A Balinese boy charms the crowd at the Monkey Dance in Ubud.

If not for an accidental business opportunity, I might not have ever discovered Indonesia. I accepted a writing assignment in 1994 that took me to Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Bali. What was supposed to be a two-week trip became four weeks. What was supposed to be a one-time trip became several. What started off as work sparked a lifetime passion for Southeast Asia.

Despite being completely around the world from my home in Colorado, Indonesia has always felt like home. Photos and carvings from these islands adorn my walls at all times.

It’s a beautiful country full of natural and man-made wonders. It has ancient temples, endless beaches, hundreds of volcanoes, and abundant natural resources. Indonesia is home to the world’s second-largest rain forest and it hosts many endangered species, including the Sumatran tiger, Asian elephant, Javan rhinoceros, orangutan, and the Komodo dragon. You could easily plan your trip around one or more of the following themes:

• Agriculture
• Arts and culture
• Golf
• Sailing
• Scuba diving and snorkeling
• Shopping
• Spas
• Surfing and water sports
• Temples
• Volcanoes
• Wildlife

Despite the numerous attractions, however, the secret beauty of Indonesia is found in the hearts and minds of its people. Taking the time to learn some simple words and phrases will help you unveil hundreds of smiles along your way. Just a few Indonesian words will ensure that you get the most out of your trip, and they will empower you to experience much more than the average traveler.

There are more than three hundred distinct and diverse cultures in Indonesia. Most Indonesians are of Malay or Polynesian descent, although the country’s history brought minority populations from India, China, Arabia, Persia, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, and England. There are still numerous indigenous tribes in the remote reaches of Indonesia, from Kalimantan to Papua. The most famous tribes include the Asmat and Dani people of Papua, the Dayak people of Kalimantan, and the Batak people of Sumatra.  The Javanese are one of the most dominant cultures. There are about 580 languages and dialects spoken throughout the Indonesian archipelago, but bahasa Indonesia (commonly known as Indonesian) is the national language. It is related to Malay, and written in Roman script. In all tourist areas, English is the most common foreign language.

Generally, Indonesians are happy, friendly, and curious people who are willing, and often eager, to speak to you as you cross paths. The locals typically will ask where you are from and where you are going. When you have the opportunity, try to converse with them. It can be educational, informative, and rewarding. Most Indonesians know at least a few English words and most people are eager to learn more from you. In fact, many Indonesians are very articulate in English, especially those involved in tourism, retail, and international business.

The ability to manage a basic vocabulary will help you get the most out of your time in this fascinating country. When you find yourself at a loss for words, body language, hand gestures, and drawings can be helpful. When all else fails, you can find someone nearby who can interpret for you if necessary.

Most Indonesians work very hard to support their families. Treat them with respect and most Indonesians will return it many times over. To show your respect, try to say some words in their language and tip the people who help you. It also helps to smile when conversing with locals. You also should avoid crossing your arms across your chest when conversing or when in public. This is viewed as a hostile stance.

One of the most important phrases that you should remember is “terima kasih” (TEHR-ree-MAH KAH-see): thank you. These simple words often will generate a smile and a nod. In response, the person will likely say “sama sama,” which means “same to you” or the equivalent of “you are welcome.” The person might also say, ”terima kasih kembali,” which also means “thank you in return” or “you are welcome.” In addition, you may draw a slight smile or a look of bewilderment, because Indonesians rarely encounter foreigners who even attempt to speak their language. Trying to speak the local language will open eyes, minds, and doors for you.

