From perfect picturesquare of ranging volcanoes, pristine beach, and wilderness of rain forest and its inhabitants, Indonesia can't be skipped during your travel in South East Asia. Consists of 14,000 islands, hundreds of volcanoes, the diversity of people, a sketch of plan what to do where to go is substantial. Here are seven tips you have to read before traveling in Indonesia.
1. Plan Your Trip
Indonesia is massive. Check the maps and you will realize
how huge it is. That’s why you need to specify where you wanna go unless you
have time and budget to travel. There are five big islands in this tropical
country. Each island has different unique things to see and experience.
Sumatera: Near Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra is perfect for
you who love jungle while still want to see culture. A trip to Aceh, North
Sumatera and West Sumatera can be doe roughly 1-3 months, depends on your
travel style. Visit the famous volcanic lake,
Lake Toba, chilling out in a very
relaxing not touristy beach in
Weh Island, do some jungle trekking and see
Orang Utan in Bukit Lawang.
Java: Most populated island in Indonesia. This is what
mainstream travelers normally do, can’t blame them but it’s the easiest place
to travel in Indonesia, complete information and well-organized public
transportation. See the famous temples, Borobudur and Prambanan Temple in
Central Java, climb the scenic volcano like
Bromo and Ijen Crater, then make
your way to
Bali and relax.
Kalimantan: Neighboring with East Malaysia and
Brunei, Kalimantan is
the right place to experience wild things. If you’re an animal lover, this
place is perfect to do river cruising while trying to catch an eye on wild
animals like Orang Utan, Birds, and other mammals.
Sulawesi: Always be my favorite island so far, travel from
South to North by land may takes two days in a single journey but you can make
stops, so in total it may take a month as well. Sulawesi is suitable for the
travelers who want to try out of their comfort zone. The K-shaped island is a
perfect combination of nature and culture. Less information so it’ll be more
adventurous to travel here. Lots of stunning diving sites such as
Wakatobi and
Bunaken, see the hanging coffins in
Tana Toraja, relax in Togean Islands.
Moluccas: Used to be the important port where spices trading
was centralized here. Beside historical places, you can enjoy traveling like
you’re the only foreigner there. Go to
Ora Beach, a private resort island and
also Banda Islands.
Papua: If you’re crazy enough to experience the wildness of
indigenous Tribe, like Dani Tribe, live with them inside jungle, far from
modernization, come to this place. It will be a totally different experience.
One of the best diving site in the world,
Raja Ampat is also located here. But
prepare your budget because the flight and everything is expensive here in
Papua.
Those are the five big islands but there’s one island where
you can have a great time as well, it’s called Nusa Tenggara Timur, next to
Bali and Lombok. Do boat sailing to
Komodo Island then overland to the villages
like Wae Rebo, Bena, and visit the tree color lake Kelimutu. If you can
continue to Alor Island, it’ll be unforgettable experience.
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| Morning in Ranu Kumbolo |
You don’t want your plans got distracted by the weather.
Imagine when you want to lay on the beach and having sun tanned but suddenly
the rain pours. Indonesia has only two seasons, dry season (March-October) and
rainy season (October-March), can’t really predict because of the global
warming. The sea especially on the East Indonesia (Sulawesi, Moluccas and
Papua) might be rough on July-August and the boats might not operating, so
check the weather and condition to enjoy
your trip.
3. For Women, Dress Properly
The majority of Indonesians are Muslims and the people here
are more conservative. For girls, wear appropriate clothes, don’t show your
front “B” and back “B” unless you want to get attention which might lead to
sexual harassment. Shirt and short are okay but not too sexy.
4. Know the Characteristic of the People
Indonesians are friendly, they’ll be very curious if you’re
white, blue eyes, and blonde. It’s common for them to talk to you, asking A to
Z questions. If it happens in public transportation and they ask too much and
annoys you, plug you headset and close your eyes, pretending you’re sleeping. Indonesians
are very helpful but you have to distinct who offers genuinely generous help or
just want to take advantage of you. Normally in big cities they’ll try to help
but expect something in return. The people in less touristic area will be very
nice and would love to help you even though they can’t speak English. More than
half men population in Indonesia smokes, so don’t be shocked when they smoke
everywhere even in public bus.
Bahasa Indonesia is the easiest language to learn among all
South East Asia Country. Same alphabets A-Z, no accent, no present past future
tenses, very simple. Most of my friends can learn Bahasa and speak good Bahasa
after only one month. It’ll be useful in haggling for sure.
6. Haggle and Fix the Price
Applies especially for Ojek (motorbike with driver), and
becak (rickshaw). Always fix the price in the beginning or else they will play
with the price and you end up paying big amount for short distance. Normally
ojek costs Rp 10,000-15,000 for 5 kilometers ride, so you can estimate. For
angkot (public van transport) shouldn’t cost you more than Rp 5,000 how far you
go. Buy a sim card in Indonesia, it's so cheap! For Rp 3,000 you can get a sim card. Internet subscription is very cheap as well. Simpati, XL, and 3 are the most popular one.
7. Safety of Traveling in Indonesia
Overall it’s safe traveling in Indonesia, even for solo female traveler. Just ensure to always watch your belongings everywhere you are. Pickpocket sometimes happen in big cities, also people can easily snatch your camera if you're not careful enough. Incidents happened because they have chance to do it, so take care and travel safe.
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