Travel Facts Indonesia
Currency
The local currency is the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). Informally, Indonesians also use the work “perak” (‘silver’ in Indonesian) when referring to the rupiah. The rupiah is subdivided into 100 sen, however due to inflation the sen is no longer widely used. There are approximately 15,300 IDR to £1.
Time Zones
The Indonesian archipelago geographically stretches across three time zones from GMT+7 in Banda Aceh to GMT +9 in Western Papua. The Indonesian government recognises three time zones: Western Indonesian Time GMT +7, Central Indonesian Time GMT +8 and Eastern Indonesian Time GMT +9.
Western Indonesia includes Central Kalimantan, Java, Sumatra and West Kalimantan
Central Indonesia includes East and South Kalimantan, Lesser Sunda Islands and Sulawesi
Eastern Indonesia includes the Maluku Islands and Papua and West Papua
Electric Supply
Electric supply is on a 220-volt 50-Hz cycle system. The plug types are C and F. The type C is the “Europlug”; a two-pin unearthed plug. The type F plug and outlet is commonly known as a “Schuko” plug and has two round pins with two earth clips on the side. The F socket will accept Type C plugs.
International Dialling Code
+62
Climate
Except in the high elevations, the climate is tropical throughout the year, with seasonal variations associated with the northeast monsoon. Papua has two seasons, the ‘wet’ and the ‘dry’ season. The ‘dry season’ falls between May and September and the ‘wet season’ falls between October and April. However, you should be prepared for rain all year round in Papua!
There are also variations in climate across Papua, for example at sea level the temperature rarely strays far from 25-30C, however temperatures decrease into the mountain ranges, which contain permanent equatorial glaciers on the highest peaks. Coastal areas also tend to be more humid than the highland areas.
Language
Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian) is the official language and this is taught universally in schools, therefore it is spoken by the almost every Indonesian, however there are also approximately 742 further different languages and dialects spoken. Most Indonesians will speak at least one of these local languages and dialects, often as their first language.