INDONESIA
This country is amazing to me -- it’s an archipelago (large group of islands which happens to be crescent shaped) consisting of about 13,500 islands of varying sizes which were formed by volcanic eruptions. The estimated area is 3,000 square miles (like from Seattle to Miami) and the combined population is approximately 245 million. The official languages are Bahasa and English. The
terrain is mostly mountainous with all shapes and sizes of peaks i.e. tall, low, sharp, rounded, wide, thin, sprawling or crowded, and covered with all shades of green foliage. The climate is tropical so the clouds change from minute to minute, with frequent, unexpected short, light showers, and the air is very hot and humid. Indonesia is encircled with volcanoes, a “ring of fire,” and 129 of them are still active. The Dutch East India Company controlled Indonesia until its independence in 1945.
We were able to get a glimpse of BALI and its tall volcano peeking through the clouds because we made an unscheduled stop to drop off two passengers who needed hospital attention. We’ve been weaving through the islands and I’ve observed that the profile of most of the islands is very similar.
This country is amazing to me -- it’s an archipelago (large group of islands which happens to be crescent shaped) consisting of about 13,500 islands of varying sizes which were formed by volcanic eruptions. The estimated area is 3,000 square miles (like from Seattle to Miami) and the combined population is approximately 245 million. The official languages are Bahasa and English. The
terrain is mostly mountainous with all shapes and sizes of peaks i.e. tall, low, sharp, rounded, wide, thin, sprawling or crowded, and covered with all shades of green foliage. The climate is tropical so the clouds change from minute to minute, with frequent, unexpected short, light showers, and the air is very hot and humid. Indonesia is encircled with volcanoes, a “ring of fire,” and 129 of them are still active. The Dutch East India Company controlled Indonesia until its independence in 1945.We were able to get a glimpse of BALI and its tall volcano peeking through the clouds because we made an unscheduled stop to drop off two passengers who needed hospital attention. We’ve been weaving through the islands and I’ve observed that the profile of most of the islands is very similar.
LOMBOK:
The people are very friendly and very poor, but seem to be happy and laid back. There’s lots of motor bikes, some cars and trucks and still many pony drawn carts. 
There’s lots of water from rivers coming down from the volcanoes and the soil is very fertile so there’s rice paddies everywhere. Some are just flat fields while others are tiered. The huts in and around them are built on stilts with grass thatched roofs. In the villages the houses are very small with corrugated tin roofs -- a few clay tile roofs -- with walls so thin that they look like they’d blow over in a strong wind!
Handicrafts include silver jewelry, carvings of teak, ebony and palm, beads, woven batik fabric and puppets. Exports are coffee, tea, spices (nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves), oil and natural gas, rubber, rice. They also have large tobacco plantations and most of the men smoke a combination of tobacco mixed with cloves, a very pungent and potent combination.
KOMODO ISLAND:
This is a national park founded in 1980 and was declared a UNESCO he
ritage site in 1991. It is dedicated to protecting the endangered large monitor lizards or “Komodo Dragons” which roam freely on this and two other nearby islands. They can grow to between 6 and 10 feet, and weigh an average of 150 pounds but can weigh as much as 300 pounds. Their jaws are hinged so they can swallow large prey without chewing it. They have razor sharp claws and teeth, and when they bite they discharge bacteria which quickly infect and disable their prey. They sometimes even eat their young or other dragons! We did not join groups from our ship because the terrain was very uneven and difficult to navigate.
SEMARANG and BOROBUDUR TEMPLE, JAVA:
Semarang is called the City of 1,000 Temples, and they’re everywhere -- large, small, plain, elaborate. They have a very high number of islam followers, 240 million, but other religions coexist in harmony. It is a very large and busy port, and has naval as well as commercial ships. We saw large floating docks in the harbor loaded with coal and logs waiting to be transferred to outgoing ships. 
The people are very friendly and very poor, but seem to be happy and laid back. There’s lots of motor bikes, some cars and trucks and still many pony drawn carts. 
