Indonesia
Total area: 1,919,440 sq km
Population (2008 est.): 237,512,355
Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official), English, Dutch, Javanese, and more than 580 other languages and dialect
Capital: Jakarta
National Holiday: Independence Day, August 17
Monetary unit: Rupiah
Geography
Climate
People
Arts and Culture
Religion
Cuisine
Shopping and souvenirs
Travel advises
Transport
Communication
Geography
Indonesia is an archipelagic island country in Southeast Asia, lying between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia consists of 17,508 islands. The five largest islands are Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo), New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea), and Sulawesi.
Climate
Indonesia has a tropical climate, with wet and dry seasons.The dry season (March to October) and the rainy season (November
to February). The average daily temperature is +26-28 С. In mountainous regions temperature is around 20°С. The coldest month is June 26° - 28°С. Humidity is generally high, averaging about 80%.
People
Indonesians consist of 45% Javanese, 14% Sudanese, 7.5% Madurese and 26% other ethnic groups. Natives of the island and immigrants from Asia are living here and were called Indonesian after the independence of Indonesia in 1945.
There are around 367 distinct native ethnicities in Indonesia.There are about 583 languages spoken by as many distinct ethnic groups across the archipelago. English is the most widely used foreign language for business and travel alike. Java is by far the most populous island in Indonesia, with approximately 62% of the country's population and is the most populous island in the world
Arts and Culture
Indonesia is blessed with a rich and diverse mix of traditional cultures and art forms. The most popular and famous form of Indonesian music is gamelan, an ensemble of tuned percussion instruments that include metallophone drums, gongs and spike fiddles along with bamboo flutes. Similar ensembles are prevalent throughout Indonesia and Malaysia, but gamelan is from Java, Bali and Lombok. There are rivalries between different regions' variations of gamelan, especially Java and Bali
Art forms in Indonesia are not only derived from folklore, as in many other parts of the world. Many were developed in the courts of former kingdoms, as in Bali, where they are integral elements of religious ceremonies. The famous dance dramas of Java and Bali are derived from Hindu mythology and often feature fragments from the Ramayana and Mahabharata Hindu epics.
Indoneasian Culture is difference in the arts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. The culture in Indonesia is intertwined with religion, traditions of early migrants and
later the eastern and western influence and the geography, climate of the region thus making Religion in Indonesia altogether a unique place in the map of the world.
Religion
The main religion is Hinduism at Bali Island, most other Indonesian islands are muslim islands. The majority (about 85%) of the population follows Islam. Freedom of religion is protected by the Indonesian Constitution, which is defined in the first Principle of the State Philosophy "Pancasila".
Cuisine
Spices and hot chili peppers are the essence of most cooking. Fish is abundant and of great variety: lobster, oyster, prawns, shrimp, squid, crab, etc. The staple food of most of Indonesia is rice. Coconut is found everywhere and besides being processed for cooking oil, its milk and meat is an ingredient for many dishes. There is a wide variety of tropical and sub-tropical vegetables all year round. Fruit is available throughout the year. Some fruits such as mangoes and water melons are seasonal, but most of the other fruits can be bought throughout the year, such as bananas, apples, papayas, pineapples, oranges, etc. Coffee and tea are served everywhere from fine restaurants to small village stalls. There are several breweries which produce local beer. Bali produces "brem" which is a rice wine, whereas Toraja has "tuak". For most people, a meal consists of steamed white rice with side dishes of meat, chicken, fish and vegetables along with a glass of tea. There is such a rich variety in the Indonesian cuisine that one should sample specialties in each area. However, most common nationwide are "sate" (skewered grilled meat), "gado'gado" (vegetables salad with peanut sauce), "nasi goreng" (fried rice served at anytime) and bakmi goreng" (fried noodles).
Shopping and souvenirs
Shopping hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. Many local markets open either very early in the morning or at dusk.
Souvenirs, batik, art & crafts, woodcarvings, sculptures, woven baskets, paintings, small daggers, silver work and bamboo articles are some of the Indonesia
shopping articles.
Offering unforgettable shopping experience, street markets are excellent for buying handicrafts and souvenirs. It is advisable to check goods before buying. If you are looking for quality goods then street vendors or markets are not the best place for it.
Travel advises
Drinks only bottled water
Flying-insect spray to help clear rooms of mosquitoes. The product should contain a pyrethroid insecticide; these insecticides quickly kill flying insects, including mosquitoes.
Before visiting Indonesia, you may need to get the following vaccinations: hepatitis, yellow fever, malaria,
The right forefinger is not used to point at places, objects or persons.
