. Rainforests are
disappearing at an alarming rate, especially in Kalimantan where
the mighty dipterocarp forests are being logged ferociously for
their durable tropical hardwoods.
Draped over the equator, Indonesia tends to have a fairly
uniform climate - hot. It's hot and wet during the wet season
(October to April) and hot and dry during the dry season (May to
September). Temperatures climb to about 31°C (88°F) in coastal
regions, dropping further inland. The best time to visit Indonesia
is from April to October.
History
It is generally believed that the earliest inhabitants of the
Indonesian archipelago originated in India or Burma. In 1890,
fossils of Java Man (homo erectus), some 500,000 years old,
were found in east Java. Later migrants (`Malays') came from
southern China and Indochina, and they began populating the
archipelago around 3000 BC. Powerful groups such as the Buddhist
Srivijaya empire and the Hindu Mataram kingdom appeared in Java
and Sumatra towards the end of the 7th century. The last important
kingdom to remain Hindu was the Majapahit, which was founded in
the 13th century. The subsequent spread of Islam into the
archipelago in the 14th century forced the Majapahit's to retreat
to Bali in the 15th century.
By the 15th century, a strong Muslim empire had developed with
its centre at Melaka (Malacca) on the Malay Peninsula. Its
influence was shortlived and it fell to the Portuguese in 1511.
The Dutch displaced the Portuguese and began making inroads into
Indonesia. The Dutch East India Company based in Batavia (Jakarta)
dominated the spice trade and took control of Java by the mid 18th
century, when its power was already in decline. The Dutch took
control in the early 19th century and by the early 20th century,
the entire archipelago - including Aceh and Bali - was under their
control.
Burgeoning nationalism combined with Japanese occupation of the
archipelago during WW II served to weaken Dutch resolve and it
finally transferred sovereignty to the new Indonesian republic in
1949. Achmed Sukarno, the foremost proponent of self-rule since
the early 1920s, became President. In 1957, after a rudderless
period of parliamentary democracy, Sukarno overthrew the
parliament, declared martial law, and initiated a more
authoritarian style of government, which he dubbed `Guided
Democracy'. Sukarno's usurpation of power drew immediate response:
rebellions that broke out in Sumatra and Sulawesi were eventually
crushed in 1958.
Sukarno's consolidation of power did little to alleviate
Indonesia's economic woes. His corrosive vanity led to a number of
grandiose building projects - little more than chimeras of
national rebuilding - which provided sharp contrast to the poverty
of his people. Instability reigned for several years as Sukarno
launched Konfrontasi against Malaysia, withdrew from the
United Nations, and planned to socialise the economy. Events came
to a head in 1965 when an attempted coup, allegedly by Communist
groups, killed several army generals and threatened Sukarno's hold
on power.
General Suharto, who was responsible for brutally quashing the
coup, eventually seized presidential control. In stark contrast to
the turbulent Sukarno years, Suharto sought to address Indonesia's
economic problems, forge national unity, promote openness, and
curb its worst excesses. But the contentious invasion and
annexation of East Timor in 1975, the 1991 Dili massacre in East
Timor, the prevalence of cronyism and nepotism in government and
business and persistent human rights abuses showed that many of
those excesses were still running rampant.
In 1997 and '98 Indonesia's economy took a dramatic downturn -
by January 1998 the rupiah had taken the title of 'world's worst
performing currency', 2.5 million people had lost their jobs and
the International Monetary Fund was imposing austerity measures in
return for sizeable loans. Many Indonesians believed the crisis
was brought on by government nepotism, and a few brave souls
suggested Suharto should quit his post.
The economic downturn coincided with a monsoon that never came
and massive fires that destroyed millions of hectares of
Indonesia's forests. Sulawesi and Kalimantan burned, and virtually
the whole archipelago was choked in thick smoke for weeks as
airports closed, ships at sea collided and residents gasped for
air. The fires were particularly cruel to Indonesia's orang-utan
population, as they wiped out vast reserves and killed an unknown
number of those magnificent animals, putting the species in ever
more danger of extinction in the wild.
