Any Travels

Indonesia is composed of seventeen thousand islands that stretch over five thousand miles along the equator. The Malay peninsula and Indochina are situated to the north-west, and the continent of Australia lies due south. Northward lie the Philippines and Micronesia.

The world's largest archipelago, Indonesia's constellation of islands straddles the divide between the Asian and Australian continental plates. As a result, the islands offer a stunning variety of topographies and ecologies Mist-shrouded volcanoes and mountains, unexplored rain forests, thousands of miles of beaches, and endless offshore reefs support a dazzling abundance of wildlife, making Indonesia an ideal destination for adventure and eco-travel.

The great majority of the country's constituent islands are of negligible size, but it does hold--wholly or in part--several islands that are enormous. These include Sumatra, Kalimantan (formerly Borneo, and shared with Malaysia), Sulawesi, and Java. The Indonesian state of Irian Jaya occupies the western half of New Guinea, which is the world's second largest island (behind Greenland). The most populous of the Indonesian islands by far is Java, home to the sprawling capital city of Jakarta. Other notable islands include the exotic, popular resort island of Bali, Lombok, Catholic Flores, and Komodo, home of dragons.

There are two discernible seasons in Indonesia: the dry season, which extends from June to October, and the rainy season, which lasts from November to March. Both are hot. The coastal regions, however, are often cool, and in the mountains the air is often chilly.

Sumatra
Indonesia's largest and least developed province, Sumatra rests along the equator, heavily forested and rich in rare wildlife. The island's slow development has made it ideal for eco-tourism, and numerous large reserves and preservation areas have been set aside. Its most famous park, Mount Leuser National Park, is one of the last refuges of the Sumatra Orang-Utan.

Another distinguished park is the Berbak Wildlife Reserve, which has one of Indonesia's largest tiger populations. In the far north of the island is Lake Toba, an enormous and extraordinarily beautiful crater lake.

A particularly enthralling adventure experience in Sumatra takes place on the Alas River, which winds its across North Sumatra through jungle, limestone gorges, and native villages. The voyage begins in the Karo Highlands and culminates with the Indian Ocean: a descent ten times that of the Grand Canyon's Colorado River.

Bali
Bali is so picturesque that you could be fooled into thinking it was a painted backdrop: rice paddies trip down hillsides like giant steps, volcanoes soar through the clouds, the forests are lush and tropical, and the beaches are lapped by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.

But the paradise gloss has been manufactured and polished by the international tourist industry rather than by the Balinese themselves - who don't even have a word for paradise in their language - and it pays scant regard to the political and economic reality of life on Bali.

Jakarta
Huge, international, and a cultural hub, Jakarta has long been a meeting place of cultures. At various times throughout history, it has been ruled by Hindus, Muslims, Portugeuse, Dutch and Japanese. It is the gateway to Indonesia and holds the special status of a provice, similar to Mexico City or Washington, D.C.

So many cultures have passed through Jakarta, that it is no surprise that some of them would leave a few things behind, especially the Dutch. Consequently, no place in the world has a finer collection of old sailing ships. The ships can be found in an area known as Sunda Kelapa, the old Dutch port. In addition to a variety of well-preserved colonial vessels, there are also splendid examples of native Buginese ships.

Lombok
Less developed than Bali, Lombok has better beaches, a bigger volcano and a greater variety of landscapes. Tourism is less intrusive than on Bali, but the flip-side is that many Lombokians are less blase about tourists: in some places you might find the residents quite resentful of the industry.

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, east of Flores, is a fascinating place to poke around the boatsheds and watch whaling crafts.

Kelimutu'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. Local legend has it that the souls of the dead go to the lakes. Which colour lake you go to depends on your conduct during your life.

Kalimantan
If you're expecting to see half-naked, heavily tatooed Dayaks striding down the streets of Balikpapan or Pontianak, you'll be disappointed. 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.

The popular images of Borneo stem from the exaggerated accounts of early European explorers. 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 these modern world intrusions.

Sulawesi
With four huge peninsulas stretching out haphazardly into the South Pacific, Sulawesi's infamous shape has often been compared to that of a spider or an amoeba. The island lies just east of Kalimantan and north of Bali.

The island is divided into two regions, north and south, with its key city, Unjung Padang, situated on the island's southwestern leg. North Sulawesi and its [link]Bunaken Marine Park[link] is best known as Indonesia's mecca for divers and snorklers, while South Sulawesi harbors two of the country's most interesting cultures. In the far south, in and around Ujang Padang, are the Bugi people, long reknowned for their seafaring skills. Evidence of their influence has been found as far as Australia, where they had contact with the Aborigines. When the Portugeuse, British, Spanish, and Dutch came, the daring Bugis would often attack the huge colonial vessels on the open sea.

South Sulawesi is also home to the Toraja people, who live in a picturesque, mountainous region called Tana Toraja, or Toraja Land. At the center of Toraja culture is a fascinating and complex belief system surrounding death and the afterlife. Death is an elaborate affair, and the prolonged funerals are a major interest to visitors, who can attend the ceremonies but should show the same respect that they would for their own. The funerals typically involve feasting, buffalo sacrifice, dancing and martial arts, culminating with a procession that carries the coffin to its final resting place in one of the many caves on the surrounding cliffs, which are guarded by rock statues.

The Toraja's are equally famous for their houses, which are called Tongkonan, or Family Houses. The houses are built on stilts, and each end rises like the horns of a buffalo, with the points always facing north and south.

Java
The central link in the archepelagic chain that begins with Sumatra and ends with the scattering of small islands east of Bali, Java is often referred to as the heart of Indonesia. It is the historical center of Bhuddhist and Hindu culture and home to the nation's sprawling capital city, Jakarta.

Java's three main regions are simply East, Central, and West Java, and the island's many roads and public transports make it easy to navigate. Though Jakarta is the most visited destination in the west, there are also major natural attractions, such as Mount Gede-Pangrango National Park. In Central Java, the seat of major dynasties throughout Indonesian history, are the cultural wonders of the Prambanan temple complex and the magnificent Borobudur Temple. Central Java is also the home of Indonesia's famous shadow puppet dances, or wayang kulit, and the craftwork center of Yogyakarta Finally, there is East Java, where travellers encounter some of the Indonesia's most extraordinary national parks, including the wildly spectacular Bromo-Tengger.

Culture

Indonesia comprises a range of diverse societies and cultures. However, mass education, mass media and a policy of government-orchestrated nationalism have created a definite Indonesian national culture, with Bahasa Indonesia as its medium. Its distinctive cuisine and handcrafts have made the leap into an international forum.

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.

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.