Facts for Travellers

What to take The best is to take as little as possible. Because of the climate and provisions of the country it is not easy to take your 20 kg suitcase with you if you are planning to travel around. Many of the thing you can buy in your own country you can also buy in Indonesia. In all larger towns are shopping centers and all villages have at least a small shop where you can buy necessary things like soap, shampoo, washing powder and so on. The best cloths to take are cotton ones. If you really want to save space you only have to take two sets of cloths. One to use and one you can wash and dry, and remember dark colored cloths hide the dirt better. It is easy to buy some extra cloths in Indonesia and if you don't need them any more you can give or throw them away, which is always better than take your whole wardrobe with you. Only shoes are difficult to find in big sizes. If you plan to do some real trekking it is worth to invest in good shoes. Some tracks are good to walk but you also can find yourself back in the mud or on sharp volcanic rocks. If you decide to go to higher places or to the inland of Irian Jaya it is advisable to take also some warm cloths because temperatures drop dramatically at night at higher altitude. Don't forget that you are in an Islamic country where not all people are used to very short t-shirts and shorts so take at least a shirt with longer sleeves and a short which will reach till your knees or even longer. Also at night or if you are going into the forest or jungle it is advisable to use long sleeves and trousers because of the mosquitos and snakes. If you are planning to do longer trekking in uncommon touristic areas it is a good habit to take your own first aid kit. For the information on what to put in it see the part Medical Information, Predeparture Planning. Be sure you take a good sunscreen lotion with UV protection and a good pair of sunglasses. Also good to take are some small things which can make live easier like; a can opener, a towel, an international diving license if you are planning to drive yourself, copies of your important documents, a small knife, some paper and a pen, some passport photos, scotch tape, a small alarm clock, a piece of rope and a torch. If you want to do some real jungle trekking you can also need a water bottle, a compass, maps, instant food for one day, a burner and a small pan. Remember these are only some hints and it depends on what you want to do on your trip. A tent or sleeping back is not really necessary unless you plan to stay on higher altitudes, but in many places you can also rent a tent and sleeping back. The last part is how take this all with you. A medium size backpack without a frame is the most easy. Be sure you take one with a good quality because in Indonesia it is normal that all luggage will be transported on top of the busses and the don't ask you if you have any chinaware in it. Also very easy is a 'one day size' backpack so you don't have to carry everything on every trip you make and you can take with you only what you need.

Visa and other documents For many nations it is not necessary to have a visa to enter Indonesia if you enter the country at one of the airports or seaports. These countries are; Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, The Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden,Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the USA and Venezuela. The gateways for entering are (A=airport S=seaport); Bali: Den Pasar - Ngurah Rai [A] ,Benoa [S] Irian Jaya: Biak - Frans Kaisiepo [A] Java: Jakarta - Sukarno Hatta [A], Tanjung Priok [S], Surabaya - Juanda [A] Kalimantan: Balikpapan - Sepinggan [A], Pontianak - Soepadio [A] Maluku: Ambon - Pattimura [A] Pelabuhan Ambon [S] Riau (East Sumatra): Pulau Batam - Batu Besar {A], Batu Ampon [S] Sulawesi: Manado - Sam Ratulangi [A], Bitung [S] Sumatra: Medan - Polonia [A], Belawan [S], Pekanbaru - Simpang Tiga [A], Padang - Tabing [A] Timor: Kupang - El Tari [A] If you are from one of the countries above you will get a two month visa stamped into your passport which can not be extended. Beware of this two month limit. If you enter Indonesia on 15 July for example you have to leave the country at last on 14 September and NOT on 15 September. Every year again people make this mistake and the show up on the airport with an overstayed visa. You will be send directly to the immigration office to explain this and we know there were even people sent to jail for one or to days so the immigration officials could clear up the case. Only in some cases this 60 days limit can be extended. But only if you have a good reason for it like a plane flight which is cancelled or illness. In any case, if this happens, go to the immigration office before your visa is expired. To enter