In March 1998 the President decided to give himself another
five years in office and appeared to become increasingly out of
touch with the mood of the nation. Food shortages and price rises
implemented under the IMF's economic bailout package sparked
anti-government demonstrations, which peaked in May 1998 after six
students were shot dead by the army. More than 500 people died in
Jakarta in the ensuing riots, and Suharto eventually stood down on
21 May. Attacks on Indonesia's Chinese population were
particularly fierce, and thousands of Chinese fled the country. In
accordance with the Indonesia's constitiution, Suharto was
replaced by his (none-too-popular) vice-president, Jusuf Habibie.
Habibie dabbled his toes in the waters of democracy with a
half-hearted probe into Suharto's comings and goings, a promise of
economic reforms, and an announcement of independence or autonomy
for the beleaguered East Timorese, but opposition forces and
Indonesian students still bristled. In November 1998 the brewing
tensions again boiled over into mass rioting and a series of
bloody confrontations between soldiers and students. Sectarian
violence (particularly intense on the islands of Ambon and
Kalimantan) was thrown into the mix, with Muslims destroying
churches and killing a number of Christians, while Dayaks and
Madurese on Kalimantan turned on each other with horrific
consequences.
East Timor's stubborn refusal to accept anything less than full
independence set a precedent for Indonesia's other satellite
states but the East Timorese payed for their beliefs.
Anti-independent militia groups went on a trigger-happy rampage,
massacring hundreds, after East Timor overwhelmingly voted, in
September 1999, for independence. Habibie appeared paralysed by
the events, the UN and East Timor's Pacific neighbours were
hamstrung by international protocol and the Indonesian army were
tacitly supporting the militia groups. Extra police squads sent in
to protect citizens were so passive they looked complicit.
The deadly gridlock was partially resolved by the deployment of
Australian-led UN troops, who were ferried into East Timor to
protect the citizens of the newly-formed East Timorese state. This
was seen as high-handed western-style imperialism by Indonesian
nationalists who resented Australia's intervention in domestic
affairs. This resentment, however, failed to translate into the
all-out bloody reprisals against Australian troops that had been
protected, despite some skirmishes at the West Timor border.
Things cooled down for a short while but then heated up again
in October 1999 when Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, a moderate Islamic
leader, was elected as Indonesia's first democratically elected
President over the populist candidate, Mrs Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Megawati supporters took to the streets armed with rocks and
molotov cocktails, riot police were called in, bombs exploded and
the country moved back to living on a knife-edge. Tensions between
Indonesia and Australia remain high.
Economic Profile
The collapse of the rupiah has rendered much economic
information obsolete. Things change daily, so check news services
for the latest information.
Annual growth:
-10%
Inflation: 40%
Major products/industries: Oil, gas, textiles, timber,
coffee, rubber, coal, tin, copper, rice, pepper, palm oil
Major trading partners: Japan, USA, Singapore
Culture
Social and religious duty has, over time, been refined to form
a code of behaviour called adat or traditional law. Islam
is the predominant religion of the archipelago but it's somewhat
tempered by elements of Hindu-Buddhism, adat and animism.
In Java, especially, there are hundreds of places where spiritual
energy is thought to be concentrated and can be absorbed by
followers. Despite a lengthy colonial period, missionaries were
only successful in converting small pockets of the Indonesian
population to Christianity - the Bataks of Sumatra, the Toraks of
Sulawesi and 95% of the population of Flores being notable
examples.
Over 300 languages are spoken in the archipelago and most
belong to the Malay-Polynesian group. Within this group, many
regional languages and dialects are spoken. The
lingua franca
of the archipelago is Bahasa Indonesia, which is almost identical
to Malay. It uses a number of foreign words, indicating the long
history of contact Indonesia has had with other cultures. In
recent years, Bahasa Indonesia has been appropriated by teenagers
into a new and trendy vernacular called Bahasa Prokem; it has
proved mostly unintelligible to the older generation.
Batik, the art of applying wax to cloth and then tie-dying in
colourful and dramatic designs, is produced throughout Indonesia,
and the centre of this activity is Yogyakarta in Java. Other craft
forms include: ikat, which is a type of weaving with
tie-dyed threads; songket, a silk cloth with gold or silver
threads woven into it; and kris, artwork often decorated
with jewels. Javanese wayang (puppet) plays and gamelan
(hypnotic music composed mostly of percussive instruments) are
also popular artistic forms.
