How many travel guides have been written on Indonesian? Very many, without a doubt. The justifiaction to add another one to this vast and still growing collection is that in this esay series we will look at Indonesia from a different perspective. It's the perspective from within Indonesia, the personal perspective of the author who loves his country, and is proud of it but who is not blind to some of the less beautiful aspects of Indonesia. This guide therefore does not ' sweet talk' you to travel to Indonesia, but attempts to make you stay in Indonesia a positive one through a better understanding of the behavior of Indonesians.
Indonesia-OK does not pretend to be academic study. It is colored by the subjectivity of the author. We hope that you will have time to raead these easy series before setting out on your journey through the Indonesian archipelago, instead of reading it during your trip. Many tourist, including the adventurous backpackers seem to prefer traveling while reading. They read on the bus, on the train, while eating in restaurant, in their hotel room and even when walking or shopping. Their travel guides is always within reach. The recommendation we would like to make is enjoy your trip by looking around, being conscious of what goes on around you, instead of 'experiencing' your environment from a blog.
There is a lot to experience in Indonesia with much to enjoy and an awful lot to learn. Indonesia is known as the country with many ancient cultures, court dances and mysterious shadow puppet plays. Indonesia is the country of many Hindu and Buddhist temples dating back to the 9's centuries or even earlier. And also as the country famous for its breathaking views of vocanoes, green rice fields and buffaloes pulling heavy plows through the muddy fields. To many foreign tourists Indonesia is almost synonymous with Bali, our major tourist destination with its wide and relatively quiet beaches and its magical dances, such as the Kecak dance and other dances featuring the good lion Barong and the witch Rangda, with the accompaniment of the enchaning whirling and cascading sounds of bamboo flutes of the gamelan orchestra on moonlit tropical nights. With the silhouettes of palm trees in the dark, one cannot help but feel the presence of spirits, witches and gods all around.
Indonesia, as part of the Far East, also conjures up images of the smell of incense, mysterious practices, dark back streets and something we may all be looking for individually. You may also find the mysticism and the mystery that is associated with the Far East. But whatever you see and experience, Indonesia is a modernizing and developing country. We still have the population now lives in urban centers. We have our young democracy, but also our struggles. We have mysticism, but also a huge debt burden to international creditors.
Unfortunately, in the 1990s Indonesia has also become known for suffering the most from the Asian economic crisis. The crisis precipitated the fall of the 30 years old suppressive Soeharto regime, finally signaling the entry of Indonesia to brotherhood of democratic nations. However, the change from a dictatorial regime to a democracy does not come easily.
Yes, Indonesia is all of that and, fortunately, much more. Through Indonesia-OK you will discover that despite the headlines of the last few years Indonesia is very much an OK country, especially so because Indonesians are easy going and amiable people, interested to know you and very much worth your visit.
Happy reading,
Welcome to Indonesia!
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