Indonesia your passport has to be at least valid for six months after the day you leave Indonesia and you need an ongoing ticket. If you show up with a one-way ticket immigration will force you to buy an ongoing ticket on the airport which is always more expensive then buy it at your own travel agency. If you don't know from where to leave Indonesia, buy a ticket from Medan to Singapore for example and try to change it with the ticket you need as soon as you know more. If you can't change the ticket the loss of money in this case will be small. If you go to Indonesia for other purpose then tourism or you are not from the above listed nations, it is possible to get another visa like a business visa, a visa for family visit, or a visitor's visa for research for example. All these kind of visa are valid thirty days and can be extended in Indonesia. To extend these visa you can go to one of the immigration offices with your passport, two photographs and an Indonesian sponsor. Take notice that it can take some days before your visa will be extended and beware not to get ripped off because the price for this service is a standard one. To get more information about visa contact the local embassy or consulate in your country. Beside of your passport it is a good habit on every journey to make copies of it and keep those separated from your passport. Losing your passport in Indonesia means big trouble because you'll have to make at least a trip to your embassy in Jakarta which can be a long trip if you are in Irian Jaya for example. We advise to make also copies of traveller cheques, health insurance, driver's license, credit cards and bills of photo and video equipment. In case of loss it can help you at the police station and later on to get anything replaced.

Money and customs The national currency in Indonesia is the Rupiah. It is not allowed to take in or out the country more than 50,000 rp. Most of the money is paper money in bank notes of 100rp, 500rp, 1,000rp, 5,000rp, 10,000rp, 50,000rp and 100,000rp. The coins which still can be found are 5rp, 10rp, 25rp, 50rp and 100rp. Be sure you always have some small notes or coins because in most parts of Indonesia they don't always have change for your 50,000rp or 100,000rp note. Changing money is not to difficult. In all big cities banks can be found where you can change almost all currencies. The best traveller cheques to take are the American Express (AMEXCO), they can be changed in almost every bank. In many tourist areas you can also find money changers. It is worth to look around first what to get for your money because the rates can vary. If you need to change large amounts of money ask first if it is possible. Some banks or money changers do not have enough cash to pay you. Credit cards are not wide accepted yet. You can use them only in the big hotels and exclusive restaurants in the cities. If changing money it is mostly not necessary to change a lot with U$100 or U$200 you can travel a few days. If you have to pay large bills like from hotels or car rentals it is the best to change the money before you have to pay. This makes it more difficult to be robbed. See also the section Danger and Theft on this page. It is normal in Indonesia to bargain about what you want to buy but many tourist shops now have fixed prices. Take the bargaining serious because the people are use to this kind of selling and buying and if you're not interested just say it and don't start bargaining and at the end say know. Starting to bargain means you are interested and you want to make a deal. To check out what you get for your currency jump to the currency conversion page on this site.

Health and Medical care Traveling in tropical countries always brings higher risks because bacteria can grow fast with this climate. Therefore it is necessary to prepare yourself well before you take off. Ask your doctor for the 'Yellow Booklet', the International Certificate of Vaccination, which records all your vaccinations. If you take any medicines with you ask your doctor to make a prescription so you wont get into trouble with the customs. Because it is important to know something about health and diseases if you travel to the tropics this topic is separated into three sections. Predeparture planning How to keep healthy in Indonesia Diseases We try to keep this page updated but sometimes medical advises change quick. To get the most updated information about health and tropical diseases jump to www.cdc.gov