Many Indonesian dishes are Chinese-influenced, but some, such
as Padang food from Sumatra, are distinctly home-grown. Wherever
you travel in Indonesia you'll see vendors selling snacks such as
potatoes, sweet nuts, biscuits or fruit. Rice is the basis of each
meal, eaten as a soup or with an assortment of hot and spicy side
dishes, salad and pickles. Nasi goreng (fried rice) is the
most common dish, while sate (skewered meats with a spicy
peanut sauce), gado-gado (bean sprouts and vegies in peanut
sauce) and seafood are also popular. The variety of tropical
fruits grown would make a greengrocer swoon. They include custard
apples, durians, guavas, jackfruits, mangoes, papayas, starfruits
and rambutans.
Events
With such a multiplicity of ethnic groups, Indonesia has,
unsurprisingly, a surfeit of cultural events throughout the year.
On Sumba, mock battles that hark back to the era of
internecine warfare are held in February and March. The day before
Balinese Caka New Year (March-April) temple icons are taken
to the sea to be bathed and drummers drive evil spirits back to
the spirit world. During the Balinese festival of Galungan
(moving dates) even the gods descend to earth and join in the
revelry. There's a dramatic Easter Parade on the island of
Larantuka, whip duels in Ruteng, Flores in August and Torajan
funereal feasts are held in central Sulawesi, mainly between
August and October. As most Indonesians are Muslim, many festivals
are affected by the lunar calendar; dates are subsequently pushed
back 10 or 11 days each year.
Facts for the Traveller
Visas: 60-day stay without visa
Health risks:
Dengue fever, giardiasis, hepatitis, Japanese encephalitis,
malaria, paratyphoid, rabies, typhoid
Time: There are three time zones: Sumatra, Java and West
& Central Kalimantan are seven hours ahead of UTC; Bali, Nusa
Tenggara, South & East Kalimantan and Sulawesi are eight hours
ahead of UTC; and Irian Jaya and Maluku are nine hours ahead of
UTC
Electricity: 220V, 50 Hz
Weights & Measures: Metric (see the conversion
table.)
Tourism: 4 million visitors per year
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Money & Costs
Currency: Rupiah (rp)
Relative costs: Things are in flux because of Indonesia's
economic meltdown and the imposition of IMF economic reforms. Any
list of relative costs would be no more than a wild guess, but
rest assured that if you have US dollars they'll go a long way.
Travellers cheques and cash (preferably US dollars) are the way
to go in Indonesia. Credit cards are accepted by expensive hotels,
restaurants and shops, but not for day-to-day expenses. In major
centres, you can always find a bank that will advance cash on Visa
or MasterCard. Credit card advances through ATMs are possible, but
limited.
Tipping is not a normal practice in Indonesia but is often
expected for special service. Someone who carries your bag or
guides you around a tourist attraction will expect a tip. Jakarta
taxi drivers expect you to round the fare up to the next 500 rp.
Hotel porters expect a few hundred rupiah per bag.
Many everyday purchases normally require bargaining but in the
current economic turmoil you'd do well to look to your conscience
before applying this too stringently. Tourism has taken a severe
downturn in most parts of the archipelago and, despite price
hikes, hotel rooms are liable to be discounted.
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When to Go
Though travel in the wet season is possible in most parts of
Indonesia, it can be a deterrent to some activities and travel on
mud-clogged roads in less developed areas is difficult. In
general, the best time to visit is in the dry season between May
and October.
The Christmas holiday period beings a wave of migratory
Australians and there's an even bigger tourist wave during the
European summer holidays. The main Indonesian holiday period is
the end of Ramadan, when some resorts are packed to overflowing
and prices skyrocket.
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Warning
Visiting Indonesia anywhere in the near future is just not a good
idea. The Australian Embassy has advised against travel to East
Timor, has pulled out all remaining personnel and there is a
steady flow of refugees out of the country. West Timor is slightly
safer but westerners (particularly Australians) have been the
target of strong criticism from Indonesian citizens. Although
there are no formal restrictions to travel in the rest of
Indonesia, the mood is ugly everywhere; nationalists see
Australian and UN intervention in East Timor as unwarranted
imperialist meddling in Indonesian internal affairs. There is
strong potential for the ugly mood to turn violent. Other trouble
spots such as Ambon and West Kalimantan are also subject to
sporadic violence.