Many Indonesian words are similar to their English counter-parts. For example, the English word bottle is spelled botol in Indonesian and pronounced BOH-tohl. Here are a few more examples:

• Automobile = mobil (MOH-beel)
• ball = bola (BOH-lah)
• name = nama (NAH-mah)

Many of the recognizable words are modern additions to the Indonesian language for business, medicine, sports, technology, and food. Don’t be fooled by words that look familiar, though. Many of these words are pronounced much differently than their English version. Plus, there are other words that you will recognize in writing, but the Indonesian pronunciations and meanings are vastly different. For example, look at the following Indonesian words:

• air (AH-eer) = water
• cat (CHAHT) = paint
• gang (GAHNG) = alley

Indonesia is a destination that will leave a deep impression on you. If you take the time to learn a few simple words, you also will leave a lasting impression on the people that you meet.

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These mysterious mountains now lure hikers and mountaineering clubs, which have sprung up in Jakarta, Bandung, and other cities. Adventure travelers from other countries also find these volcanoes worth the trip. The most popular ones to climb are:

• the twin volcanoes of Gede and Pangrango in West Java;
• Semeru and Kelud in East Java;
• Merapi in Central Java; and
• Rinjani on Lombok.

On rare occasions, expeditions are made to the snow-covered summit of the Jayawijaya Range in Papua. Although it was not formed by volcanic activity, it is the highest point in Indonesia and one incredible adventure at 5,050 meters (16,000 feet).

Indonesia’s most famous volcano is Krakatau (known in the Western world as Krakatoa) in the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra. When it blew up in 1883, the explosion and its after-effects circled the world. This volcano and many others have killed more than 150,000 people in Indonesia over the last 200 years. Following is a list of the deadliest Indonesian volcanic eruptions on record:

Mt. Tambora, Sumbawa: In 1815, it killed 92,000 people. This eruption was greater in size and power than the more famous eruption of Krakatau. About 10,000 people were killed directly as a result of eruptions and ash falls, while about 82,000 were subsequently killed by starvation and disease.

• Mt. Krakatau, Sunda Strait: This well-known volcano erupted repeatedly over August 26-27, 1883. The northern part of the island vanished into the air and sea. It killed more than 36,000 people, mostly those who lived on the neighboring islands of Java and Sumatra. The massive tsunamis caused by the explosion surged 10 miles inland on these two islands to kill most of the victims. The explosions were heard 3,000 miles away and the shock was felt as far away as California, 9,000 miles from ground zero. Since 1925, this volcano has visibly been regenerating itself and is violently active again.
• Mt. Kelut, East Java: In 1586, Kelut (also called Kelud) erupted and killed about 10,000 people. Most of the victims were killed by lahars—violent mudflows comprised of volcanic ash and debris saturated with water from the volcano’s crater lake.  In 1919, this volcano erupted again and killed more than 5,000 people.
• Mt. Galunggung, West Java:  In 1882, this volcano erupted and killed about 4,000 people with mudflows and hot ash.

Mt. Awu, Sangihe Besar Island in North Sulawesi Province: In 1711, Awu erupted and killed more than 3,000 people. In 1856, it erupted again and killed about 2,800 people. In 1892, it erupted again and killed about 1,500 people. In 1812, this deadly mountain killed another 960 people.

Mt. Merapi, Central Java: In 1672, Merapi, which means mountain of fire, erupted and killed about 3,000 people. In 1930, Merapi erupted again and killed about 1,300 people in the valleys below. In 1994, a scorching heat cloud from the volcano killed 66 villagers and farmers living on its slopes.

• Mt. Papandayan, West Java: In 1772, this volcano killed about 2,900 people with its ash flows.
• Mt. Agung, Bali: On March 17, 1963, an eruption blew the top off of the volcano and killed nearly 1,200 people. Agung is the island’s highest and most sacred mountain.
• Mt. Raung, East Java: In 1638 this volcano erupted and killed about 1,000 people.
• Mt. Iliwerung, Lomblen Island, which lies between Flores Island and Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara Province: In 1979, this remote volcano erupted and killed about 500 people.

Mt. Semeru, East Java: In 1965, Semeru killed more than 250 people. This is the highest mountain on Java.  In 1981, Semeru killed another 250 people.

