Thursday, December 9, 2010

Indonesia the place to be?

One of the famous places to visit by visitors is Bali because of its beautiful beaches.Indonesia is famous for bali which is one of the more developed places in terms for tourism. There are also many other forms of leisure activities that could be found elsewhere in Indonesia. Like for example the Tabut festival where villagers build and decorate a bouraq( winged horses) where it is is decorated with a face of a woman. When a bouraq crosses path with another they would have to fight. This type of festivals are unique to Indonesia as it could only be found there and no where else.

Indonesia also has their own theme parks. But I will talk about the more famous one which is called the Ancol Dreamland. It is located in Ancol Bay City which is near Jakarta. The themepark has over 40 rides and they have themed areas in the themepark like seaworld and ocean dream.

This is where i notice the disneylization of the country as it is evident in their themeparks. As we all know Disney is popular for having themed sections in their themeparks like for example the fairy section in disney land and they also have the so called futuristic section where there is buzz lightyer from the movie Toy Story. Therefore this is where i spot the disney in this place. Also one of my friends has actually been there and he told me that there was mascots at the area. That is another sign of disney that i have came to notice.

Their Language.

Hello again!

Now i will talk about the languages that could be found in Indonesia. Indonesia is a country full of culture and different ethnic groups just like Singapore. The main language that is spoken in Indonesia is Bahasa Indonesia. It is different compared to Bahasa Melayu which is often spoken by the Malay community here in Singapore. However there are also other languages that are spoken in Indonesia like Javenese, Balinese and Sudanese dialects. This is due to the foreign influences in the past. In all Indonesia has 300 different languages spoken because of its wide array of ethnic groups.

The indigenous people of Indonesia

Hi everyone,

I will now talk about a particular indigenous group that i have came across while doing my research on Indonesia. They are called the rainforest people. They are the indigenous people of Halmera. Halmera is one of the island that belongs to Indonesia. The island they are living in sparsely populated but however due to globalization they are affected. Coal mines are built on this Island and their way of lives are affected. After further research, i came to know that not only this particular tribe is affected by this but also there are others.

I found a research saying" Indonesia: Halt Mining that threatens indigenous people." The article says that 3 indigenous group are affected namely the Maggarai, Leragere and the Kedang indigenous people. The article said that due to the mining, 60000 people are being misplaced from their homes. Also their source of food are affected as miner contaminate their river. This is one of the issues that the indigenous people are suffering due to globalization and personally I dont like whatever that is happening as I feel so bad for the indigenous people. Imagine being displaced out of your home cause of another man's greed. I will leave you to think about that.

Uniquely Indonesia

There are many things that make a country unique. From the way the people live, to their culture and also by their lifestyle. Indonesia has a mix of the past and the present. With kampungs and farms still available in most parts of Indonesia and also building and sky scrappers at the city, it shows the uniqueness that this country posses that is very hard to find elsewhere with the rise globalization and urbanization.


Their customs and tradition are still preserved and is not altered. They have been able to preserve their traditional music where one would play the gemalan. This instrument is still being used all over Indonesia and in fact it has also been brought over to neighboring countries like Singapore and Malaysia.


Indonesia dance reflects its rich diversity of cultures and ethnic groups. Austronesian and Melanesian tribal dances are visible in their dances which shows how the dance in Indonesia are influenced by neighboring countries. In all Indonesia has almost 3000 original dances which in my opinion makes it really unique.

Other things that make Indonesia unique would be the wayang kulit which means shadow play where they would cast shadows of a puppet to tell a story. Lastly would be silat which is a form of a Malay martial art. Indonesia developed and created silat and its roots remain original from when it first started. Being a silat practitioner myself, I personally feel that silat has changed overtime to a more of a competitive sport.

There in my opinion, what makes Indonesia unique is the people, its tradition and culture.

Culture of Indonesia


Hello my fellow readers!

Culture is defined as "the attitudes, feelings, values, and behaviour that characterize and inform society as a whole or any social group within it". Like I have said in my previous post, Indonesia is rich in culture as it is being influenced by those early settlers from middle east and Europe due to the importance of its geographical location which served as an important trading route. Due to this it has resulted in many culture fusion like for example in Singapore's context would be the Eurasians. As for Indonesia it is the Abangan, Kaharingan and the Bodha. Their culture is most influenced by the framework of Hinduism.

Being a Muslim country, Indonesia culture is more conservative as the people are bounded by their religion which is Islam. A mix of culture Indonesia has due to the wide spectrum of ethnic groups. However because it is a Muslim country, there are some restrictions or things that should be respected like drinking and gambling which is forbidden in the religion. Drinking alcoholic beverage is not forbidden there but should be consumed not in front of a local.

Personally I have been there myself as my grandfather's relative are still there and to me the culture of Indonesia is that anyone despite race or religion are welcomed with open arms by the locals. Indonesians love to interact with foreigners as many of them are poor and not able to travel abroad. Therefore, the closest they could get is through the visitors.

The culture spread in Indonesia is all over the country like for example Bali where their culture is more influenced by the Buddhist culture. Therefore I personally feel that he culture of Indonesia is very diversified and the country is rich in culture.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Indonesia: WELCOME TO THE ARCHIPELAGO!


Hello guys,

Welcome to my tourism,culture and society blog. Before I go in depth on the particular state and the indigenous group, i would like to tell you guys more about the country that I have done my research on. The country that I would be talking about is where my grandfather came from which is Indonesia. Indonesia is the country which has the most population of Muslims.

Made out of 17,508 islands and 238 million people, Indonesia is a country rich in biodiversity. Beside being rich in biodiversity, Indonesia is also rich in culture and ethnic groups. The reason why it is rich in culture and ethnic groups is because Indonesia have been an important trade region as far back as the seventh century. Traders from other countries like the Arabs, Chinese and Europeans settled in Indonesia.


Tourism in the country is blooming with popular tourist destination like Bali and Bintan. The country has also recently been promoting eco-tourism as Indonesia is rich in biodiversity. Examples of eco-tourism places in Indonesia are like Bukit Lawang and Lake Toba.