| Is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that stretch 5,200 km along the Equator from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. It's the largest archipelago in the world. Three of the planet's six largest islands are found here, more than 300 languages are spread throughout 6,000 or so bits of land within this fast growing country. More than 90% of the population are followers of Islam, making Indonesia the largest Muslim nation in the world. Java Is the archipelago's economic and political core, and it's also the most crowded island. Yet this is still a land of great natural power, with more than two dozen active volcanoes, including the infamous Krakatau, and 15 peaks that rise above 1,860 feet, pounded by big surf from the Indian Ocean, and buffeted by the much calmer Java Sea. Java's long and varied history is evident in Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist monument. Cirebon, a city on the north coast that dates back more than 500 years, ancient Hindu sites, and remnants of old Javanese empires. The Dutch made Java one of their colonies in the early 1800s, and their influence is still reflected in such cities as Bandung and Bogor in West Java. The capital, Jakarta, with its tall modern bullding casting shadows on shacks and shanties, seems a tribute to a contemporary age in which the collision of old ideas and new ones has caused confusion and upheaval. You'll notice a huge gulf between rich and poor. Some tolerance will be needed. Patience and compassion, however, will be amply rewarded by the rich sights and experiences that Java, and the rest of Indonesia, offer. Bali Is the country's most popular gateway for foreigners. Its distinction is that it is the only Hindu island in an overwhelmingly Islamic country, yet the religions peacefully coexist. The dominant natural force in Bali is Gunung Agung (9,866 feet), the "mother mountain", which the Balinese worship as the abode of the gods. Agung is also known for its deadly eruption in 1963, but other active volcanoes rise 6,560-9,840 feet along Bali's mountainous interior. It's the ash fallout from these high summits, and the dependable rainfall from storms caught between them, that provides fertile valleys for the famed emerald rice terraces. At its edges, Bali is framed by thick mangrove swamps, sweeping white beaches, and lively coral reefs, offering a variety of ecosystems for wildlife such as mousedeer, monkeys, dolphins, giant turtles, and more than 300 bird species, including the rare Bali starling. Temples are built facing the volcano, and rituals are regularly performed in its honor. To the Balinese, every living thing contains a spirit; when they pick a flower as an offering to the gods, they first say a prayer to the flower. All over the island, plaited baskets filled with flowers and herbs lie on the sidewalks, on the prows of fishing boats, and in markets. These offerings are made from dawn till dusk, to placate evil spirits and honor helpful ones. Garudas (stone figures) guard entries to temples, hotels, and homes. The black-and-white-checked cloths around the statues' waists symbolize the balance between good and evil. Maintaining that harmony is the life work of every Balinese. Sumatra Is the world's fifth-largest island, comprising more than 100 volcanoes that streetch 2,000 km north to south. More than 15 are currently active. This island also has some very large tracts of pristine rain forest, and much if its southern swamps have yet to be explored. Its rubber and palm-oil plantations and oil and gas fields make it a gold mine for the country. The western most point in the archipelago is here, at Pulau We at the tip of the northern province of Aceh, also the region where Arabic traders originally landed in the 13th century before spreading the religion of Islam throughout the islands. Sumatra also encompasses Nias Island and the Mentawais in the Indian Ocean, where primitive cultures still exists, and the Riau archipelago in the Malaka Strait, home to seafaring peoples. Near Medan is 1,797 square km Lake Toba, the largest lake in Southeast Asia, where the Christian Batak culture thrives. The Bukittinggi area just to the west is the home of the matriarchal Minangkabau tribe. It has rain forests that teem with wildlife as well as beautiful lakes, mountains, and beaches. Kalimantan The island of Borneo is the world's third-largest, and the lower three-fourths, called Kalimantan, belongs to Indonesia. Its name means "river of diamonds", and it is, indeed, an island of powerful waterways, from the 720 km Mahakam to the 880 km Barito to the 1,140 km Kapuas, the archipelago's longest river. Naturally, then life here is based on the rivers, where many of the approximately 300 Dayak cultures live in raised longhouses over the water. Kalimantan is also the site of several of the region's major natural havens, such as Tanjung Puting National Park and Tanjung Harapan Orangutan Reserve in the south. |
| My Beautiful Country |
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