Bali Adventure

Places To See

Bohorok Orang-utan Viewing Centre

This famous rehabilitation centre was set up in 1973 to help primates readjust to the wild after captivity or displacement. After a new quarantine centre outside Medan became operational in early 2002, the Bukit Lawang Centre became an orang-utan viewing area, offering a unique opportunity to see semi-wild orang-utans up close during feeding times.

Borobudur

Looming out of a patchwork of bottle-green paddies and swaying palm tops, this colossal Buddhist relic is one of southeast Asia's marvels. It has survived Gunung Merapi's ash flows, terrorist bombs and the wear and tear of a million pairs of tourist flipflops to remain as enigmatic and beautiful as it must have been 1200 years ago.

Borobudur is built from two million block stones in the form of a massive symmetrical stupa, literally wrapped around a small hill. It stands solidly on its 118m x 118m (387ft x 387ft) base. Six square terraces are topped by three circular ones, with four stairways leading up through finely carved gateways to the top. The paintwork is long gone, but it's thought that the grey stone of Borobudur was at one time washed with a colour to catch the sun.

Kelimutu

Set in plunging craters at the summit of a volcano, the coloured lakes of Kelimutu are undoubtedly the most spectacular sight in Nusa Tenggara. Astonishingly, the lakes periodically change hue - today one may be iridescent turquoise, its neighbour chocolate brown and a third lake dark green.

A few years ago the colours were blue, maroon and black, while back in the 1960s the lakes were blue, red-brown and café au lait.

It's thought that the lakes' colours are in constant flux due to dissolving minerals, a process that can accelerate in the rainy season. The moonscape around the summit gives Kelimutu an ethereal atmosphere, especially when clouds billow across the craters and sun shafts add luminescent pinpoints to the lakes.

There's a sealed road up to the lakes from Moni, 13.5km (8.5mi) away at the base of the mountain.

Lore Lindu National Park

This large and remote national park has barely been touched by tourism. It's a wonderful area for trekking, rich in exotic plant and animal life. The butterflies there can be larger than a human hand. It's also home to several indigenous tribes who wear colourful clothing for their traditional ceremonies.

Attractions in the park include ancient megalithic relics, mostly in the Bada, Besoa and Napu Valleys; remote peaks, some more than 2500m (8200ft); bird-watching around Kamarora; and the large lake of Danau Lindu.

The main national park office, rangers station and visitors centre are about a 1km walk from Kamarora village. Here the rangers can show you the start to several short trails, which don't require a guide - such as the 10m (33ft) high waterfall about 2km (1.2mi) from Kamarora, and the hot water springs at Kadidia (3km/1.85mi). You can also arrange a guide for the longer treks here.

Gunung Kawi

At the bottom of a lush green valley is one of Bali's oldest, most charming and certainly largest ancient monuments. Gunung Kawi consists of 10 rock-cut candi (shrines), memorials cut out of the rock face in imitation of actual statues. They stand in 7m-high (23ft-high) sheltered niches cut into the sheer cliff face.

Events

With such a multiplicity of ethnic groups, Indonesia has a surfeit of cultural events throughout the year. On Sumba, mock battles that hark back to the era of internecine warfare are held in February and March. On Balinese New Year, Nyepi, (March-April) everything shuts and the island grinds to a standstill as locals seek to convince evil spirits that the island is uninhabited. During the Balinese festival of Galungan (moving dates) even the gods descend to earth and join in the revelry. There's a dramatic Easter Parade on the island of Larantuka, whip duels in Ruteng, Flores in August and Torajan funereal feasts in central Sulawesi, held mainly between August and October. As most Indonesians are Muslim, many festivals are affected by the lunar calendar; dates are subsequently 10 or 11 days earlier each year.

Pre-Departure Information

When to go?

Though travel in the wet season is possible in most parts of Indonesia, it can be a deterrent to some activities and travel on mud-clogged roads in less developed areas is difficult. In general, the best time to visit is in the dry season between May and October.

In most cases, experiencing an Indonesian festival is reason enough to head to a destination. Some are so significant, however, that they can generate difficult conditions for travellers. Tana Toraja's funeral season boosts Rantepao's population, and hotel prices, substantially during July and August. In Java it's a good idea to avoid the final days of Idul Fitri, when public transport is mayhem and some businesses close.

A tragic drop in tourist hordes means that Indonesia's 'high season' no longer presents the same kind of bother it once did. Certainly, the December-January Christmas holiday period and the school holidays still brings a wave of migratory Australians, and Europeans head to Bali, Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi in July and August. But climatic impediments aside, pretty much any time is a good time to head to Indonesia at the moment.

