Theme Week Indonesia – Sumatra

24 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

Berbak National Park © cifor.org - James Maiden/cc-by-sa-2.0

Berbak National Park © cifor.org – James Maiden/cc-by-sa-2.0

Sumatra is a large island in western Indonesia that is part of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island that is located entirely in Indonesia (after Borneo, which is shared between Indonesia and other countries) and the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km² (not including adjacent islands such as the Riau Islands and Bangka Belitung Islands). The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. The 25,951 km² area of the World Heritage Site includes the National Parks Gunung Leuser, Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan.   read more…

Theme Week Indonesia – Java

23 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  11 minutes

Barakuda Beach in Karimun © Midori/cc-by-3.0

Barakuda Beach in Karimun © Midori/cc-by-3.0

Java is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the south and the Java Sea on the north. With a population of over 141 million (Java only) or 145 million (including the inhabitants of its surrounding islands), Java is the home to 56.7 percent of the Indonesian population and is the world’s most populous island. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is located on its northwestern coast. Much of Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the center of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally. Four of Indonesia’s eight UNESCO world heritage sites are located in Java: Ujung Kulon National Park, Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple, and Sangiran Early Man Site.   read more…

Theme Week Indonesia

20 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  15 minutes

Borobudur, the world's largest Buddist temple © Gunawan Kartapranata/cc-by-sa-3.0

Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddist temple © Gunawan Kartapranata/cc-by-sa-3.0

Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world’s largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles), the 14th largest by land area and the 7th largest in combined sea and land area. With over 261 million people, it is the world’s 4th most populous country as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world’s most populous island, contains more than half of the country’s population.   read more…

Jakarta in Indonesia

4 October 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  32 minutes

Jalan Jenderal Sudirman © Ecal saputra/cc-by-sa-4.0

Jalan Jenderal Sudirman © Ecal saputra/cc-by-sa-4.0

Jakarta, officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, is the capital and most populous city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of the world’s most populous island of Java, the city is the center of economics, culture and politics of Indonesia, with a population of 10.2 million. Greater Jakarta metropolitan area, which is known as Jabodetabek (a name formed by combining the initial syllables of Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi), is the second largest urban agglomeration in the world, with a population of 30.4 million inhabitants. Jakarta’s business opportunities, as well as its potential to offer a higher standard of living, attract migrants from all over Indonesian archipelago, making the city a melting pot of many communities and cultures. Established in the fourth century as Sunda Kelapa, the city became an important trading port for the Kingdom of Sunda. It was the de facto capital of the Dutch East Indies (Dutch East India Company), which was known as Batavia at that time. As the economic and political capital of Indonesia with so many different languages and ethnic groups, it is difficult to describe or define a common culture for Jakarta, as the city attracts many native immigrants, from the vast and diverse Indonesian archipelago, who also bring their various languages, dialects, foods (Indonesian cuisine and Betawi cuisine) and customs.This diversity of origins and languages leads to differences in regard to religion, traditions and linguistic and all in all culture. However ethnic Betawi are considered as the indigenous people of Jakarta. Jakarta consists of five Kota Administratif (Administrative city/municipality), each headed by a mayor – and a Kabupaten Administratif (Administrative regency). Each city and regency again is divided into districts/Kecamatan. The administrative cities/municipalities of Jakarta are:   read more…

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