There’s lots of water from rivers coming down from the volcanoes and the soil is very fertile so there’s rice paddies everywhere. Some are just flat fields while others are tiered. The huts in and around them are built on stilts with grass thatched roofs. In the villages the houses are very small with corrugated tin roofs -- a few clay tile roofs -- with walls so thin that they look like they’d blow over in a strong wind!Handicrafts include silver jewelry, carvings of teak, ebony and palm, beads, woven batik fabric and puppets. Exports are coffee, tea, spices (nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves), oil and natural gas, rubber, rice. They also have large tobacco plantations and most of the men smoke a combination of tobacco mixed with cloves, a very pungent and potent combination.
KOMODO ISLAND:
This is a national park founded in 1980 and was declared a UNESCO he
ritage site in 1991. It is dedicated to protecting the endangered large monitor lizards or “Komodo Dragons” which roam freely on this and two other nearby islands. They can grow to between 6 and 10 feet, and weigh an average of 150 pounds but can weigh as much as 300 pounds. Their jaws are hinged so they can swallow large prey without chewing it. They have razor sharp claws and teeth, and when they bite they discharge bacteria which quickly infect and disable their prey. They sometimes even eat their young or other dragons! We did not join groups from our ship because the terrain was very uneven and difficult to navigate.SEMARANG and BOROBUDUR TEMPLE, JAVA:
Semarang is called the City of 1,000 Temples, and they’re everywhere -- large, small, plain, elaborate. They have a very high number of islam followers, 240 million, but other religions coexist in harmony. It is a very large and busy port, and has naval as well as commercial ships. We saw large floating docks in the harbor loaded with coal and logs waiting to be transferred to outgoing ships. 
Another extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage site we visited was 
the world’s largest Buddhist temple, built in the 8th and 9th centuries by tens of thousands of workers (more than five generations!). It is actually built around 
a large hill, with carved gargoyle drainage pipes ingeniously designed to stop erosion from within. It has nine levels, representing the Path to Enlightenment -- the first six are square, and the top three leading to the highest “stupa” are round i.e. endless. Karma is the wheel of cause and effect. It was abandoned shortly after completion and disappeared in the 14th century and was overgrown by jungle vegetation. It was rediscovered in the 19
th century and Governor Raffles of Sumatra approved beginning its restoration. Over 2 million cubic feet of stone supports and carvings had to be pieced together and replaced, and the first photo after the debris was cleared was taken in 1873. Several countries and organizations contributed to its restoration, including IBM. In 1983 it was declared a national monument.
After climbing to the top, it was obvious to our fatigued legs
that it had been made by hand since the steps were of varying height and width. The lower rows of “stupas” have triangular holes in their bases, signifying instability, but as one climbs higher, their bases become stronger and more stable as indicated by the square openings (check them in the picture above our heads).
the world’s largest Buddhist temple, built in the 8th and 9th centuries by tens of thousands of workers (more than five generations!). It is actually built around 
a large hill, with carved gargoyle drainage pipes ingeniously designed to stop erosion from within. It has nine levels, representing the Path to Enlightenment -- the first six are square, and the top three leading to the highest “stupa” are round i.e. endless. Karma is the wheel of cause and effect. It was abandoned shortly after completion and disappeared in the 14th century and was overgrown by jungle vegetation. It was rediscovered in the 19
th century and Governor Raffles of Sumatra approved beginning its restoration. Over 2 million cubic feet of stone supports and carvings had to be pieced together and replaced, and the first photo after the debris was cleared was taken in 1873. Several countries and organizations contributed to its restoration, including IBM. In 1983 it was declared a national monument.After climbing to the top, it was obvious to our fatigued legs
that it had been made by hand since the steps were of varying height and width. The lower rows of “stupas” have triangular holes in their bases, signifying instability, but as one climbs higher, their bases become stronger and more stable as indicated by the square openings (check them in the picture above our heads).It is considered to be one of man’s most magnificent architectural achievements, and was the model for the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia. Folklore suggests that extraterrestrial aid was involved, and it is still a marvel how only human effort could have achieved this monument.
Along with many of the crew members whose families were able to visit with them for a few hours, we wave goodbye to Indonesia, and sail away over the equator to our next exciting port of call, Hong Kong.
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