Indonesia
Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world and is enormous. It counts over 17 000 islands!!! It is a very interesting country mainly because of it’s diversity. Ages ago Hindu and Buddhist religion were competing for the supremacy in the kingdom. With the Arab tradesmen came Islam and than Christianity with the Dutch colonialists. Everybody were after the Indonesian resources like famous spices from Maluku Islands.
The diversity I have mentioned is changing form island to island. Java with it’s capitol city Jakarta is the most rushing one, even though there are some spectacular active volcanoes.
If you are lucky you can meet the cannibals and voo doo cult followers on Borneo and on Andaman Islands you might discover the roots of the Muslim-Christian conflict, which resulted in the brake out of the civil war, which in actual fact had nothing to do with religion, but with the desire of separation from Indonesia.
Everybody knows about the bombs in Bali several years back, which have a psychological effect till this day and the tourists are coming slowly back to the overnight deserted expensive resorts.
I have never met a person which haven’t heard of the Dragons from Komodo. This island with a dragon like lizards is exactly in Indonesia and you can also see the turtles lying their eggs or swim with the dolphins or sting rays. On Papua New Guinea there are still Christian missions bringing the word of God to the people living in darkness.
Indonesia is really a beautiful place. It is a country for real fearless adventurers and if you have plenty of money to spend and expect a service on a international level than don’t leave Bali, however be aware that this county has so much more to offer for daring travellers and it don’t have to be expensive if you know how to aproach the people in a proper way.
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