Indonesia in Review

Adventure in the archipelago

We’re feeling remiss that we haven’t properly reflected on the five amazing weeks we spent in Indonesia, so this post is to make amends.

There is so much to say about Indonesia. The country was full of such kind, wonderful people, who are so hospitable and bright. We were always offered a welcome drink upon arrival somewhere new. People went out of their way to help us out, including a man in Ambon who felt the most appropriate way to assist us cross the street was by blocking traffic himself.

Besides the people, the country is spectacularly beautiful and diverse, the food is delicious and interesting, and the history is long and winding. Some things tested our comfort zones, but every time the rewards were more than worth it.

In no particular order, here are a few closing thoughts…

Conversations with new friends

There were quite a few people who spoke some English. Everyone from drivers to tour guides to young kids on the beach were really interested in talking to us. We discussed topics ranging from religion to cultural practice to politics (both Indonesian and American). These conversations were one of the most fun parts of our trip and we continue to think about many of them.

When Indonesians speak English, they often include the word “mister,” and “sister,” and “friend” to address others, and there doesn’t seem to be a word for coworker. It was always “my friend will take you there,” or “hey, sister!” We suppose all of these folks could truly be friends, but if they aren’t, and you know the word for “colleague,” we’d prefer not to hear it.

The kids had a really cute greeting: “Hi my name is!”—and that was it. The first few times we looked expectantly at them for a name, but then we realized, ah, it’s not coming. So we learned to follow with“Hi! What is your name?” For example, the sweet boys below. We can’t remember their names, but they sounded beautiful. They were shy at first, but warmed up to us eventually. Jenna got out our Point Book and they pointed out all the animals and food they knew in English.

Thank you to Marten for the great photo!

Another term we were met with at restaurants was “not spicy for me, spicy for you.” And after our first bite of sambal, we learned to take them seriously! Indonesian food operates on a whole different scale of spiciness than what we see in the United States. Matthew likes spicy food quite a bit and happily consumes it often back home, to the point that Jenna has deemed some of his cooking “inedible” as a result. But he dared not venture beyond a medium on the Indonesian spicy spectrum, and even that was a stretch.

A world of color

There are plants and flowers all over the country. It was incredible to see a place where many people don’t have a lot financially, but still care about tending to gardens and florals. Everything was a receptacle, even old plastic bottles:

Homes are also painted bright pinks, blues, and greens. The colors give such a warm, vivid look and feel to neighborhoods. The gorgeous sunshine certainly helped, too. The photo below on the right is from a hotel and restaurant hallway in Malang where Jenna loved the purple walls. The photo on the left was snapped on the quiet streets of Banda Neira.

Of course, the natural colors of Indonesia are rich in a way that is hard to capture in pictures. The iridescent green of the rice paddies and jungle, the infinite shades of blue in the ocean, and the fiery orange of the sunrise over a distant Mount Bromo volcano that you can see below.

Far from home

Everywhere we’ve been on this trip is objectively far from home for us, however you want to define “home” in our current nomadic state.

But in Indonesia we had a much more visceral sense of being out on the edges of the Earth. Partly this was a function of being on islands much of the time, where we were surrounded by many miles of open ocean, and travel infrastructure wasn’t as well developed. Perhaps it was the unfamiliarity of the cuisine - there’s hardly any Indonesian food in the US. But maybe more than anything else, there are more places in Indonesia where the touch of Western culture feels much lighter and less obvious than in the rest of Asia.

More than a handful of times, as we listened to the evening call to prayer rolling across the water or over the hills, with the light of day fading to night, we looked at each and said “we’re so far from home!”

Rubber time

In our experience of Indonesia, people are rarely stressed, almost never in a rush, and generally seem to have a very chill attitude about the world. We’re sure there are exceptions and maybe we missed some cultural context. But business was almost always conducted at a leisurely pace and people often took time to sit, chat, and share a coffee or a cigarette with friends in the middle of what we would consider the work day. In fact, they have a saying: jam karet which translates to rubber time. Their days stretch and bend and bounce with whatever is thrown at them.

Photos we don’t want you to miss

A hut we spent the afternoon reading in on Lombok, and a guide aboard our boat on Banda Neira

One of the fanciest welcome drinks we received on Lombok that went from purple to blue after we added the magic elixir in the green cup, and a few monkeys coming to terrorize hotel guests in Uluwatu.

The best beef rendeng from Ruby’s Cafe on Gili Air, and Matthew ready for a dive in Banda Neira

One more from the gorgeous Prambanan Temple