Mt. Kelut, East Java: In 1966, Kelut killed more than 200 people. In 1966, Kelut killed another 90 people.

Mt. Dieng, Central Java: In 1979, this volcano killed about 150 people. The Dieng volcanic complex in Central Java Province consists of two main volcanoes and about 20 smaller craters, several of which emit poisonous gas.

Vowels

A critical building block to speaking proper and effective Indonesian is to master the vowels.
a is very short, and pronounced like the “a” in “father.”

Example: satu (SAH‑too) one

e is usually hard like “Ed”
Example: empat (EM‑paht) four

However, when placed at the end of a word, the “e” usually sounds like “ay” in “today.”
Example: sate (SAH-tay) sate (grilled meat on a skewer)

i is long like the “i” in “spaghetti”
Example: tiga (TEE‑gah) three

o is long as in “no”
Example: bodoh (BOH‑doh) stupid

u is long like the “u” in “June”
Example: Juni (JOO‑nee) June

au is pronounced with two syllables, such the final two syllables of the Hawaiian island “Oahu”
Example: mau (MAH-oo) want

ai is smooth and long like the word “play”
Example: pantai (PAHN‑tay) beach

There are several regional variations to pronunciation and spelling. In addition to regional variations, some words are officially spelled differently today than they were prior to 1972 (when Indonesia eliminated some of the Dutch influence from the language). For instance, Jakarta and many other words that start with the letter “J” were once spelled with “Dj” at the beginning. Therefore, be prepared to see some variations when reading words that are printed or posted.

Selamat jalan!

Travel to Indonesia

With more than 17,500 islands, Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), and Papua (Indonesian New Guinea) account for about 90 percent of Indonesia’s land. Indonesia has more coral reefs than any country in the world. The islands rise from the deepest points of the oceans to the snowy heights of the Jayawijaya mountain range on Papua, which towers more than fifteen thousand feet above sea level.

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Sumatran Tiger

Most visitors to Indonesia hope to see the Sumatran tiger. However, this beautiful animal rarely shows itself. Unfortunately, human development has already pushed two other tiger species in Indonesia into extinction. The Javan tiger was declared extinct in 1994 and the Balinese tiger was last seen several decades before that. Fewer than five hundred Sumatran tigers are left in the wild, and the number is dropping steadily. If habitat destruction and poaching across Asia are not stopped, wild tigers have just a few years to survive. Tiger bones and body parts are sold on the black market for use in traditional Chinese medicines. This demand alone is putting tremendous pressure on these beautiful animals. Meanwhile, the forests where they live are being destroyed for timber, mining, and farming. Each animal needs up to twenty square miles to survive, and forests are a vanishing resource in many regions.

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Papua New Guinea Mask

Papua (Western New Guinea)

New Guinea is the second-largest island in the world, and it stretches from warm equatorial sands to icy glacial peaks. Indonesia shares the island with the country of Papua New Guinea, which controls the eastern half of the island. Papua (PAH-poo-AH) features abundant natural resources, including the second-largest tract of rainforest in the world.

About 75 percent of Papua is covered by forests, which contain more than 2,500 species of orchids and 600 species of birds. Papua is also rich in culture, with as many as eight hundred different languages spoken among the various tribes and ethnic groups. Papua also is famous for its various art forms and its unusual flora and fauna.

Tangled swamps and rugged mountains blocked access to most of the island until the 1950s, when Christian missionaries began hiking and flying into the interior. Michael Rockefeller lost his life in the area in 1961, while conducting research and collecting art. Crocodiles or headhunters likely took his life.

The island of New Guinea is like a lost world, where Stone Age tribes still live remotely and where unique forms of plant life thrive like nowhere else on earth. It has a very old civilization, with carbon dating suggesting human inhabitation for the last 25,000 years.