The main Indonesian holiday periods are the end of Ramadan, when domestic tourists fill resorts to overflowing and prices escalate; Christmas; and from mid-June to mid-July, is when graduating high-school students take off by the busload to various tourist attractions, mainly in Java and Bali.

Travel Visa Overview

Visa regulations have been in a state of flux since 2002, with changes being made in response to political imperatives and then reversed when pressure is brought to bear by tourism interests. Nationals of 39 countries, including Australia, the US and some European countries, are able to obtain a visa on arrival in Indonesia. Visas on arrival can only be obtained at designated international airports and seaports and Indonesia requires at least 6 months validity remaining on passports for visitors entering the country.

Two visa types are available to passengers arriving at a point of entry where the 'visa on arrival' facility is offered. These are a three day short-stay visa for 10.00 and a 30 day visa for 25.00. Payment must be made in US dollars on arrival. It is recommended that travellers have the exact US dollars cash available as not all entry points will have full bank facilities in place until late 2004. Citizens of a further 11 countries, mostly in southeast Asia, do not require visas. All other nationals, or those who need the longer, 60-day tourist visa, will need to obtain a visa before arrival.

Electricity

127/230V

50Hz

Electrical Plugs

British-style plug with two flat blades and one flat grounding blade

European plug with two circular metal pins

Health Information

Giardiasis

This travellers favourite is caused by a parasite, Giardia lamblia, which you acquire by ingesting food or water contaminated by the hardy cysts of the parasite. Giardia can also infect animals, and may be found in streams and other water sources in rural areas, especially on trekking routes. The illness usually appears about a week after you have been exposed to the parasite, but it can appear several weeks after. It may cause a short-lived episode of typical 'travellers diarrhoea', but it can cause persistent diarrhoea. You often notice weight loss with giardiasis, as it can prevent food from being absorbed properly in the upper part of your gut. Giardiasis can start quite suddenly, with explosive, watery diarrhoea, without blood. More often you get loose, bulky, foul-smelling faeces that are hard to flush away (assuming you have the luxury of flushing, of course), with lots of gas, bloating, stomach gurgling and cramps. You can sometimes get a mild fever and often feel nauseated, with little or no appetite, 'indigestion' (heartburn) and rotten-egg burps. Although all these symptoms commonly occur in giardiasis, note that they are nonspecific symptoms and can occur in other types of diarrhoea too - eg you can't assume you've got giardiasis just because you've got rotten-egg burps. You should ideally have a laboratory test to diagnose your illness before starting a course of antibiotics, but if you are in a remote area away from medical help, you could take either metronidazole (250mg three times daily for five to 10 days) OR tinidazole (2g single dose -tinidazole is not currently available in the USA).

Hepatitis

Several different viruses cause hepatitis; they differ in the way that they are transmitted. The symptoms in all forms of the illness include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, feelings of weakness and aches and pains, followed by loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-coloured faeces, jaundiced (yellow) skin and yellowing of the whites of the eyes.

There are 6 known types of viral hepatitis:A, B, C, D, E and G. G is not dangerous. A and E are passed on by the fecal-oral route of transmission; there is a vaccine. Seek medical advice, but there is not much you can do apart from resting, drinking lots of fluids, eating lightly and avoiding fatty foods. A and E cause an acute illness, but you will recover fully from it.

B and D are passed on via blood, saliva, semen and vaginal fluids. They can be passed on by close contact, sexual contact, and blood-to-blood contact. The symptoms of hepatitis B may be more severe than type A and the disease can lead to long-term problems such as chronic liver damage, liver cancer or a long-term carrier state. There is a vaccine.

Hepatitis C is only passed on from blood-to-blood contact. There is no vaccine.

Japanese B encephalitis

This mosquito-transmitted viral infection of the brain is a risk only in rural, rice-growing areas, and is thought to be a very low risk for travellers. It can be fatal, however, and may cause permanent brain damage in those who recover. There is an effective vaccine, and you should take measures to avoid mosquito bites.

Malaria

If you are travelling in endemic areas it is extremely important to avoid mosquito bites and to take tablets to prevent this disease. Symptoms range from fever, chills and sweating, headache, diarrhoea and abdominal pains to a vague feeling of ill-health. Seek medical help immediately if malaria is suspected. Without treatment malaria can rapidly become more serious and can be fatal. If medical care is not available, malaria tablets can be used for treatment. You should seek medical advice, before you travel, on the right medication and dosage for you. If you do contract malaria, be sure to be re-tested for malaria once you return home as you can harbour malaria parasites in your body even if you are symptom free. Travellers are advised to prevent mosquito bites at all times. The main messages are: wear light-coloured clothing; wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts; use mosquito repellents containing the compound DEET on exposed areas (prolonged overuse of DEET may be harmful, especially to children, but its use is considered preferable to being bitten by disease-transmitting mosquitoes); avoid perfumes and aftershave; use a mosquito net impregnated with mosquito repellent (permethrin) - it may be worth taking your own, and impregnating clothes with permethrin effectively deters mosquitoes and other insects.

