Tourist sites
Jakarta: the city counts 9 million inhabitants and extends over more than 25 km. Jakarta is the main economic heart of the country and a center for business. Formerly, it used to be a real miserable and ruined hell, but today the city wishes to stand as a modern and rapidly growing Asiatic major city. However, it still attracts thousand of miserable people and, once the centre is left, shanty towns can be seen. Listed as the most expensive and the most polluted town of Indonesia, Jakarta is sometimes compared with a " big durian ", this exotic fruit with a nauseous, unbearable smell to some people, but irresistible to others. To be seen: the old Batavia (Kota), the most ancient and invaluable testimony of the Dutch presence in Indonesia, with the paved place, Taman Fatahillah, and the bridge of the chickens Market, dating from the XVII-th century; Sunda Kelapa's old port and its Makassar's magnificent schooners; Glodok, the district given to the Chinese in 1741; the national Museum, one of the most exceptional museums of Southeast Asia; Lapangan Banteng Square and the magnificent colonial architecture; the Wayang Museum. Street peddelers and night markets enable to eat at lower prices. Jogjakarta: Daerah Istimewa (Jogjakarta's " special territory " ) constitutes the cultural centre of Java. The most active cultural, artistic and intellectual centre of the island, Jogjakarta (or " Jogja ", pronounce Djodja) counts 500,000 inhabitants who hang on proudly to their past and culture: the city is still under the custody of a sultan, whose fenced palace (kraton), where 25,000 persons live, constitutes the bastion of traditions and the proud of the palacial Javanese architecture with its magnificent halls, the vast courtyards and the pavilions. Sumatra: four times bigger than Java, Sumatra is rich in natural resources, fauna, architectural treasures and traditional cultures. Bali: tropical paradise of idyllic beaches, paddy-fields and luxuriant forests, in a 95% Hindu, the island has been turning into a purely tourist consumption place. However, it still shelters some unknown and put off places, and its culture is incredibly rich. In order to explore it, take the mountain roads. From Ubud, Bali's cultural heart, and you will be able to cross villages in its vicinity and discover their rich traditions in terms of dance, music and craft, their spectacular temples perched upon the sea and their magnificent coloured celebrations. Nusa Tenggara (small islands of the Sonde): In Lombok, you will enjoy magnificent beaches and an impressive volcano, Gunung Rinjani, some beautiful local artcraft and a picturesque atmosphere, probably more relaxed than in Bali. Sumba will offer you a magnificent mixture of traditional culture and huge white sand beaches, still virgin.
For more information about tourism
in Indonesia
, check out the following web site(s) :
Indonesian Tourism Board
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