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For sheer size, scale and variety, Indonesia is pretty much unbeatable.
The country is so enormous that nobody is really sure quite how big it
is; there are between 13,000 and 17,000 islands. It's certainly the
largest archipelago in the world, spreading over 5200km between the
Asian mainland and Australia, all of it within the tropics and with huge
areas of ocean separating the landmasses. Not surprisingly, Indonesia's
ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity is correspondingly great - the
best estimate is of 500 languages and dialects spoken by around 200
million people.
The largely volcanic nature of the islands has created tall cloud-swept
mountains swathed in the green of rice terraces or rainforest, dropping
to blindingly bright beaches and vivid blue seas, the backdrop for
Southeast Asia's biggest wilderness areas and wildlife sanctuaries. The
ethnic mix of Indonesia is overwhelming: this is the world's largest
Muslim country, but with a distinct local flavour, and there are also
substantial populations of Christians, Hindus and animists, whose forms
of worship, customs and lifestyles have been influencing each other for
centuries.
Worryingly, it is this very religious and racial diversity that in
recent years has threatened to unravel the very fabric of Indonesian
society. Riots in many parts of the country have pitched Muslims against
their Christian neighbours, with two of these battles - in the Maluku
Islands and in Poso in Central Sulawesi - developing into full-scale
civil wars. On Java and other islands, deep-rooted anti-Chinese
sentiment surfaced in particularly bloody fashion in 1998 and continues
to smoulder to this day. More localized ethnic violence has its source
in the transmigration policies of the Indonesian government, whose aim
was to settle far-flung areas such as Kalimantan with migrants from
overpopulated regions including Java and Madura, often without local
consultation and with little heed given to traditional land rights.
Unsurprisingly, resentment and violence have sometimes boiled over.
However, with a new and popular president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, in
power, and the economy finally showing signs of recovery, it is hoped
that - while further bloodshed is perhaps inevitable - the fury and
frequency of these internecine battles may start to subside.
Indonesian has also been badly battered in recent years by the
separatist struggles of a couple of its provinces. Despite wide-ranging
democratic reforms introduced by Megawati and her predecessor, Gus Dur,
two disaffected provinces, Aceh in North Sumatra and West Papua (formerly
Irian Jaya), tired of years of repression and corruption, unhappy that
the new democratic reforms do not go far enough for their liking, and
emboldened by East Timor's successful secession (the former Indonesian
province became the world's newest country in 2001), began to clamour
for their own autonomy , launching bloody uprisings that continue to
this day. Whether their respective struggles prove successful - and what
will happen to Indonesia if they are - remains to be seen, though with
these two provinces lying at the geographical extremes of the
archipelago, it's tempting to think that any break from Indonesia will
have little adverse effect on the rest of the country.
Because Indonesia encompasses such a diversity of cultures, it can be
very difficult to decide where to go. However, there is a well-worn
overland travellers' route across the archipelago, which begins by
taking a boat from Penang in Malaysia to Medan on Sumatra's northeast
coast. From here the classic itinerary runs to the orang-utan sanctuary
at Bukit Lawang, the nippy little hill resort of Berastagi, the chilled-out
lakeside resorts of Danau Toba and the surfers' mecca of Pulau Nias .
Further south, the area around Bukittinggi appeals because of its
flamboyant Minangkabau architecture and dances. Many travellers then
hurtle through the southern half of Sumatra in their headlong rush to
Java , probably bypassing the exhaustingly overpopulated capital Jakarta
, but perhaps pausing at the relaxed beach resort of Pangandaran in West
Java. Next stop is always the ancient capital of Yogyakarta , a cultural
centre which hosts daily performances of traditional dance and music and
offers batik courses for curious travellers. Yogya also makes a good
base for exploring the huge Borobodur (Buddhist) and Prambanan (Hindu)
temples. Java's biggest natural attractions are its volcanoes: the Dieng
plateau , with its coloured lakes and ancient Hindu temples and, most
famously, Gunung Bromo , where most travellers brave a sunrise climb to
the summit.
Just across the water from East Java sits Bali , the longtime jewel in
the crown of Indonesian tourism, a tiny island of elegant temples,
verdant landscape and fine surf. The biggest resorts are the party towns
of Kuta and adjacent Legian , with the more subdued beaches at Lovina
and Candi Dasa appealing to travellers not hell-bent on raging nightlife.
Most visitors also spend time in Bali's cultural centre of Ubud , whose
lifeblood continues to be painting, carving, dancing and music-making.
The islands east of Bali - collectively known as Nusa Tenggara - are now
attracting bigger crowds, particularly neighbouring Lombok , with its
beautiful beaches and temples. East again, the chance of seeing the
world's largest lizards, the Komodo dragons , draws travellers to Komodo
and then it's an easy hop across to Flores which has great surfing, and
the unforgettable coloured crater lakes of Keli Mutu . South of Flores,
Sumba is famous for its intricate fabrics, grand funeral ceremonies and
extraordinary annual ritual war, the pasola .
North of Flores, Sulawesi is renowned for the intriguing culture of the
highland Torajans, whose idiosyncratic architecture and impressively
ghoulish burial rituals are astonishing. West of Sulawesi, the island of
Borneo is divided into the Malaysian districts of Sabah and Sarawak, the
independent kingdom of Brunei, and the Indonesian state of Kalimantan .
For the overland traveller short on time, there's not much here that
can't be experienced more rewardingly across the border in Sarawak, but
Tanjung Puting national park offers guaranteed close contact with orang-utans,
and there are opportunities for river travel in remote jungle. East of
Sulawesi, West Papua (Irian Jaya) is expensive and time-consuming to
reach, but is worth considering for the remote Baliem Valley , home of
the Dani people, who hunt with arrows and wear penis gourds.
The whole archipelago is tropical, with temperatures at sea level always
between 21°C and 33°C, although cooler in the mountains. In theory, the
year divides into a wet and dry season, though it's often hard to tell
the difference. Very roughly, in much of the country, November to April
are the wet months (January and February the wettest) and May through to
October are dry. However, in northern Sumatra, this pattern is
effectively reversed. The peak tourist season is between mid-June and
mid-September and again over the Christmas and New Year season.
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