Visitors should not publicly display affection with someone of the opposite sex. Visitors should refrain from discussing politics and/or religion.
Scanty clothing is not advisable in public places in deference to local customs. Shorts are not allowed in mosques and women should have their arms and head covered
The left hand should not be used to shake hands, touch others, point, eat food, or give or receive objects.
It is much easier to use cash (rupee and U.S. dollars) than credit cards at establishments in Indonesia. Many major hotels and large businesses accept credit cards, but smaller operations usually do not. Aside from this, credit card fraud is endemic in the country and region, and using cash can help guard against theft of one's personal information. Travelers may have difficulty locating ATMs that use the same network as the provider of their ATM card; they should consult with their respective card issuers for confirmation that they can access their accounts in Indonesia. Banks may refuse to exchange rupiah for foreign currency that is torn or tattered. Businesses in rural areas and remote islands accept only local currency
There are two active volcanoes
Enter to the Bali temples is free just need to wear special wear sarong you can buy it near for token payment
Don’t use flash cameras or push your camera into the priest's face
Women are not allowed to enter temples during menstruation
Never sit higher than the priests, or the offerings.
Do not walk in front of people praying. Never sit higher than the priests, or the offerings.
There have been a few cases of handbags being snatched after tourists have changed money at banks or money changers. Put your money away in your 'bum-bag' or hold onto your handbag tightly.
Transport
Indonesia has left-hand traffic. Beware of price rigging at fuel stations. The price for one liter of fuel is fixed at about Rp.1000 to 1,500 per liter. Motorcycles are popular means to get around Bali. Helmets are required by law.
Police officers regularly stop foreigners in rental cars (and on bikes). Sometimes at road blocks where they will check your car documents and check you have a valid International drivers license; if not, they will most likely ask for money from you (a "fine without a receipt")
These are small inexpensive minibuses that the locals mostly travel on. For tourists it’s better to use a taxi services
We advise you not to drive by yourself unless you have already some experience with the Asian way of driving. Traffic conditions are completely different to what you know from home and traffic rules are not easily comprehensible for a foreigner. It is best to rent a car with a local driver or charter a van, if there are a group of you traveling together around Bali.
Communication
Police 110
Emergency 118
Fire department 113
Information desk 108
[Tags: Tours to Indonesia]
Туры в Индонезию, о.Бали (Russian version)
Population (2008 est.): 237,512,355
Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official), English, Dutch, Javanese, and more than 580 other languages and dialect
Capital: Jakarta
National Holiday: Independence Day, August 17
Monetary unit: Rupiah
Geography
Climate
People
Arts and Culture
Religion
Cuisine
Shopping and souvenirs
Travel advises
Transport
Communication
Geography
Indonesia is an archipelagic island country in Southeast Asia, lying between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia consists of 17,508 islands. The five largest islands are Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo), New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea), and Sulawesi.
Climate
Indonesia has a tropical climate, with wet and dry seasons.The dry season (March to October) and the rainy season (November
to February). The average daily temperature is +26-28 С. In mountainous regions temperature is around 20°С. The coldest month is June 26° - 28°С. Humidity is generally high, averaging about 80%.People
Indonesians consist of 45% Javanese, 14% Sudanese, 7.5% Madurese and 26% other ethnic groups. Natives of the island and immigrants from Asia are living here and were called Indonesian after the independence of Indonesia in 1945.
There are around 367 distinct native ethnicities in Indonesia.There are about 583 languages spoken by as many distinct ethnic groups across the archipelago. English is the most widely used foreign language for business and travel alike. Java is by far the most populous island in Indonesia, with approximately 62% of the country's population and is the most populous island in the world
Arts and Culture
Indonesia is blessed with a rich and diverse mix of traditional cultures and art forms. The most popular and famous form of Indonesian music is gamelan, an ensemble of tuned percussion instruments that include metallophone drums, gongs and spike fiddles along with bamboo flutes. Similar ensembles are prevalent throughout Indonesia and Malaysia, but gamelan is from Java, Bali and Lombok. There are rivalries between different regions' variations of gamelan, especially Java and Bali
Art forms in Indonesia are not only derived from folklore, as in many other parts of the world. Many were developed in the courts of former kingdoms, as in Bali, where they are integral elements of religious ceremonies. The famous dance dramas of Java and Bali are derived from Hindu mythology and often feature fragments from the Ramayana and Mahabharata Hindu epics.
