Travel Tips for Indonesia

Travel Tips for Indonesia

Culture and customs

For The Traveler has some insider tips for safety and to help you, check it!

For women, always carry a sarong – they are light and cheap, and you may need to cover up if you find yourself near a temple or mosque.

No prices are fixed, even if the vendor says it is but usually the price is amount $5 - $15. You can always bargain. (i can help you to get it if you want)

Learn how to say ‘no’ to the hawkers politely; a simple but strong “Tidak, termia kasi” (Tee-dak, ter-ee-ma ka-see) it's mean No, Thank you, will do the trick.

Be careful with the people who offer a stuff to you in the market, they usually give the expensive price for foreigner. You must bargain it! Bargain it until 50%. If they won't give the stuff to you, leave it. Because many seller sell the same stuff. Hehehehe... In Bali the best place to get reasonable price is in Krisna and Joger, because they have price list.

The dogs in Indonesia (particularly Bali) are known to be rabid. And they’re everywhere. If you find one following you, hiss at it loudly. Never run. Or you can get squat pretended to take a stone. hehehe... :D

When there are monkeys around, protect your belongings because they are curious and love to steal things! I am serious about it.

Practicalities

You can also find out about telephoning, emergency numbers and time zones in Indonesia on Virtual Tourist

Here is the lists the useful phrases for Traveler in Indonesian:

Good morning Selemat pa-gee (or just pa-gee)

Good afternoon Selemat see-ang (see-ang)

Yes Ya

No Tee-dak

OK Be-res

Thank you Te-ri-ma-ka-si (or ma-ka-si)

You're welcome Ma-ka-si Kam-ba-li (or Sama-Sama)

How much? Be-ra-pa?

Can you discount? Moo-ra-heen or too-roo-neen har-ga-nya (to an old lady say Moo-ra-heen-bu)

Please Toe-long

Excuse me Permisi

Currency

The local currency is the Rupiah. US dollars are also accepted, however be careful of the exchange rate that is quoted to you; it may not always be as accurate as at the currency exchanges! You can check the exchange rate in the local bank or WU (Westren Union).

Weather

Like all tropical climates, Indonesia has two seasons – Wet and Dry. Wet runs from September to January (the heaviest rainfall is December and January) and the Dry for the rest of the year. The average humidity is 70%. You can check the weather for when you’re planning to go here.

Food

In most tourist areas, it’s likely that street vendors will approach you selling food. Most experienced travellers to Indonesia recommend you don’t buy from them because of the risk of Cholera and ‘Bali Belly’. Bottles of mineral water, if you’re sure they’re sealed, would probably be OK. Better places to eat are the major or well-known restaurants, or hotels – as a rule of thumb if the restaurant is crowded, it’s probably good to eat there.

If you can find a local chef to cook some of the specialities for you, such as Gado-Gado or Nasi Goreng, even better! Some Indonesian food is very spicy (the word for spicy is ‘padas’) – so enquire beforehand – and its best to enquire on the prices as well before you order.

Things to do and see

Bali is well known as an Indonesian tourist destination, but there are many other beautiful and interesting places to visit in Indonesia.

Lombok is a good place to escape the tourist areas and see the real Indonesia. It also has many high quality hotels, shops and restaurants, and is often cheaper than Bali.

Bandung is good for textiles and clothes of both local and western styles.

Yogyakarta is full of beautiful arts and culture, old temples and examples of Indonesian history.

Mangga Dua, in Jakarta, is a good place to buy clothing but also electrical goods such as iPhones and PCs.

Batu, East Java, It is the place if you want to enjoy the calm and peaceful place to take a break. because many people from major city in Indonesia go to this city when a holiday.

If you’re looking for somewhere to go diving, Manado in Northern Sulawesi is a good spot.

View a map of all these destinations here. Blonde Traveller also recommends that you travel between the islands by ferry rather than the local airlines, some of which are blacklisted internationally.

A contributor to Virtual Tourist suggests that the rice fields are very beautiful in Jatiluwuh, Bali; the best time to see them is at planting time.

Other contributors suggest watching the local fishermen (at most villages by the beach) fish the traditional way with a boat and hand net. Small boats (2 or so fishermen) will often sell you their catch straight from the sea and the fish is good if you can find someone to cook it for you.

Disclaimer

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