Indonesia Travel Tips II

Here are more tips for you ... You can read other tips in ‘Indonesia Travel Tips I’

6. The staple food in Indonesia is steam rice. It is usually served with a variety side dishes. Most of the side dishes taste spicy. So if you can not tolerate spices, make sure you ask for non-spicy food before ordering. One more thing, make sure that you know exactly the prices of your food before ordering.
Then, do not drink from the tap water. The tap water here does not meet the requirement for safe drinking water. Keep a bottled water with you. You can purchase the bottled water from a supermarket.

7. As Indonesia is a hot and humid country; light clothing, like trousers, slack, shirt, is more comfortable. Avoid wearing halter-tops or shorts unless you are on the beach or around sport facilities area.

8. Do bargain when you buy souvenirs or hire a tour guide.

9. Public toilet here could also be a huge problem. Do not expect to find good and clean public toilet on the street, at bus terminals, train stations or even airports. Even for me, I try not to go to the public toilets unless I really really desperately need one. There are some good and clean public toilets in big shopping malls.

10. Most Indonesian can not speak English and most sign boards are in Indonesian. May be it is better if you are familiar with Indonesian words, such as: Good morning: Selamat pagi; Good afternoon: Selamat siang; Good night: Selamat malam; Buka: open; Tutup: closed; Masuk: enter; Keluar: exit; WC/Toilet: washroom; Wanita: ladies; Pria: gents; Kanan: right; Kiri: left; Pesan: order; Terima kasih: thank you; Makan: to eat; Minum: to drink; Air: water.

11. Lastly, do not forget to take note of these emergency phone number:
Police department: 110
Fire department: 113
Ambulance/ medical emergency: 118/119
Phone directory: 108

Well, those are all tips that I think may be useful for your trip to Indonesia. Even that the public facilities are not as good as you have in your home country; visiting and exploring Indonesia’s natural landscape and culture would broaden your horizon ... because everything here is just different and unique ...

Welcome to Indonesia!!