The population of Papua is estimated at approximately 1.8 million people. An estimated 800,000 migrants now live in the province. Most are landless Javanese who were encouraged to move to Papua under the government’s transmigration program. Under

this resettlement program, Papua is now the largest destination for migrants from other islands such as Java, Bali, and Sulawesi. The diversity of vegetation in Papua includes an estimated sixteen thousand species. It is considered to hold the richest concentration of plant life in the world. Many unique plants are of special interest such as the beautiful flame of Irian, a winding vine with large red flowers. Papua also has carnivorous pitcher plants.

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Borobudur Temple

In many ways, Java (JAH-vah) is the heart of Indonesia. It is the historical center of Buddhist and Hindu culture and home to the nation’s sprawling capital city, Jakarta. With more than 100 million people, Java (locals say JAH-wah) is the most populated island in the world. It is the thirteenth largest island on earth in terms of land size. About 60 percent of all Indonesians live on Java, while the island only holds about 7 percent of the country’s land area. Java stretches from Bali to Sumatra, and it is framed by the Indian Ocean on its southern coast and the Java Sea to its north. This highly populated island has thirty-eight volcanoes, many of which are still very active.

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Stone Statue

Almost 90 percent of Indonesia’s population practices Islam, with Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism making up the remaining 10 percent. Hinduism thrives on Bali, and Christianity has a significant presence on Flores, Timor, Sulawesi, and other islands.

Indonesia’s religious history created a trail of beautiful temples in its wake, most of which are found on the islands of Bali, Java, and Lombok. According to the Balinese, there are more than ten thousand temples on that island alone. Java’s Borobudur temple is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. It’s located near Yogykarta and dates back to the eighth century. Prambanan, the ancient Hindu monument, which predates Borobudur, is also found near Yogykarta. Central Java’s Dieng Plateau also features several other large Hindu temples.

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Komodo Dragon

There are only about three to five thousand Komodo dragons alive in the wild, and they are limited to a few volcanic islands in Indonesia. The island of Komodo is now a nature reserve where the dragon is protected. The dragon is a large and deadly monitor lizard with close ancestors that date back more than 100 million years. It is the largest living lizard in the world (averaging ten feet long and two hundred pounds), but not the largest reptile (alligators and crocodiles can grow larger). The local villagers call the Komodo dragon ora, which means “land crocodile.” The dragons are normally a sandy brown with dark markings against very coarse and dry scales. They have a long neck and a tail that is longer than their body. They have strong, sharp claws that are used in combat with other dragons and during feeding frenzies.

It is highly advisable to keep them at a safe distance and to always look for them when touring their domain. More than a dozen human deaths have been attributed to dragon bites over the last century. A Swiss tourist sat down to relax while the rest of his tour group went onward and was attacked and eaten by a dragon. All that was left was a piece of his camera.

The discovery of the Komodo dragon is one of the zoological surprises of the twentieth century. Large lizards were assumed extinct until 1912, when a party of pearl fishermen went to Komodo Island and brought back stories of an enormous, prehistoric creature. An expedition followed from the Buitenzorg Zoological Museum on Java. A report about the dragons was published but received little attention in the years leading up to World War

In 1926, an expedition from the American Museum of Natural History traveled to Komodo to investigate the dragons. The expedition confirmed the stories and they returned with some specimens that they killed on their adventure.

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Lombok Beach

Lombok (LOHM-bohk) is often compared to Bali. The neighboring islands have many similarities and many differences. They are only about twenty miles apart. Both islands have Hindu and Muslim influences, but in opposite proportions. Both islands have beautiful highlands and white sandy beaches, but Lombok is quieter and dryer than Bali for the most part. The administrative capital and largest city on the island is Mataram. Until 1987, few visitors made the trip to Lombok. Today, Lombok is growing in popularity, but it is still relatively quiet and undeveloped, although tourism is already the second-largest industry on Lombok. Mt. Rinjani, beautiful coastlines, coral reefs, and stunning waterfalls highlight the list of popular destinations on Lombok.

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