Quick Survival Guide to Indonesia

This is the quick survival guide if you're planning to move or travel to the archipelago nation of Indonesia.

Quick Summary of Indonesia

Indonesia is a country of thousand islands, it has approximately 17.000 islands that spread from west at Sabang island to east at Merauke islands. The big six islands that are the most popular in the world consist of Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan (Borneo), Sulawesi, Bali, and Papua. 

1. Top city destination for tourist

Cities that are categorized as "metropolis" or big cities are: Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, and Bandung. 

While Yogyakarta is the cultural city of Java and Bali is the holiday top city destination for tourist. The other that is the most favorite city to study is Malang, located in East Java province, about 3 hours ride from Surabaya.

2. Accommodation

You can rent a small accommodation called kos-kosan (boarding house) at a relatively cheap price, starting from 50 - 150 US$ depending on location and facilities.

While a landed house can also be rented but at the fairly expensive amount of price, also depending on location and number of rooms. 

If you are in a city that categorized as the big city above, it should not be a big problem to find accommodation as they are advertised on local paper or the internet. 

3. Transportation

Indonesian drive on the left. They don't have a traffic discipline as much as in their neighbor country--Singapore. 

It is nice to have a ride with a motorbike for city touring, another alternative is by using online taxis such as GoJek and Grab that can be used via an application. 

4. Food

The fertile soil of Indonesia is famous all over the world. That was also one of the reasons for over 350 years dutch colonization before Indonesia got their independent.

Indonesian culinary comprise a wide range of foods and they eat simple but delicious meals. The abundance of rice reflects Indonesia's fertile landscape, the spices are reminiscent of a time of trade and invasion, and the fiery chili echoes the passion of the people.

5. Language

Indonesian speak Bahasa Indonesia, it is the native and national language of Indonesia. People don't speak English very much unless in some business and tourism spot city like Jakarta and Bali.

Overall, Indonesia is a wonderful country to live and perhaps spend the rest of your time. A friendly country with diverse culture and tradition but with exotic nature. For a complete in-depth literature of Indonesia can be found in this Indonesia travel guide. 

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