Danger and Theft Theft in Indonesia is small although there are pickpockets. Foreign tourist are sometimes a great object with lots of cash in their pockets. That's why it is recommended to take traveler cheques instead of cash money. The best places to take your valuables are money belts or pouches with a strap looped around your neck. In case you take any valuables in your pocket be sure you can close this pocket. This makes the change as small as possible that pickpocket can rip you off. It is a good idea to have some small money (U$100 or as much as a ticket to Jakarta will cost from the furthest place you go) left, in a secret pocket in you backpack for example, together with a set of copies of your other valuables. In case you are ripped off you always have some cash to make telephone calls or go to Jakarta or Bali for new documents and cash. As mentioned before it is a good idea to make copies of all your valuables (flight tickets, passport, traveller cheques, credit cards, bills of your camera and so on). It is wise to keep sets of copies on some different places for example one set in your backpack and one set in another pocket but never together with your valuables itself. Also leave one copie at home so in case you are totally ripped off you always can make a collect call home and ask them to send the copies to you. In case of theft you have to go to the police to report theft and ask them for a letter of reported theft/loss. In this case the copies you made can help you. When your ticket is stolen you can go, with the copy you made, to an office of the airline company and report that your ticket is lost. You mostly have to pay some money to get a refund. The worst which can happen is when you loose your passport. Also report this to the police and ask for the letter of reported theft/loss because you need this letter on the embassy or consulate. Then you have to go to the embassy or consulate of your country which is mostly located in Jakarta or Bali (find out the addresses before you go to Indonesia) where you will get a replacement. Another danger in Indonesia is drugs although you are mostly the one who is the danger. Drugs is strictly forbidden in Indonesia and at the moment the police appears against drug very strict. If you are catched you can count on 20 years of prison and the prisons in Indonesia are not what they are in the west so you are warned. Mostly on Bali is a wide spread trade in all kinds of drugs now. Especially at night dealers on the street will approach you and ask you to buy. Before it were mostly magic mushrooms and marihuana which you could buy but nowadays you can buy anything you can imagine although the quality is sometimes poor and every year again western tourist end their holidays, in the best case, in the hospital while they afterwards can explain their action to the police or court. Other dangers come from mother nature. Snakes, insects and crocodiles can be a danger to you. From all 2,500 species of snakes only 250 are poisonous and about 10% of them are able to kill people. But still you can not take any risk with snakes. There are several poisonous snakes in Indonesia from which the cobra (ular sendok) is the most famous. Sea and water snakes are all poisonous and you can recognize them by their flat tail. If you are eye to eye with a snake there is only one solution, do NOT move. Snakes are almost blind and only rely on their smell and heat detection. As long as you do not move a snake can not detect you by its heat sensing organs and will not attack you. Mostly they will move on and if they are about 2m away from you it is save to move again. Most people are bitten by a snake because they step on them. That's also why you have to use good shoes and trousers so the change to get bitten is minimized. If you are bitten the best is to stay calm and bind a towel around the nearest limb which will slow down the poison. Never close a whole bodypart with a strap because this will stop also the blood circulation. Then the best is to kill the snake or at least try to remember how it looked like so a doctor will be able to give you the right antivenin. Now it is time to find medical help as quick as possible but do not panic, note that only 3% of the people bitten by a snake die of it and snakebites are rare. Wasps and bees are more dangerous to human then snakes because they are more aggressive. Wasp or bee stings can kill people, mostly if you get about 80 stings but for some people 1 sting can be fatal. Especially people who are allergic to wasp or bee stings have to take care and it is recommended to put some antihistamine and epinephrine into your first aid kit. Normally wasps and bees will not attack people as long as they are not stirred up. But if they attack they will be with all of them and the best you can do is run like hell. Crocodiles (buaya) only live in the swampy jungle of Irian Jaya and as long as you do not disturb one you do not have to be afraid. Their are every year one or two cases of people who were attacked by a crocodile but mostly it is their own fault. If you are swimming in the swampy waters you can ask for trouble.

