"Bhinneka Tunggal Ika"
(Unity is diversity.)
Indonesia is a country consisting of 17,508 islands and 238 million people! It's the world's fourth most populated country! Of the 17,508 islands, only 6000 are inhabited!
The largest islands in Indonesia are Java, Sumatra, New Guinea, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan. The closest nations to Indonesia are Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Malaysia.
Bali, is a smaller island, that remains one of the most popular tourist destinations.
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About Indonesia:
Indonesia has a rainy and a dry season. Temperatures are between 80 and 90 degrees farenheit all year round.
Indonesia is one of the world leaders of biodiversity and is home to 30,000 recorded species of plants and over 3000 animals,
There are 515 documented types of mammals in Indonesia!
48% of the land is covered in forests.
Not even half of the animal and plant population of Indonesia have been discovered yet.Scientists fear that several animal and plant speicies will be extinct from deforestation before they are ever seen by human eyes!
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Some famous animals of Indonesia are:
Komordo Dragon: Over 10 feet long and 300 pounds, the lizard is the largest on earth. If "lunch" happens to escape from the Komodo, the 50 strains of bacteria found in it's saliva will cause the little creature to be dead from blood poisoning soon enough.
Sun Bear: Were named because of a fur patch under their chests that looks like a rising sun.
Sumatran Tiger: Have webbed feet so they can swim easily across rivers in search of food.
Orangutan: In early times, people believed orangutans were just hairy people hiding in the trees to avoid work. Not far off as they share 97% of human DNA.
Sumatran Rhinoceros: Eat close to 110 pounds of food every day.
Bird of Paradise: The males perform a perfected dance and show a bright display of feathers to flirt with the females.
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HISTORY:
Indoneisia is believed to have existed several million years ago.
The oldest human-like skeleton was extracted from Indonesia and is known as the "Java man". If he were alive today, he'd be somewhere between the ages of 500,000 and 2 million years old!
Indonesia has been a very popular destination since around 600 A.D. Because it has lots of spices, exotic products, and many natural resources, several countries have fought to take ownership of Indonesia. These include China, Japan, India, Portugal, England and the Dutch. The Dutch (the Netherlands) were the big winners and ruled Indonesia for 350 years! Indonesia finally earned it's independence in the 1945.
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A Land of Millionaires!
Money: Indonesian Rupiah
*1 Million Indonesian Rupiahs is approximately $113.00 US Dollars.
Denominations of the Indonesian Rupiah are:
Language: Bahasa Indonesian
|
Thank You |
Terima Kasih |
|
You're Welcome |
Kembali or Sama-Sama |
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How are you? |
Apa kabar? |
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Excuse me? |
Permisi or maaf |
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Good Morning |
Selamat pagi |
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Good-bye |
Selamat tinggal |
*There are 508 recorded dialects and alternative languages used in Indonesia...
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Fun Facts:
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The British were the first to use the term "Indonesia", which comes from the Latin root - Indos, and the Greek - Nesos, meaning island.
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Indonesia is one of the world's largest producers of nutmeg...a spice often found in deserts.
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Indonesia spreads over the "Ring of Fire" and has over 400 active volcanoes. There are about 3 earthquakes per day in the islands.
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Badminton and soccer are the two most popular sports.
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Indonesia is the world's largest producer of palm oil. It also exports 3,000 tons of frogs' legs to France each year.
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Almost everyone in bali has their teeth filed down. they believe that bad things such as anger, confusion, jealousy, and greed enter the body through the top six teeth. By filing their teeth, they believe they block evil from entering them.