Although traditional tourist spots such as Bali remain
relatively calm and unaffected by the troubles to the east,
humanitarian organisations have called for trade sanctions against
all Indonesian products and businesses, including tourism.
Elsewhere within the Indonesian archipelago, separatist
guerrillas fighting for an independent Irian Jaya kidnapped 11
people, including six European expatriates, in January 1996 in
Irian Jaya's Snow Mountains and held them hostage for four months.
The Free Papua Movement's campaign for independence has been
continuing for almost 30 years, but this was the first time
expatriates were targeted. Tensions are also high in the Freeport
mining area in Irian Jaya. Ethnic tensions have also flared in
Kalimantan between Dayaks and Madurese trans-migrants; there have
been reports of headhunting, cannibalism and other communal
violence. Aceh, in northern Sumatra, has also been rocked by civil
strife as massacres under military rule have been uncovered and
the local independence movement gathers steam.
Travellers to Indonesia, as well as resident Australians, are
advised to keep themselves well informed of future developments
and to assess the situation on a daily basis. Places to keep
abreast include US Department
of State, British
Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Australian
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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Off the Beaten Track
Komodo & Rinca
These two small islands sandwiched between Flores and Sumbawa in
eastern Nusa Tenggara are famous for their four-legged inhabitants
- the ponderous Komodo dragons. The lizards can be quite fierce,
and range from 20gm (0.7oz) pipsqueaks to 130kg (287lb) monsters.
Non-squeamish visitors can watch organised feeding frenzies and
join dragon-spotting treks on Komodo, but these can feel a bit
stage-managed and gory. For a more do-it-yourself alternative,
head for Rinca where there are no established feeding places so
spotting monitors is more a matter of luck. Komodo is a hilly
desolate island, but Rinca's wildlife is fairly abundant - there
are several monkey colonies, wild water buffalo, deer, bush
turkeys and eagles. Ferries run to Komodo from Sape in Sumbawa and
Labhuanbajo in Flores. To reach Rinca, you'll need to charter a
boat.
Flores
The villages of Nggela, Wolojita and Jopu on the
island of Flores are renowned for their beautiful ikat
sarongs and shawls. The traditional whaling village of Lamalera
on Lembata in the Solor and Alor archipelago east of Flores is a
fascinating place to poke around the boatsheds and watch men
making harpoons. The villagers are subsistence whalers and are
therefore exempt from international whaling bans.
Keli Mutu's tri-coloured lakes are Nusa Tenggara's most
fantastic attraction. The waters in the three volcanic craters
have a curious habit of changing colour - most recently they were
turquoise, olive and black, but a few years ago they were
green-blue, maroon and black. No-one has managed to explain the
cause of the colours or why they change, except to suppose that
different minerals are dissolved in each lake. Local legend has it
that the souls of the dead go to the lakes. Young people's souls
supposedly go to the warmth of the green lake, old people to the
milky turquoise one, and those of thieves and murderers to the
black lake.
The only time to be sure of seeing the lakes from the 1600m
(5248ft) high rim of the volcanic crater is at dawn before the
clouds come down. Visitors negotiating the 13km (8mi) track from
the nearby village of Moni can either walk, catch a ride on a
truck or hire a jeep. If you're tempted by the horses for rent,
check their health and make sure they come with saddles.
Sulawesi
Most travellers head to the beautiful rugged hill country of Tanatoraja
in central and southern Sulawesi, and the small town of Rantepao
pulls in many of them. The rice-farming, pig-breeding,
water-buffalo-loving Toraja who inhabit this region have become
the focus of tourist attention thanks to their elaborate
ceremonies, burial sites and traditional houses.
Of all the Torajan ceremonies, the most important are those
concerned with sending a dead person to the afterworld. Without
proper funeral rites, the spirit of the deceased will cause
misfortune to its family. Funerals can be spread out over several
days and involve hundreds of guests and the sacrifice of scores of
buffalo. Feasting, dancing and singing may be supplemented by
cock-fighting, sisemba (kick-fighting) and even buffalo fights in
which the bulls, rightly agitated by the insertion of chilli up
their behind, lock horns and strain against each other.