Accommodation In Indonesia there is a wide variety of accommodation available from staying at local peoples houses till five stars western hotels. The prices will also vary from about 20,000 rp for a homestay till over 1,500,000 rp for a first class hotel in Jakarta. In tourist centers like Bali, Yogyakarta, and some parts of Sumatra you have the largest choice to stay while in the jungle of Irian Jaya you mostly have to stay at the police station or at the local people. About the western higher class hotels doesn't have to be much explained. They are comfortable and you have all luxury you can expect. Of course also the prices are first class. Their is a wide range of mid class and bottom end hotels. They sometimes offer hot water which is depending on the place. In the touristic areas you can find hot water while in the outer areas you only have your own mandi. Mandi means bath or bathing and is a typical way to wash yourself. The kamar mandi or bathroom contains a big tank filled with water and next to it you can find a plastic kind of saucepan. The Indonesian way of bathing is to take the water with the saucepan and pour it over yourself. The water tank is not meant to sit in because you pollute the water and mostly the water is refreshed only one time a day or sometimes less. Also the mid class hotels at the bottom end and homestays have this way of bathing and mostly the kamar mandi is a shared one. Toilets (kamar kecil) can vary from the western toilets till just a hole in the ground. The traditional Indonesian toilet is a hole in the ground with places on both sides to put your feet and then you have to squat and aim. Indonesians also do not use toilet paper. The use their left hand and the sauce pan known from the mandi to splash a lot of water around. (That's also why it is not polite to give an Indonesian something with your left hand). So buy toilet paper yourself but if you use toilet paper be sure you flush the toiler regular because the plumbing system is not calculated for toilet paper and is easy plugged. Now more and more Indonesian toilets are replaced with the western toilets. The more basic the hotel the more contact you will have with the local people. Basic hotels are often noisy with people talking and making music, radios with the volume high and from the other side the television with the volume high but you will get used to this. The hotels are divided into different categories depending on the price although the government is forcing all these homestays, penginapan and losmen to change their names to hotel. But still you can find the old names or the people changed the name in flower hotel (melati) for the basic hotels or star hotel (bintang) for the better hotels each divided into five classes. Very basic are also the 'homestays', which means people do let some rooms of their house for tourists. Often it is also possible to share meals with the people. It is a little bit similar with staying at the local people but when you stay at local people the contact is more close while the homestays are more used to tourists and the let you go your own way. Losmen and penginapan are very basic hotels. The most basic is the penginapan which offers only a small room with a bed. The losmen mostly has some more luxury but still is basic mostly with a shared mandi. More comfort will give the wisma. A wisma is a mostly family runned guesthouses with a very good service. In many cases you will have your own toilet and mandi and in touristic areas often there is a western shower.

Food and drinks In Indonesia there is a wide variety of food and drinks available which depends on the region where you are. Padang in western Sumatra is famous about its Padang-food, which is very spicy, while the food in the middle and east of Java is more sweet. In the eastern provinces and Irian Jaya is a lack of variety and the food is always similar cooked with not so much spices. Most important is the rice in Indonesia (except for Irian Jaya where the people also eat sweet potatoes as main food) which is combined with meat and vegetables. Some vegetables are spicy and hot from chilli and others are just spicy. The meat is mostly from cow or chicken, because most parts of Indonesia are Muslim and do not eat pork meat, and can be grilled or cooked with spices. Indonesians mostly eat fresh fruit as a desert and drink tea (teh) with sugar especially when the food is spicy this is a very good thirst quencher. Also very common are several kinds of soup. Many Indonesians eat these soups as a snack many times with krupuk (a fried dough of shrimps or fish and cassava). The Indonesians eat many snacks which you can buy everywhere on the streets at the small stalls (kaki lima). Popular are pisang goreng (fried bananas), bakmi (rice flour noodles in soup or fried), sate (grilled meat on a skewer served with peanut sauce or soya sauce), peanuts in palm sugar, cooked peanuts, coconut cookies, bakso (meatball soup), lemper (sticky rice), lumpia (fried pancakes with vegetables and meat), sop (clear soup) and soto (a meat and vegetable broth with rice). Other popular Indonesian dishes are; Cap cai (originally a Chinese dish of fried vegetables). Gado-gado (various cooked or steamed vegetables served with peanut sauce). Martabak (a kind of pancake made of eggs, meat and vegetables. There is a sweet and normal version). Mie goreng (fried noodles served with vegetables or meat). Nasi campur (steamed rice with some vegetables and meat). Nasi goreng (fried rice with some vegetables and meat. A very popular dish in Indonesia). Nasi goreng istemewa (nasi goreng special - similar to nasi goreng but served with a fried egg). Nasi rames (rice with vegetables, meat and a fried egg), Opor ayam (chicken cooked in coconut milk usually served with white rice (nasi putih). There are many drinks available in Indonesia. Not only the western soft drinks but also the fruit juices and several