Indoneasian Culture is difference in the arts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. The culture in Indonesia is intertwined with religion, traditions of early migrants and
later the eastern and western influence and the geography, climate of the region thus making Religion in Indonesia altogether a unique place in the map of the world.Religion
The main religion is Hinduism at Bali Island, most other Indonesian islands are muslim islands. The majority (about 85%) of the population follows Islam. Freedom of religion is protected by the Indonesian Constitution, which is defined in the first Principle of the State Philosophy "Pancasila".
Cuisine
Spices and hot chili peppers are the essence of most cooking. Fish is abundant and of great variety: lobster, oyster, prawns, shrimp, squid, crab, etc. The staple food of most of Indonesia is rice. Coconut is found everywhere and besides being processed for cooking oil, its milk and meat is an ingredient for many dishes. There is a wide variety of tropical and sub-tropical vegetables all year round. Fruit is available throughout the year. Some fruits such as mangoes and water melons are seasonal, but most of the other fruits can be bought throughout the year, such as bananas, apples, papayas, pineapples, oranges, etc. Coffee and tea are served everywhere from fine restaurants to small village stalls. There are several breweries which produce local beer. Bali produces "brem" which is a rice wine, whereas Toraja has "tuak". For most people, a meal consists of steamed white rice with side dishes of meat, chicken, fish and vegetables along with a glass of tea. There is such a rich variety in the Indonesian cuisine that one should sample specialties in each area. However, most common nationwide are "sate" (skewered grilled meat), "gado'gado" (vegetables salad with peanut sauce), "nasi goreng" (fried rice served at anytime) and bakmi goreng" (fried noodles).
Shopping and souvenirs
Shopping hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. Many local markets open either very early in the morning or at dusk.
Souvenirs, batik, art & crafts, woodcarvings, sculptures, woven baskets, paintings, small daggers, silver work and bamboo articles are some of the Indonesia
shopping articles. Offering unforgettable shopping experience, street markets are excellent for buying handicrafts and souvenirs. It is advisable to check goods before buying. If you are looking for quality goods then street vendors or markets are not the best place for it.
Travel advises
Drinks only bottled water
Flying-insect spray to help clear rooms of mosquitoes. The product should contain a pyrethroid insecticide; these insecticides quickly kill flying insects, including mosquitoes.
Before visiting Indonesia, you may need to get the following vaccinations: hepatitis, yellow fever, malaria,
The right forefinger is not used to point at places, objects or persons.
Visitors should not publicly display affection with someone of the opposite sex. Visitors should refrain from discussing politics and/or religion.
Scanty clothing is not advisable in public places in deference to local customs. Shorts are not allowed in mosques and women should have their arms and head covered
The left hand should not be used to shake hands, touch others, point, eat food, or give or receive objects.
It is much easier to use cash (rupee and U.S. dollars) than credit cards at establishments in Indonesia. Many major hotels and large businesses accept credit cards, but smaller operations usually do not. Aside from this, credit card fraud is endemic in the country and region, and using cash can help guard against theft of one's personal information. Travelers may have difficulty locating ATMs that use the same network as the provider of their ATM card; they should consult with their respective card issuers for confirmation that they can access their accounts in Indonesia. Banks may refuse to exchange rupiah for foreign currency that is torn or tattered. Businesses in rural areas and remote islands accept only local currency
There are two active volcanoes
Enter to the Bali temples is free just need to wear special wear sarong you can buy it near for token payment
Don’t use flash cameras or push your camera into the priest's face
Women are not allowed to enter temples during menstruation
Never sit higher than the priests, or the offerings.Do not walk in front of people praying. Never sit higher than the priests, or the offerings.
There have been a few cases of handbags being snatched after tourists have changed money at banks or money changers. Put your money away in your 'bum-bag' or hold onto your handbag tightly.
Transport
Indonesia has left-hand traffic. Beware of price rigging at fuel stations. The price for one liter of fuel is fixed at about Rp.1000 to 1,500 per liter. Motorcycles are popular means to get around Bali. Helmets are required by law.
Police officers regularly stop foreigners in rental cars (and on bikes). Sometimes at road blocks where they will check your car documents and check you have a valid International drivers license; if not, they will most likely ask for money from you (a "fine without a receipt")
These are small inexpensive minibuses that the locals mostly travel on. For tourists it’s better to use a taxi services
We advise you not to drive by yourself unless you have already some experience with the Asian way of driving. Traffic conditions are completely different to what you know from home and traffic rules are not easily comprehensible for a foreigner. It is best to rent a car with a local driver or charter a van, if there are a group of you traveling together around Bali.
Communication
Police 110
Emergency 118
Fire department 113
Information desk 108
[Tags: Tours to Indonesia]
Туры в Индонезию, о.Бали (Russian version)
