Indonesia Wrap-Up
This story was posted under the categories: Big Asia Trip, Indonesia
FOOD
What surprised us most is the fact that almost everything that we know as Chinese food in Belgium, actually is Indonesian. You have the typical “belgium chinese take away” dishes like Nasi Goreng, Bami Goreng, Chicken Sweet and Sour, all originated in Indonesia.Apart from food Indonesia offers a wide range of drinks. From all possible kind of delicious fresh juices to different sort of jellydrinks (es campur, es dawet, es kopyor, ..). However, for a country with so many coffee plantations and an international reputation for its brands, we were very surprised to see the way Indonesians make their Kopi. The “Bali Mud” as it was called by one of our hosts, is made by pouring ground coffee into a cup and adding water. Filtering, as it is known in our countries, is not done. You end up with a disgusting brownish broth that distantly tastes like something we would call coffee.
Of course we tried a lot of different things, but eventhough it is very difficult to find a top 3 of what we tasted in Indonesia:
- Sate Ayam (Chicken with Sate Sauce, if you ever go to Yogyakarta make sure you try Sate Ayam at Warung Podomoro mmmm)
- Es Campur (some kind of jelly drink, very sweet or what did you think…)
- Sirsak Juice (This fruit is called Soursop in English, but we have no clue what it can be, at least it tastes delicious in juices)
Different from the Chinese people (and Gregory 
, Indonesian people don’t like eating that much and that shows off in their menus. There is not as much variety as we could imagine with all the herbs and fresh ingredients they have at their disposal.
SIGHTS
Indonesia is a very large country. Because we only had a 1 month visa we had to make choices. That’s why we limited ourselfs to Java, Bali and Lombok. All 3 of the islands are very different. Not only the nature is different, but as one island is muslim and the other is budhist you can also feel the differences in real life. Finally I know why colores del mundo called a paint after Java. The green landscapes you find here are greener than I’ve ever seen.
If we have to make a top 3 of sights than it would look like:
- The beach of Selong Blanak (Lombok)
- Gunung Bromo (Java)
- The island Bali in general (this has so many beautifull places that is difficult to pick one)
IMPRESSIONS
Indonesia people are very kind people. Of course it is more easy for them to be friendly because they all speak very good English and most of them even know a few phrases of Dutch. As you walk in the streets everybody keeps on saying hi, hello mister, … And talking with foreigners is like making new friends for them. That’s why you will have to answer the same questions over and over again. Is this your first time in indonesia?, are you married?, where are you going?, …
Indonesia people also kind of adore western people and are trying to imitate them as much as possible. Having a white skin is like an obsession for most of them, just like a “long” nose, being taller, … Different from China, you can witness the fact that Indonesia has been part of several colonies in the past. There is no typical Indonesian look, you see mixed people everywhere. But one thing is sure, they are all smiling!
The thing that struck me most wandering around the different islands, was the fact that those people don’t have a clue about environmental responsibility. Just a few little stories to explain:
- one day, travelling with the bus we had some garbage that we collected in a plastic bag to throw away once we would arrive at the terminal… when all of the sudden the conducter took the bag and instead of putting it in a wastebin (as we thought that would happen) he just threw it out of the bus smiling very proudly at his achievement
- when you walk close to a river, don’t be surprised to see little children drag around with a wastebin and head off to the river banks to get rid of it… Normal isn’t it?
The streets are littered with everything, except for plastic bottles…. if they collect them they receive a few rupiahs for it.
Religion-wise the Indonesians are very devout people, be it Muslims who pray every 3 hours, Hindus who bring daily offers to their home temples or Catholics, who still go to church every Sunday.
Conclusion
If you plan to visit Indonesia, make sure you don’t forget to pack time, because you will need it. But it’s worth investing this time in exploring the different islands and discover each of their beauties.