kinds of beer and stronger alcoholic drinks. Water is available in bottles of different sizes and the most common brand is Aqua. If you want to order water you just ask for aqua and you will get a bottle of water. The water from the water tap or a well is called air, air minum and is mostly not healthy to drink. There are many kinds of fruit juices available in Indonesia and they are fresh made. The only thing you have to check is if they do not use water from the tap or a well but boiled water or water from a bottle. Further the tea in Indonesia is very common you can get plain tea (teh tawar, teh pahit), tea with sugar (Teh gula) or ice tea (teh es). Some years ago an Indonesian businessman had the idea to sell tea with sugar in a bottle. Now you can find this product on every street corner called Teh Botol which is delicious when you are thirsty and you drink it cold. Specific Indonesian alcoholic drinks are arak (distilled rice wine), brem (rice wine) and tuak (made from the sap from a palm tree). Arak is also used to mix with some soft drinks like 7-up and Sprite. Beer is also widely available in Indonesia. Well known is Bintang (brewed by Heineken from the Netherlands), Anker and San Miguel. Bottles are available in sizes from 33cc till 1 liter. But watch out in this climate, if you are tired and it is hot a cold beer tastes great with your diner but if you get up afterwards you will notice there is something happened with the gravity. If you want to know more about the medical side of food and drinks in Indonesia jump to "How to keep healthy in Indonesia" on this site.

Film, Photo and Video Indonesia is a real photogenic country with lots of different cultures and people. You can shoot photographs here the whole day long and because film and developing is not to expensive it is worth taking a lot of pictures. When you have to take film or videotapes to the airport beware of the X-ray equipment. Ask the officials if the can inspect your bag with the film or tapes apart because X-rays can damage the film although we never had any problems with the normal and low speed films. If you want to photograph the local people then you have to do it in a discrete way because some people are shy or don't want to be put on film, so always ask the people. Some people want to be paid for taken a photograph of them. Especially in Irian Jaya the people expect to be paid after you took a picture. But in Irian Jaya the people do not want to be paid only for the money but also because they like the red color of the 100rp notes and they accept only 100rp. So if you plan to go to the jungle of Irian Jaya be sure you have enough 100rp notes with you. But most people don't mind if you take a photo and especially younger people will ask you to send them a copy and they will give you a piece of paper with their address. Because the sun is very bright between 10 am and 2 pm it is wise to shoot before or after this time. Always check out from which side the sun comes so you can take the photo with the sun behind you or next to you. Taking a lens hood will reduce the reflections in the lens and a polarizing filter will help to reduce haze and makes the sky blue again. Beware of sharp shadows because with the bright sun the shadow is really sharp and an object which is half in the sun half in the shadow will not be well exposed. If you can not get a balanced lightening you have to expose only on the dark parts or only on the light parts or use a 'fill-in' flash. If you want to take pictures of the sunset you have to expose on the sky without the sun and with these exposure rating you can take the sunset. Bright colors look extra bright if the sun comes from behind you but beware of the fact that when the sun comes exactly from behind you you will not see any shadow and there is no depth inside the photo. Taking photographs from a moving train or bus is not easy because the roads are not so smooth in Indonesia so you need a very fast shutter speed. Before you step into a bus or taxi take a look at the windows because many windows are from colored glass which is sometimes not noticeable from inside anymore but your pictures will get the same colored haze. Film is easy to get in Indonesia in many brands and cheap to buy. The only problem to buy is slide film and black and white film. If you are going eastward the prices will get up and sometimes the expire date is not valid anymore so buy your film in the western part of Indonesia. Developing is also cheap and will mostly take about one hour or even less. But check out the photographs they printed for others because sometimes they do not always clean the machines and then the quality is not to good. Slide film will be send to Singapore and, when send from Java, it will take about four to seven days before you will get it back. Also black and white film will be send overseas but we have no experience with it. Film for film cameras is not available anymore in Indonesia and if you want to make movies you have to take all film with you. Also developing is not possible or it will be send overseas and it is not sure when and if you will get it back. Tapes for video cameras is available in Indonesia in the cities and touristic areas and they sell VHS as well as Video-8 tapes. Taking videos can be real fun especially if you can play them on the tv-set in the guesthouse or at the local people. The whole family and neighborhood will sit down to laugh about the experiences of those western strangers. In Irian Jaya video can cause a real shock. We did make recordings from some Dani people in the jungle and the were very curious about our 'magic eye' so we decided to show them the recording true the eyepiece of the camera. The first Dani man almost got a heart attack when he saw himself inside that little box and our guide had to calm him down and explain the meaning of it to him. Then we smoked a cigaret and everything was alright again.

