Indonesia Inspiration

Indonesia is a vast country: 5,120 kms from east to west. It is the largest country in the world, comprised solely of islands, and the 14th largest country in the world by available land. When both land and sea are taken into account, it is the 7th largest in the world.
Around 18,000 islands covering approximately 1,919,440 km2; of all Indonesia’s islands, only around 9000 are named, and 1000 permanently settled.

The segregation and island isolation made culture less homogeneous across the country. As a traveller, you can change islands and be treated to a relatively new experience on each with different dialects, customs, and gastronomy.

Almost half of Indonesia’s population lives on less than 2 USD a day. The country’s economy centers around agriculture and oil, with approximately 90% of the population involved in agriculture.

The Indonesian government only recognizes six religions: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Confucianism.
Every citizen must officially subscribe to one of these religions, regardless of what he or she may actually believe. Two individuals with different religions are not allowed to marry, unless one of them converts.
Indonesia is home to approximately 12.7% of the world’s Muslim population. That makes it the world’s largest Muslim country, over 87% of the population is Muslim.
Although Bahasa Indonesia is the official language, more than 700 languages and dialects are spoken across the Indonesian archipelago. Papua, just one province, has over 270 spoken dialects. 

Indonesia is the country with the second-highest level of biodiversity in the world (number one is Brazil), and a popular ecotourism destination.
Some of the flora and fauna are truly rare, such as the Sumatran tiger, the Javan rhinoceros, and the Rafflesia – the world’s largest flower, which weighs up to 7 kg. Its petals grow to 0.5 meters long and 2.5 cm thick.
Some animals, like the Komodo dragon, are endemic only to Indonesia. The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard in the world, growing up to 3 meters.

The rich Indian Ocean provide seafood in abundance, and the equatorial climate provides the perfect weather for growing rice, soybeans and spices.
The nation’s culinary traditions also draw their origins from its patchwork history. Indonesia’s first civilizations originated their own cooking and dining, later influenced by Chinese and Indian traders. Europeans in search of expensive native spices such as nutmeg and cloves later brought new ways of cooking along with their colonization of the East Indies.
With so many variations between food traditions in Indonesia, it is hard to select some specialities. You should definitely check out tumpeng, nasi goreng, gado-gado, satay and tempeh.