If you are invited to a ceremony, be sure to dress
respectfully, bring gifts to hand around and don't sit in areas
designated for guests or family members. Taking photographs is
acceptable, but do it with restraint. The best time to visit
Rantepao is between March and May, though most funeral ceremonies
are held in the `party season' lasting from July to September.
July and August is the high season and hotel prices skyrocket.
The prosperous town of Manado, in northern Sulawesi, is
renowned as the gateway to the stunning coral reefs off nearby Pulau
Bunaken. There's plenty of comfortable but basic accommodation
on Pulau Bunaken and a number of low-key dive operators run
services, though all the high-profile dive resorts are on the
Sulawesi mainland. Much of the coral that once grew in Bunaken's
shallow water has tragically been decimated by careless boat
traffic, but the nearest drop-offs are within swimming distance of
shore and remain unscathed.
You can hire dugout canoes or small motor boats to reach more
isolated reefs around the nearby islands of Manado Tua, Pulau
Siladen and Pulau Mantehage. A daily ferry connects
Manado with Pulau Bunaken. Thankfully all the excitement isn't
offshore since Manado has a fascinating
Indonesian-Philippines-Southern Californian hybrid culture, some
very interesting local food (anyone for fried forest rat?) and
spectacular volcanoes.
Kalimantan
If you're expecting to see half-naked, heavily tatooed Dayaks
striding down the streets of Balikpapan or Pontianak, you'll be
disappointed, because your first impressions of Kalimantan, which
occupies the southern two-thirds of the island of Borneo, are
likely to be of oil refineries and timber mills. Timber and mining
interests have penetrated deep into the jungles, bulldozing and
chainsawing at an alarming rate, fouling rivers and leaving
indigenous cultures reeling from the social and economic
intrusions of the 20th century.
The popular images of Borneo stem from the exaggerated accounts
of early European explorers, though the stories surrounding
Kalimantan's inland Dayak villages are indeed the stuff of legend
- tattooed head-hunters, `lost' tribes and exotic wildlife. Samarinda
is the best starting point for fascinating longboat river trips to
villages such as Tanjung Isuy, Muara Muntai, Melak (with
its 5000-acre orchid forest) and Long Iram, though
unfortunately in some tourist precincts packs of visitors in
search of an `authentic' Dayak experience pay by the hour to see
the `primitive cultures'. Tanjung Puting National Park, in
central Kalimantan, is home to a vast variety of flora and fauna,
including crocodiles, bear cats, orang-utan, monkeys and dolphins.
The equatorial river city of Pontianak, in west
Kalimantan, is best seen at sunset, when its backlit houseboats
and sweeping river vistas make Balinese sunsets look pathetic.
Make use of the canals to explore the city and soak up its
Chinese-Indonesian atmosphere. In the evening, young men crowd the
wobbly wooden boardwalks along the south bank of the river to fly
huge paper kites. Highlights include the wooden Mesji
Abdurrakham royal mosque and the Javanese and Sulawesi-style
schooners in Pinisi Harbour. Pasir Panjang's
pristine beaches are close by, and the city is a great starting
point for boat trips up the Kapuas.
Maluku
The thousand islands of Maluku (formerly the Moluccas) were
the fabled spice islands of history, which attracted Indian,
Chinese, Arab and later European traders, who came in search of
the cloves, nutmeg and mace which grew here and nowhere else.
Today these islands, sprawled across a vast area of ocean, offer
tropical scenery with a Polynesian feel, exotic bird life, old
forts, lovely villages and beaches, good snorkelling and diving,
and no touts or pollution. Most visitors used to head for Ambon,
the Bandas and Ternate, all stepping-off points for
a swarm of tiny islands far from the tourist trail. But Ambon was
rocked by communal violence in 1998 and 1999, tens of thousands of
refugees have fled and it has fallen off the traveller's circuit.
You'll need at least five weeks to explore the islands in any
depth if you travel by boat; a minimum of three weeks if you
intend to fly. It's really best not to come here at all unless you
throw away your watch before arriving.
