Travel Indonesia

Travel Indonesia: vital statistics

• Capital of Indonesia: Jakarta
• The population of Indonesia: 240 million
• Languages in Indonesia: The official national language is Bahasa Indonesia, but Javanese is widespread, and hundreds of other languages and dialects are spoken in the country’s different regions.
• Time in Indonesia: GMT +7, +8 and +9
• International dialling code in Indonesia: +62
• Voltage in Indonesia: 127/230 AC 50 Hz
• Visas for Indonesia: Indonesia visas
• Money in Indonesia: Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). Banks in provincial capitals and tourist centres usually have ATM that take MasterCard, Visa or Cirrus-Maestro, and credit cards are accepted in some restaurants and hotels. Don’t fully rely on plastic though, and make sure you carry enough cash when setting off to rural areas. Count your money carefully at privately-run money-changers: not all are honest.
• Indonesia travel advice: Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• Indonesia tourist board: Indonesia embassy

When to travel Indonesia

Indonesia has a tropical climate, but it is such a vast country that the best time to visit strongly depends on where you want to go.

Generally, it is dry in Bali and Nusa Tenggara from April/May to October, in Java from January to August, in Sumatra in June and July, in Sulawesi in August and September and in Southeast Maluku from December to March.

Travelling during the wet season can have the advantage of getting bargain prices for accommodation, but bear in mind that parts of West Papua, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi and Sumatra have often been cut off after storms.

International airports

Jakarta (CGK) 20km from the city; Denpasar/Bali (DPS) 13km from the city; Medan/Sumatra (MES) 9km from the city; Manado/Sulawesi (MDC) 15km from the city; and Balikpapan/Kalimantan (BPN) 10km from the city

Getting around in Indonesia

A train system links Java’s main cities, and a few trains run in Sumatra.

Buses are cheap but slow and often packed. Minibusses, or Bemos in Balinese, are a common way of travelling shorter distances. Perama is an established operator in Bali and Lombok. More expensive, but comfortable shuttle buses are available in tourist areas. Roads are narrow and driving standards erratic: take care.

The state shipping line Pelni runs more than 20 passenger lines, most of which are long-distance ferries. Public ferries and tourist boat services connect neighbouring islands such as Bali and Lombok.

Flying may sometimes be the most reasonable option if you want to travel longer distances.

Indonesia accommodation

You will find the cheapest rooms in hostels or family-run homestays (losmen). In tourist centres, in Bali in particular, tasteful design hotels cater to those willing to pay a bit more.

Most accommodation includes breakfast. Single rooms are generally rare, and lone travellers will often find they have to pay the full price for a double.

Indonesia food & drink

Chillies, ginger, peanuts, coconut milk and soybeans are common ingredients throughout Indonesia. Rice goes with pretty much every meal of the day.

Popular dishes are Nasi Goreng (fried rice with shrimps, meat, onion and cucumber), Gado Gado (steamed vegetables with peanuts, hard-boiled egg, tempe and krupuk), Cap Cai (mixed vegetables on offer with meat or shrimps, served with rice) and Satay (grilled skewers of meat).

Try these at a warung – a small eatery or food stall – where you will find the cheapest and most authentic food.

Health & safety to travel Indonesia

Depending on where you go and how you travel, several vaccinations are recommended, as is malaria prophylaxis – consult your GP or travel health clinic.

Drink only sterilised, boiled or bottled water. Make sure the bottles are sealed and bear in mind that ice is not always made from sterilised water.

Jakarta and the Balinese resort of Kuta have been targets of terrorist attacks. Check the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website for travel advice and information on security issues.

My Indonesian Trip to Batam.

Batam is the largest city in the province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. The city administrative area covers three main islands of Batam, Rempang, and Galang, as well as several small islands. 

Having visited Batam from Singapore in 1996, I felt that I would like to travel back in time to see what and how Batam was now. I didn’t expect the place to change so much though.

It was a province that had grown so much, I totally didn’t recognise it, maybe old age as well:)

I found that with what happened with my only credit card being cloned ( sorted that mistake out via having another, transferwise ) and the mosques calling several times a day with a kick-off at 4 am for an hour was absolutely driving me crazy, lack of sleep and possibly worrying too much with sorting out the fraud on my card and dealing with banks 6500 miles away was taking its toll.

I thought I had everything sorted with my last visit to the UK, online account, telephone banking, however, procedures change and this change in the bank’s procedure of not now being able to use your three personal logins, the last log-in was via a text code to my registered bank mobile number.

Which is obviously not in use as I travel with the countries sim cards and numbers.

In the meantime of I found out my card had been cleaned of around 3k through various outlet transactions and ATM withdrawals, it was now in the bank’s fraud dept hands and that takes time for reimbursement, especially with it being a fraud committed overseas.

I also had to have a new card sent abroad and to a registered address in the UK for my pin number, the latter doesn’t exist now, so a friend is in need:).

Luckily I could liaise with the bank for them to unlock my account via Facebook and have them phone me and withdraw some cash before I fully blocked it.

What’s more, my visa was about to expire and I really only had enough cash to eat and live for a short period of time, not travel, as I needed to sort this out.

As if I was traveling, I would not have a suitable place to receive my card over, which could be weeks.

What I did find out over this hiccup, was that Indonesia has the most expensive overstay rate per day at $60, most other S.E.A countries $15 max.

Please remember, overstaying is not good and doesn’t look good in your passport and surely will be registered on a database, however, it is not a crime as many immigrations will have you believe, for their own purposes!

If you have overstayed and are worried, I can possibly give you some sound advice, drop me a line. I will help if I can:)

So in the end when everything was sorted, it was an overdue stay of around 36 days and costly, could have been a lot worse though, if things hadn’t gone according to plan. The full insight into this will be in our scam blog.

Tip: If you do find yourself in a position that is out of your control, my advice would be to try and sort it first, before informing the Indonesian authorities, as with me, I did at first and I was told to hand myself in and be detained.

This was a no-brainer as if I had done that, I wouldn’t have been able to get my new card, sort the fraud out with the bank etc.

So keep your head down and out of trouble and I’m sure things will sort themselves out.

Remember as I mentioned above, it’s not a crime to be on overstay as millions do each year through things happening. Don’t just overstay though for the sake of it or you may have big trouble and be blacklisted!

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Safety:

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Transport:

Cars: Coming soon:)

Trains: Coming soon:)

Planes: Kiwi.com, Skyscanner: Make the entire planning and booking easy, simple and enjoyable from start to finish. To make sure you get the most for your money, and from your trip and to make it more transparent and deserving of your trust. ( We have saved hundreds over the years and even more so using a VPN.) 

Cruises: The Cruisedirect.com website is packed with information on all the major cruise lines, cruise ships and destinations.

Accommodation

Airbnb: Choose from over 6 million unique places to stay, Airbnb all types of spaces – from homes to boutique hotel rooms – all over the world. You can stay with a host or book a place of your own and what’s more, you can make a saving of around £34 by joining through us of your first booking.

Booking.com Booking.com’s mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

Destinations:

Trips: We at Tourandtakein have been to many far-out places. Here are just a few to wet your appetite.

Trip Activities: A journey to transform ordinary trips into extraordinary ones. We are your guide, bringing you personal experiences, wherever your travels take you. We’ll show you the unique and unmissable things to do in your destination with our trusted affiliates GetYourGuide on your side and in your pocket via our live Apps. Creating memorable moments has never been easier.

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Love and respect to Indonesia, I will be back one day to see more of this country!