We dedicate this article to Indonesia, home of Kaltimber, where we recycled old ironwood boards into FSC Recycled decking and flooring. It is an incredible country with so much to know and see that it can be overwhelming. The tourism tagline “Pesona Indonesia”, which means Wonderful Indonesia, is definitely not only a marketing thing!
This country is so diverse, so huge, that it is very difficult to make a selection of what we would like to share with you, but please come visit as soon as it will be possible to discover everything you can by yourself!
Independent for 76 years.
On 17th august 2021, Indonesian will celebrate the country’s independence from Dutch colonial rule. The day is referred to by Indonesians as Tujuhbelas Agustus (17th of August) or Hari Merdeka (Independence Day).
When Japan surrendered on 17 August 1945, marking the end of the Second World War, the Netherlands tried to reconquer their former colony, which they had been forced to abandon to the Japanese in 1942.but the Indonesian leader, Sukarno, proclaimed the independence of Indonesia.
A very populated country
WIth more than 264 million people, Indonesia is the 4th most densely populated nation in the world.
With 165 million people under the age of 30, compared to only 8% of the Indonesian population being older than 60 years of age, there is so much dynamism in the country!
Indonesia also hosts the biggest muslim country in the world.
264 million people! -photo source:UNFPA indonesia.
So much ethnic variety!
Indonesia’s ethnic composition is characterized by variety, in fact wide variety, as the country contains hundreds of different ethnic groups and cultures.
Indonesia has over 600 ethnic groups. Although the Javanese people make up 40 percent of the population, traveling the entire country will give you a culture shock at every corner.
Balinese hindu
The largest archipelago in the world
Indonesia is a huge country. Just imagine that there are over 17 500 islands! Only 6000 of them are inhabited, which means that a lot of places are still wild and ready for every adventurer. There are 5 main islands and plenty of smaller ones, making Indonesia the largest archipelago of the world!
However, the biggest island, Java, is home to half of the Indonesian population, with an astonishing 10 million people living in the country’s capital, Jakarta.
The ring of fire
With more than a hundred active volcanoes, Indonesia is often called “The Ring Of Fire” because its edges mark a circle of high volcanic and seismic activity (earthquakes);
Ring of fire as seen on BBC News (source BBC News)
This situation has of course caused major natural disasters ,and while there are approximately four small earthquakes that occur daily.The most famous one was the 2004 tsunami that followed a massive 8.7 Ms earthquake. This tragedy claimed the life of over 200,000 civilians and left over half a million inhabitants homeless.
Unique wildlife
Indonesia is home for increasingly rare, exotic and absolutely beautiful animals. Unfortunately, many of them are slowly reaching critically dangerous levels of endangerment.
This is particularly the case for orangutans, whose home is rapidly shrinking because of both legal and illegal logging. Sumatra is one of the two places in the world where you can observe wild orangutans.
A unique animal to Indonesia is the Komodo dragon, the world’s largest species of lizard with its 3 meter length.
Battle of the beast (source bbc)
Instagram kingdom
Jakarta is the most instagrammed city in Asia, and 8th in the world. While the city is cursed with heavy traffic and pollution, there is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines. Beware though, as most of the meals involve a spice or another so it might not be for everyone’s taste.
Don’t get lost! (source:Cathay Pacific)
Watch your head!
In the centre of Lake Toba lies an island called Pulau Samosir. The ancient Bataks that lived here were cannibalistic head-hunters. Today however, all of them have given up on this practice and we can testify that they are very lovely people!
So it’s ok, no need to watch your head :)
Not the friendly kind back then! (source: earthstoriez)