Fun fact#294
Indonesia has 17,000 islands
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world with around 17,500 islands, roughly 6,000 of them inhabited.
Indonesia
Seventeen thousand islands, a day of national silence, and the loudest sound in recorded history.
8 entries · 4 stories, 4 fun facts
Indonesia at a glance
The practical numbers, before the stories.
- Capital
- Jakarta (Nusantara is being developed as the future capital)
- Currency
- Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
- Official language
- Indonesian; more than 700 local languages
- Climate
- Equatorial and humid all year. Wet season roughly November–March, dry April–October.
- Best time to go
- May–September
- Time zone
- UTC+7 to UTC+9 across three zones
- Driving side
- Left
- Plugs and voltage
- Type C / F, 230 V
Worth knowing: Around 17,500 islands, roughly 6,000 of them inhabited. Distances between them are larger than the map suggests.
Planning a trip to Indonesia
The decisions that determine whether the trip works, whichever country you are going to.
Indonesia is the largest archipelago on Earth with around 17,500 islands, roughly 6,000 of them inhabited. The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa produced what may be the loudest sound ever recorded, audible in Australia and on Rodrigues Island nearly 5,000 kilometres away.
On Nyepi, the whole of Bali stops: the airport closes, lights stay off, and nobody goes outside for 24 hours, which makes it the darkest night sky the island gets all year. Below you will also find the sulphur miners of Ijen carrying ninety kilos up the same path in flip-flops, and the Komodo dragon that is entirely uninterested in you.
Entries from Indonesia
Fun fact#296
Bali's calendar has a day of silence
On Nyepi the entire island stops. The airport closes, lights stay off and nobody goes outside for 24 hours.
Fun fact#298
Komodo dragons live in one place
Komodo dragons are found wild only on a few Indonesian islands and can grow past three metres.
Fun fact#300
Krakatoa was heard 4,800 km away
The 1883 eruption produced possibly the loudest sound in recorded history, audible in Australia and on Rodrigues Island.
Story#481
Nyepi silence
For twenty-four hours the airport closes, the lights go off and nobody leaves the house. At night the sky over Bali is the darkest it gets all year, and everybody looks up.
Story#485
The volcano hike we regretted
Two in the morning, a gas mask, and miners carrying ninety kilos of sulphur up the same path in flip-flops. Nobody in our group complained again about anything.
Story#489
Komodo standoff
The ranger carried a forked stick, which seemed insufficient. The dragon was entirely uninterested and we walked around it feeling both relieved and slightly insulted.
Story#492
Jakarta traffic economy
There is an entire economy in a traffic jam: water, snacks, phone chargers, umbrellas. We bought lunch through a car window without stopping.
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