Indonesia – the largest state in Southeast Asia
SHOPPING
Open daily from 9.00 to 18.00, many private establishments, especially in tourist areas, are open until 21.00.
Everything from souvenirs to clothes of very high quality. Handmade products: bone and wood carving, batik, puppets, pottery, as well as exotic paintings by local artists.
Tourists are impressed by local market breaks, where you will find exotic fruits, vegetables, seasonings for various dishes, spices, etc. In the markets, in the shops and small shops, it is customary to bargain.
The best purchases in Indonesia are batik, silver, fabrics, porcelain, tin products, paintings, wooden and leather goods. As inexpensive and unusual gifts, you can buy Indonesian honey, Javanese jasmine tea and Indonesian coffee.
The most popular acquisitions: unique figurines made from ebony, sandalwood and mahogany. Silver products are very interesting.
WHERE TO STAY
In Indonesia, high-quality and comfortable hotels, fully consistent with its official “star”. There are hotels 3 *, 4 *, 5 *, in addition, many 5 * can be characterized as “de luxe”. In hotels everything is very clean and civilized, they don’t drink water from the tap – bottled drinking water is provided free of charge.
In Jakarta, cheap hotels are usually located near busy, noisy streets, where it is very difficult to relax.
When a hotel resident invites guests to his place, he must accompany the guests, otherwise the hotel security may delay them until the owner of the room (ie, the resident) appears. And the tourist will not bother and look for in the room.
SEA AND BEACHES
Most of the beaches in Bali are municipal, but the use of beach equipment is usually included in the price of hotels. There are private beaches owned by hotels in Nusa Dua and Jimbaran. All beaches are with fine yellow sand, only in the southeastern part of Bali – black volcanic sand, but this area is little demanded by tourists. Sunbathing in Bali in the nude – not only indecent, but also against the law.
Lovers of tropical tan need to protect themselves from exposure to direct sunlight and be sure to use protective equipment: the deceptive feeling of a “dull” sun can lead to severe burns.
Indonesia’s beaches are some of the best for surfing.
STORY
Little is known about the population that lived on the archipelago 5000 years ago, but some experts believe that migration to these islands from the southern part of the Asian continent existed as early as 2500 BC.
In the II century AD on the territory of the present western part of Indonesia, a highly developed civilization arose, whose cosmology, architecture and political structure were modeled on the Indian.
The Buddhist state of Srivijaya that emerged at the end of the 7th century in East Sumatra established control over the strategically important Malacca and Sunda Straits. This state dominated the surrounding seas for 600 years. Having built the largest ships in this region, it regularly sent them to the shores of India and China.
Meanwhile, Java has become a great island empire, since it has become possible to support the existence of a large population here through intensive irrigated rice farming. The Hindu ruler Sanjay was the first famous great temple builder. Later, it was replaced by the Buddhist dynasty Shailendra and its rulers erected magnificent buildings: Borobudur, Mendut, Kalasan and Seva.
Rakai Picatan, a descendant of Sanjai, overthrew the Shailendra dynasty in 856 and marked his victory with the construction of the magnificent Loro Jonggrang temple in Prambanan. However, in 930, the capital was suddenly transferred to East Java. Subsequently, the Sanskrit classics were translated into Javanese during the rule of Raja Airlanggi, which marked the birth of local literature.
East Jawan Empire Majapahit became the first state to cover the entire Indonesian archipelago; all port cities on the shores of the Yavan Sea turned out to be its vassals. Majapahit reached the zenith of her power in the middle of the XIV century, with Raja Hayame Vuruk and Patiha Gadj Mad, after whose death she quickly fell into decay. Control of vital coastal areas soon passed to several new Muslim states, and many of the Indianized Javanese aristocrats fled to Bali.
Muslim traders from India and the Middle East had been visiting Indonesia for several centuries when, at the end of the 13th century, residents of the commercial ports of North-East Sumatra began to convert to Islam.
The Portuguese appeared in Indonesian waters in 1509, just 12 years after Vasco da Gama rounded the southern tip of Africa, but they were not allowed to go to the Muslim-controlled spice trade.