Time, Business hours and Holidays The image below shows the time zones of Indonesia. If it is 12 noon in London it means it will be 7pm in Jakarta, 8pm in Udjung Pandang and 9pm in Jayapura. Because Indonesia is around the equator days and nights do have the same length. Sunrise will be between 5.30 and 6.00 am and sunset will be between 5.30 and 6.00 pm depending on the place where you are in a time zone. Most government offices are open six days a week from Monday to Thursday 8 am to 3 pm, Friday from 8 am to 11.30 pm and Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm. The privat offices mostly run from 8 am to 4 pm and sometimes on Saturday morning. Banks and post offices are open from Monday to Friday 8 am to 2 pm and Saturday from 8 am to 11 pm or 12 pm. The private money changers and banks in hotels are mostly open till in the evening. Shops are open from 8 am to 9 pm but some shops close between 12 am and 2 pm. The bigger shopping centers are mostly open between 8.30 am to 8 pm and sometimes also on Sunday. Like in many countries Sunday is the public holiday but many shops and sometimes also airline offices are open in the morning. The national holiday is 17 August which is the Independence Day (Proklamasi Kemerdekaan). Indonesia got its independence on 17 August 1945 and on 27 December 1949 Indonesia became legally independent from The Netherlands but 17 August is still the day of national celebrations. Kartini Day is another national holiday and is celebrated on 21 April. Raden Ajeng Kartini was a girl born on 21 April 1879 as a daughter of the regent of Jepara in Java and she was the first emancipated and nationalist woman. She started to write letters to her Dutch friends in which she expressed her feelings about the restrictions of the adat system and the Islamic customs. The letters are collected and published and are now real modern classics. Raden Kartini died in childbirth at the age of 24. On Kartini day all women use their regional dressing and like on mothers day the mothers are not allowed to work and the fathers and children have to do the work. Another typical Indonesian holiday is Bersih Desa what literal means cleaning the villages. Bersih Desa is celebrated at the time of the rice harvest but is now only celebrated in small villages. People are cleaning the houses and streets and fences are whitewashed. In this way the people remove the evil spirits from the villages. Of course also Christmas and New Year are national holidays. Typical Muslim holidays are Ramadan or Bulan Puasa. It is the traditional Muslim fasting from sunrise to sunset. The Ramadan falls in the ninth month of the Muslim or Javanese calendar. The Muslim people do not eat and drink this month at day. They get up at 3 am, eat and then begin there day with praying. At the first day of the 10th month of the Muslim calender, that's when you can see the crescent of the new moon with the naked eye, Ramadan ends and it is time for Hari Raya or Idul Fitri in Arabic. Idul Fitri is celebrated like Christmas. At 7 am all people move to the center of the village where an open-air-service starts with verses from the Koran and praying after that the celebrations starts for the next two days. People dress in new clothes and the woman use with clothes like a nuns. All people visit and revisit their neighbors bringing them presents and special prepared food. Every visitor gets a cup of fresh tea and cake or cookies. Alquran is mainly celebrated on Sumatra and Java and is a sacrificial ceremony corresponding to the Arabian event. Idul Adha is the Muslim day of sacrifice and is held on the 10th day of the 11th month of the Muslim calendar. In this time a lot of Muslim also go to Mecca. The birthday of Mohammed is called Maulid Nabi Mohammed or Hari Natal and is celebrated on the 12th day of the new year of the Muslim calendar. The celebration of the ascension of the Prophet is called Miraj Nabi Mohammed.