Rabies

This is a fatal viral infection. Many animals can be infected (such as dogs, cats, bats and monkeys) and it's their saliva that is infectious. Any bite, scratch or even lick from a warm-blooded, furry animal should be cleaned immediately and thoroughly. Scrub with soap and running water, and then apply alcohol or iodine solution. Medical help should be sought promptly to receive a course of injections to prevent the onset of symptoms and death.

Typhoid

Also known as enteric fever, typhoid is transmitted via food and water, and symptomless carriers, especially when they're working as food handlers, are an important source of infection. Typhoid is caused by a type of salmonella bacteria, Salmonella typhi. Paratyphoid is a similar but milder disease.

The symptoms are variable, but you almost always get a fever and headache to start with, which initially feels very similar to flu, with aches and pains, loss of appetite and general malaise. Typhoid may be confused with malaria. The fever gradually rises during a week. Characteristically your pulse is relatively slow for someone with a fever. Other symptoms you may have are constipation or diarrhoea and stomach pains.

You may feel worse in the second week, with a constant fever and sometimes a red skin rash. Other symptoms you may have are severe headache, sore throat and jaundice. Serious complications occur in about one in 10 cases, including, most commonly, damage to the gut wall with subsequent leakage of the gut contents into the abdominal cavity.

Seek medical help for any fever (38°C and higher) that does not improve after 48 hours. Typhoid is a serious disease and is not something you should consider self-treating.

Re-hydration therapy is important if diarrhoea has been a feature of the illness, but antibiotics are the mainstay of treatment.

Dengue fever

The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the dengue virus, is most active during the day, and is found mainly in urban areas, in and around human dwellings. Signs and symptoms of dengue fever include a sudden onset of high fever, headache, joint and muscle pains, nausea and vomiting. A rash of small red spots sometimes appears three to four days after the onset of fever. Severe complications do sometimes occur. You should seek medical attention as soon as possible if you think you may be infected. A blood test can indicate the possibility of the fever. There is no specific treatment. Aspirin should be avoided, as it increases the risk of haemorrhaging. There is no vaccine against dengue fever.

Weather Information

Draped over the equator, Indonesia tends to have a fairly uniform climate - hot. It's hot and wet during the wet season (October to April) and hot and dry during the dry season (May to September). Temperatures climb to about 31°C (88°F) in coastal regions, dropping (but not by much) further inland. The best time to visit Indonesia in the south is from April to October. Northern islands tend to be wet all year round.

History and Culture

Culture

Indonesia comprises a range of diverse societies and cultures. However, mass education, mass media and a policy of government-orchestrated nationalism have created a definite Indonesian national culture, with Bahasa Indonesia as its medium. Its distinctive cuisine and handcrafts have made the leap into an international forum.

Pre-20th Centure History

It is generally believed that the earliest inhabitants of the Indonesian archipelago originated in India or Burma. In 1890, fossils of Java Man (homo erectus), some 500,000 years old, were found in east Java. Later migrants ('Malays') came from southern China and Indochina, and began populating the archipelago around 3000 BC. Powerful groups such as the Buddhist Srivijaya empire and the Hindu Mataram kingdom appeared in Java and Sumatra towards the end of the 7th century. The last important kingdom to remain Hindu was the Majapahit, which was founded in the 13th century. The subsequent spread of Islam into the archipelago in the 14th century forced the Majapahits to retreat to Bali in the 15th century.

By this time, a strong Muslim empire had developed with its centre at Melaka (Malacca) on the Malay Peninsula. Its influence was shortlived and it fell to the Portuguese in 1511. The Dutch displaced the Portuguese and began making inroads into Indonesia. The Dutch East India Company based in Batavia (Jakarta) dominated the spice trade and took control of Java by the mid 18th century, when its power was already in decline. The Dutch took control in the early 19th century and by the early 20th century, the entire archipelago - including Aceh and Bali - was under their control.