Irian Jaya
Irian Jaya is one of the world's last wilderness areas. Sharing
its landmass with Papua New Guinea to the east, its people - the
Papuans - are culturally and ethnically related to the Papua New
Guineans and are similar to the Melanesians of the South Pacific.
They live in some of the most rugged terrain on earth - from
snowcapped mountains to mangrove swamps - in a region which offers
fantastic jungle scenery, equatorial glaciers, abundant bird and
animal life and great trekking opportunities. Highlights include
the Baliem Valley with its unique culture and numerous
treks; Sentani for boat trips around the magnificent
Sentani Lake; and Kota Biak for access to dive sites. Don't
underestimate the size of Irian Jaya and the amount of time and
money it will take to get around; there are no roads between major
towns and boats are slow and irregular, so flying is often the
only option. Incorporation into Indonesia, transmigration, and
insensitive logging and mining have inflamed indigenous Papuans: a
guerrilla force has been fighting for a Free Papua for well nigh
30 years - see the warning
and be aware that permits from local police stations are required
for travel to many areas.
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Activities
There is good diving and snorkelling off Bali
(Nusa Dua, Sanur, Padangbai), between Komodo and Labuhanbajo in
Flores, around the Banda Islands and off Pulau Biak off the north
coast of Irian Jaya. The sea gardens of Sulawesi, particularly
around Manado, are legendary. Renowned surf spots include
Ulu Watu in Bali, Grajagan in Java and Nias off Sumatra, but there
is surf along the southern coast of virtually all the islands in
Nusa Tenggara. Windsurfing enthusiasts are well catered for
in the southern resorts of Bali. Rafting is a new activity
now offered on Bali's Ayung River.
Sumatra has good jungle treks, particularly in Gunung
Leuser National Park. Berastagi and Bukit Lawang are also popular
trekking centres in Sumatra. More adventurous jungle trekking
opportunities are available in Kalimantan and Irian Jaya. For
those who want to reach for the skies, Mt Bromo in Java and Agung
in Bali are day climbs; Gunung Rinjani, the volcano that dominates
Lombok, is a strenuous but worthwhile three-day jaunt.
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Getting There & Away
The principal gateways for entry to Indonesia are Jakarta and
Bali. Jakarta is serviced by more airlines but, thanks to its huge
tourist trade, Bali gets almost as much traffic. New Merpati
flights from Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory to Ambon
(Maluku), Ujung Pandang (Sulawesi) and Biak (Irian Jaya) have
opened up eastern Indonesia to travellers departing Australia.
Airport tax on international flights varies between airports:
US$9.70 from Jakarta; US$9.25 from Denpasar; and US$6.90 from most
other airports. The only open land crossing is at Entikong,
between Kalimantan and Sarawak. Visas are not required and a
60-day visa pass is issued on the spot. Most sea connections are
on comfortable high-speed ferries running between Malaysia and
Sumatra, though there is also a service between Manado in northern
Sulawesi and Davao in the Philipinnes.
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Getting Around
Indonesia has a variety of airlines servicing domestic routes
including Garuda, Mandala, Merpati and Bouraq. Each airline
publishes a nationwide timetable which can be obtained from their
respective head offices in Jakarta. On more popular routes, book
well in advance, especially in the peak tourist season around July
and August. Airport tax on domestic flights is usually between
US$2.50 and US$4.
Indonesia's main roads are generally excellent surfaced
highways, though overland travel may be hampered by the IMF's
insistence that the government remove price subsidies on petrol.
Bus departures used to be frequent and most buses were
air-conditioned and equipped with video - expect standards to fall
during the current economic turmoil. Rail travel is restricted
solely to Java and Sumatra. Indonesia's trains are pretty much a
mixed bag: slow, miserable and cheap or comfortable and expensive.
It's advisable to buy train tickets a day in advance to assure a
seat. Cars, motorbikes and bicycles can be rented in the main
cities and tourist centres. There are regular ferries between the
various islands. Kalimantan has an undeveloped road system and
internal transport is primarily by river or by air.
Local transport includes the ubiquitous bemo (pick-up
trucks with rows of seats along each side), opelets
(minibuses), bajaj (auto rickshaws), becaks (bicycle
rickshaws) and dokars (horse-drawn carts); most are
ridiculously cheap. Many towns have taxis, but agree on a fare in
advance.
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