about indonesia

life in indonesia

We are very proud of our country for several reasons. Firstly the culture and people. Our motto ‘BHINNEKA TUNGGAL IKA’ - Unity in Diversity - reflects the union of the many different cultures in Indonesia. The range of cultures simply makes life here more interesting. People can enjoy arts from different parts of Indonesia, varieties of food, local traditions, religious ceremonies. It is enriching when people travel to different parts of the country. In general, Indonesian people are so friendly and enjoy life, so visitors often go away with very positive impressions.

Secondly, Indonesia is blessed with a wonderful tropical climate so fruits in particular grow very well. The range of fruit, and food in general, is quite outstanding. Like so many Indonesians we love to eat at all times of the day. The availability of such a wide range of delicious food is one of the real highlights of life here in our marvelous country.

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Street Vendors When Indonesians are overseas and they are asked what they miss most about Indonesia they often say the street vendors! Street vendors sell a wide variety of things including fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, cigarettes and telephone cards, clothes, kitchen utensils, electronics and even furniture. Food vendors are very popular as ‘tempat nongkrong’ for people of all ages. The food is cheap and not too formal although we cannot always be sure of the standard of hygiene. The unique thing about food vendors across Indonesia is they create new names for dishes all the time. Customers are generally very keen to try out these new items. es Jerman/es jeruk manis - sweet orange juice STMJ (susu telur madu jahe) - milk, egg, honey, ginger INTERNET (Indomie, telur, kornet) - instant noodles with egg and corned beef batagor (bakso tahu goreng) - deep fried meatball and tofu sigobing (nasi goreng kambing) - fried rice with goat meat ganas (gado-gado nasi) - gado-gado with rice galon (gado-gado lontong) - gado-gado with rice cake burnas (bubur panas) - hot porridge piscok (pisang coklat) - banana and chocolate

Traditional markets - beraneka ragam Going to the daily market is part of Indonesian life. People go to the market not only to shop but also to socialise. Items sold in the traditional markets are cheaper than in the supermarkets. Of course being good at bargaining is very important. There are many different types of market in Indonesia - pasar burung, pasar pagi, pasar senen pasar malam etc. More unique ones include pasar senggol, pasar terapung (floating markets) and pasar kaget. One famous market in Surabaya is called pasar maling (thieves market). This market is where thieves sell their stolen items. You can find things from kitchen utensils, second hand shoes and bags, to motorbikes. People often try their luck to find their own stolen items in the market. Another unique market is the famous Tomohon Market near Manado. Here you can find unusual animals ready to cook and eat such as mice, squirrels, bats, snakes and lizards. While Pasar Triwindu in Solo sells antiques. And Pasar Sungai Barito in Kalimantan sells everthing BUT on the water. Markets that use the Javanese traditional calendar are quite unusual too, for example pasar wage and pasar kliwon. These markets only open on very special days. Pasar kaget spring up just about anywhere and then disappear just as quickly