Post, Telecommunication and Electricity Postal services (kantor pos) can be found everywhere in Indonesia. It is not to difficult to send the regular mail from Indonesia which can be done by air mail or by sea mail. By sea mail you can send up to 10 kg. When sending letters or postcard it is also possible to send them by express mail (kilat) or as registered mail (surat tercatat) although you mostly have to show what you send when you want to register it so it is wise not to close your post yet. Depending on the place where you post your mail it can take from 4 days up to 2 weeks before your post arrives in Europe or America. Post stamps can be bought also in shops where you buy postcards but beware of the fact that they sometimes sell stamps which are cancelled or stamps with a higher rate. For incoming mail it is possible to use the poste restante service at the post offices of the bigger cities. Make sure people put in the left upper corner 'Poste Restante' and underline the name of the receiver. Also members of American Express (AMEXCO) have the possibility to use post restante at the offices of AMEXCO. When sending books, medicines or other valuables you have to count on it that halve of these mail is ripped of or replaced with something else. Telecommunication by telephone can still be very frustrating in Indonesia although slowly it is getting better. Lines are busy, telephone exchanges overloaded and the fares are high. Near bus stations, airports and in the center of towns you mostly can find pay phones although they are mostly out of order. With the pay phones it is only possible to make local calls. For intercity calls and international calls you have to go to the telephone office (Kantor Telepon dan Telegrap) which can be found in all bigger cities. There are the government runned Perumtel as well as several private telephone companies (Warpostal) who give possibilities to make phone calls, send telexes and faxes. You have to report to where you want to call and as soon as there is a line available the will drop you in a telephone box where you can make your call. At the modern stations you can dial yourself while at the older station an operator will make the call for you. For collect calls you also have to go to the telephone office where are now also 'home country direct' telephones available, or you can find them at the airports. You simply have to push the button from the country you want to call to and you will get the operator in that country. Because the rates for international telephone calls are high some countries offer the possibility to get a special credit card. You have to handle the same as with collect calls. Just call the operator in your own country and ask for this service. You will have to give your card number and a protection code. The charge of the call will then be added to your own telephone bill at home. Also calls to other countries are possible with this service. This is useful when the telephone rates in your country are much lower then in Indonesia. For example a call from Indonesia to Singapore and Malaysia will cost about U$1.50 per minute, to Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philipinas U$2 per minute. To Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, India and the USA it will cost you about U$2.5 per minute, Canada and the UK will cost about U$3 per minute while Western Europe, Alaska, South America and Africa will cost about U$3.5 per minute. Electricity is standardize to 220 Volts, 50 cycles in Indonesia although in some places still 110 Volts is supplied. So first check out the voltage that is used before you plug in your equipment. The sockets that are used are similar with the European standard with two round prongs and no earth pin. The power distribution is pretty reliable in the major areas but still there are blackouts. In the rural areas electricity sometimes is supplied from a local diesel generator. Blackouts are common in these areas because the generator has to be serviced, is running out of fuel or just fails to work. In these areas electricity is sometimes only available during night time. Therefore it is wise to take a battery torch with you if you go out at night in these areas. If the electricity drops out it is very dark on the streets and there are many holes in the street from the sewer where you can easily break your legs if you fall in.

Entertainment First of all there are many places where you can watch the traditional Indonesian entertainment like the wayang play and dancing. Some places are set up for tourism but it is also possible to be a guest at one of the traditional events. The best is to ask the local people what are the possibilities in the area where you are. If you prefer to go to the cinema you wont find any problem. In every town, even the small ones you can find a cinema. In the major cities you can find modern cinemas with the latest movies but in the rural areas the quality of the cinemas can be really bad with unsharp pictures and unsynchronized sound although it is an experience to watch for half an hour or so. In the major cities you can also find discos. Some discos are located inside the five star hotels but there are also a lot of private discos. The cover charge is mostly not to high but the drinks can be expensive especially in the western discos.