Modern History

Burgeoning nationalism combined with Japanese occupation of the archipelago during WWII served to weaken Dutch resolve, and it finally transferred sovereignty to the new Indonesian republic in 1949. Achmed Soekarno, the foremost proponent of self-rule since the early 1920s, became President. In 1957, after a rudderless period of parliamentary democracy, Soekarno overthrew the parliament, declared martial law, and initiated a more authoritarian style of government, which he euphemistically dubbed 'Guided Democracy'. Once in the driving seat, Soekarno, like many like-minded military strongmen, set about consolidating his power through monument-building and socialising the economy, a move that paradoxically opened up a huge divide between the haves and have-nots and left much of the population teetering on the edge of starvation. Rebellions broke out in Sumatra and Sulewesi, Malaysia and Indonesia came perilously close to an all-out confrontation and instability was the general order of the day. Things came to a head in 1965, the eponymous Year Of Living Dangerously, when an attempted coup (purportedly by a Communist group) threatened Soekarno's hold on power.

Soekarno won that particular battle but lost the war when the man responsible for putting the coup down, General Soeharto, wrested presidential power from him in 1966. Soeharto started off with a nice line in political reconstruction, but the promises of economic reform and greater government transparency quickly degenerated into much of the same-old same-old. Nepotism, cronyism and grandiose spending, coupled with the brutal massacre of East Timorese nationalists in Dilli in 1975, proved that much of the talk was mere rhetoric. By March 1998 Soeharto was out of touch with the people and, perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, awarded himself only five more years in office. He never made it - by the end of May that year, with the economy freefalling and street violence flaring, he was out of office and the vice-president, BJ Habibie, was installed.

Habibie, never popular to begin with, mouthed the same promises of reform and even appeared willing to consider independence for East Timor, but it was all too little too late. The uncompromising stance by East Timor set off a chain reaction and sectarian violence, student protests and increased demands for independence spread like wild fire through Ambon, Kalimantan and Papua. Rogue militia groups, widely thought to be controlled and equipped by the Indonesian miltiary, rampaged through East Timor after it overwhelmingly voted for independence in 1999; local police forces and parts of the army were sent in to quash other rebellions; protesting students were killed in the streets and the whole country went to hell in a handbasket.

A UN peacekeeping force brought stability to East Timor but prompted Indonesian outrage at the 'meddling in internal affairs'. When the dust finally settled the East Timorese had been granted independence over the smoking ruins of their country. Soon afterwards Abdurrahman Wahid became Indonesia's first democratically elected president. By 23 July 2001, he'd lost the confidence of parliament and was replaced by the inscrutable Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Recent History

Indonesia faces numerous crises - rising Islamic extremism, military insubordination, official corruption, a fledgling and fragile democratic process, and the many separatist movements threatening to tear the country apart. On 12 October, 2002, bombs targeting Western tourists claimed around 200 lives in Bali. An extremist group with links to Al-Qaeda was responsible.

Religious violence also plagued the Maluku islands, where Christians and Muslims reached a short-lived peace deal in February 2002. In April 2002, masked gunmen massacred 14 Christian villagers. Fighting between Christians and Muslims has claimed more than 6000 lives since 1999. In Irian Jaya and Aceh, guerrillas have been fighting for independence from Jakarta for decades.

Megawati Sukarnoputri's presidency deserves credit for restoring social stability and economic growth but was widely condemned as ineffectual in combating rampant institutional corruption. In September 2004, 80% of Indonesian voters turned up to vote in the country's first direct presidential ballot. Charismatic retired general - and sometime crooner - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (who holds an American management degree and is often referred to as SBY) won handsomely.

As the closest country to the epicentre of the earthquake and resulting tsunami in December 2004, Indonesia suffered the most physical damage and loss of human life. It's estimated that more than 128,000 people were killed and half a million were left homeless, mainly in Aceh and North Sumatra regions. A massive national and international aid operation responded to the tsunami and the affected areas are recovering slowly.

Mother Nature continues to test the resilience of the Indonesians. A devastating earthquake hit Java near the city of Yogyakarta in May 2006, causing thousands more casualties and in July of the same year an offshore earthquake caused a tsunami that ripped into West Java, devastating the area around Pangandaran. Meanwhile a mud-volcano, caused by gas drilling, continues to spew forth mud, displacing thousands near Surabaya.

Since coming to power, SBY has made battling corruption and growing Islamic fundamentalism a priority. Aside from these campaigns, the most successful domestic achievement of his government has been the peaceful resolution of the Aceh conflict, after complex negotiations and decades of bloody strife. But according to some experts, the June 2006 release from prison of radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who was implicated in the 2002 Bali blasts, may yet cause the president a few headaches. The introduction of an anti-pornography bill into parliament by Islamic parties highlighted the divide between secular and religious forces in Indonesian politics. The proposed law called for restrictions on everything from kissing in public to semi-naked traditional dancing and was only passed in a heavily revised form. President Yudhoyono will need all of his charm and political nous to keep the many voices of his enormous nation working together in harmony.