Indonesia 
Indonesia
is the largest archipelago and the fourth most populous country in the world.
Consisting of five main islands
  (Sumatra,
Jawa, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua) with 33 provinces, 30 smaller archipelagos,
it has a total of 17,508 islands of which about 6,000
are inhabited. The Republic of Indonesia is located
in Southeast Asia and stretches 5,150 km between the Australian and Asian continental
mainland and divides the Pacific and Indian Oceans at the Equator. The name Indonesia
is composed of two Greek words: "Indos" which means Indian and "nesos"
meaning islands. The capital city of Indonesia is Jakarta. The country shares
land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Malaysia.
Other neighboring countries include Singapore, the
Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  Indonesia
climate is distinctly tropical. The east monsoon from June to September brings
dry weather while the west monsoon from December to March is moisture-laden Indonesia
In General bringing rain. The transitional period between these two are interposed
by occasional rain showers, but even in the midst of the west monsoon season,
temperatures range from 21 degrees C (70 F) to 33 degrees C. (90 F) except at
higher altitudes which are much cooler. Heaviest rainfalls are recorded in December
and January. Humidity is between 60-100 %.
There
are more 583 languages and dialects spoken in the archipelago. There normally
belong to the 350 different ethnic groups of the population. Bahasa Indonesia
is the national language, written in Roman script and based on Europeanorthography.
In all tourist destination areas English is the number one foreign languages fairly
spoken and written.    The
staple food of most of Indonesia is "nasi" (rice). On some of the island
in eastern Indonesia, staple food traditionally ranged from corn, sago, cassava
to sweet potatoes. Fish features prominently in the diet as fresh, salted, dried,
smoked or a paste.  Coconut
is found everywhere and besides being produced for cooking oil, its milk - the
juice from the white meat - is an ingredient for many dishes. Spices and hot chili
Peppers are the essence of most cooking, and in some areas they are used generously
such as in West Sumatra and North Sulawesi. Each province or area has its own
cuisine, which vary in the method of cooking and ingredients. The Javanese cuisine
is probably more palatable to the general taste and consists of vegetables, soybeans,
beef, chicken and other varieties.  The
Sumatrans generally eat more beef compared to the other regions. West Sumatra
particularly is known for its Padang restaurants found nationwide. Beside the
hot and spicy food, these restaurants are known for their unique style of service.
Further to the east, seafood features on the daily diet, either grilled or made
into curries. In Bali, Papua and the highlands of North Sumatra and North Sulawesi
pork dishes are specialities. Pork is ussually served in Chinese restaurants or
non-moslem regions.  There
is a wide variety of tropical and sub-tropical fruits and vegetables all year
round. Coffee and tea plantations are plentiful, growing on several islands, and
served everywhere from fine restaurants to small village stalls. There are several
breweries which produce local beer. Bali produces "brem" which is a
rice wine, whereas Toraja has its "tuak" which is also known in North
Sumatra. Most common nationwide are "sate" (skewered grilled meat),
"gado-gado" (vegetable salad with a peanut sauce), "nasi goreng"
(fried rice served at anytime) and "bakmi goreng" (fried noodles).
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