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For historical sight there are Javanese sultanate palaces in Yogyakrta, Solo and Cirebon, but out of the 3 Yogyakarta is definitely superior since the city is located in the site of ex older mataram kingdom before they split up. The neigborhood of kotagede in Yogyakarta, the old mosque, and the tombs of javanese kings definitely are worth seeing, and also since yogyakarta wasnt fully under dutch control it preserved many javanese styles architecture with european blends. There is also palace of banten kingdom ruins in banten province and its old mosque, but its not that impressive of a site. Or perhaps dutch awesome fort in banda island (aka:spice island) that was traded from the british with new amsterdam(new york). There is also fort vredeburg in Yogyakarta the ex-dutch headquarter in the city, and there are many other dutch fort scattered.
Colonial history have replaced almost every aspect of indonesia's past and its influence are very obvious in many cities in java mainly, i wouldnt say there is much on other island. In sumatra the colonial quarter are almost all but lost in its cities, while towns might just have retained it. The city of Ambon once are populated with high percentage of dutch indo were bombed and destroyed in ww2, leaving today with almost nothing of its past. Surabaya is most descent with most of its collection of old building preserved i would say, but semarang have the best old town in my opinion (with beautiful train headquarter bulding), if they have renovated and preserved it well. Most of the historical sight in the cities in java and sumatra have been turned into colonial tropical style. Jakarta could have been interesting since it was the capital of nedelands indie and rich of colonial history, but they didnt maintained them properly (but im happy since they did put some attention on it recently), in its old town you could see 17th-20th century building standing next to each other. The city of batavia's governmental and elite district of weltvedrenen (surrounding monas) there are a couple of ex government building, mansions and churches, and even graveyard with tomb of Thomas Raffles' wife. Bandung is famed for its art deco collection and beautiful dutch residential district that named it parijs van java before, there is a hotel that charlie chaplin stayed for a while too, bandung was even designated to be the new capital atleast until batavia protested these. Bogor (formerly: buitenzorg) palace and botanical garden is also nice place to get a glimpse of beautiful colonial palace and raflesia flower, and afterwards not so far from there you can go for safari park.
As for ancient temples, there is enough to see in yogyakarta to satisfy you since that is where the best of them are, but yeah if you want there are loads of them scattered around but mainly quiet minor in size. Mystictism are very strong in indonesia and certain area are believed to be sacred loong since the times of sailendra.. Like mount kawi and pelabuhan ratu.
Safety issue is not a big problem, but do watch your things while travelling. Travelling in java i suppose is not bad since it has the best infras out of all of indonesia and most of its places are not hard to reach, in sumatra it might slightly varies however.
The nasi padang in restos are cool to consume, i was refering to street stalls hmm we do like nasi with fried chicken, but its never complete with aa dollop of sambal or tempe ulek as for affinity between the 2 country, i think its in sumatra and parts of borneo only.
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Thanks, will keep that in mind.
Yeah, more similar to Sumatra, but Javanese is still similar to Malay in many regards, from language to food. Things like nasi goreng, mee goreng, rendang, kari ayam, satay, soto ayam, various ikan dishes, we don't have tempeh in Malaysia but Malays also enjoy tofu/beancurds. We also enjoy sambal and belacan with our dishes...we also like bandung. Do Indonesians like teh tarik, ais kacang (ice kachang), cendol? Or is that more Malaysian? Malaysian cuisine has more Indian and Chinese influences...even Balinese people say 'lah' like Singaporeans/Malaysians lol.
I was in Indonesia recently. For independent travelers, there is no contest: it is far more interesting and satisfying than Malaysia, which in my opinion is pretty much first world. On the other hand, you have people who prefer their luxuries, their conveniences - and Singapore or Malaysia would suit them better. Myself, I have my next trip planned to Indonesia and want to stay longer this time, maybe two months. Everyday was different with something crazy, unexpected happening. Even the ladies with the headscarves wanted to have their pictures taken with me. That definitely never happened in Malaysia.
Pangandaran Beach:
Malaysia has things Indo doesn't, and vice versa...
Malaysia has British colonial cities like George Town, Malacca which it's diverse cultures, things like the Batu caves...you can taste authentic Indian and Chinese culture and food. Plus East Malaysia is as good as anywhere in Indo for nature, and better than most of SEA...Indonesia has things like Borobodur and other old Hindu/Buddhist era temples and ruins. I think both should be visited, one shouldn't just discount Malaysia like that. Malaysia is just easier for a first time traveller too.
Yeah, more similar to Sumatra, but Javanese is still similar to Malay in many regards, from language to food. Things like nasi goreng, mee goreng, rendang, kari ayam, satay, soto ayam, various ikan dishes, we don't have tempeh in Malaysia but Malays also enjoy tofu/beancurds. We also enjoy sambal and belacan with our dishes...we also like bandung. Do Indonesians like teh tarik, ais kacang (ice kachang), cendol? Or is that more Malaysian? Malaysian cuisine has more Indian and Chinese influences...even Balinese people say 'lah' like Singaporeans/Malaysians lol.
We wont be speaking the current bahasa if it werent for the dutch. Rendang is more on sumatrans influence over java while tempeh exist in malaysia it didnt become such a big thing as in indonesia where tempe already almost funtion as staple food and soto is non malay dish. The only reason some of those dishes are served are because of javanese migrants to malaysia and the sambals are very different, our belacan (terasi in our language) have admixture of fish and veggies mixed into. The satay in malaysia is more following the padang style i would say too, it doesnt taste the same as many common in java or madura. The use of sweet soy thick soy sauce is also a common practice here, but not in malaysia.
As far as i concerned cendol is more indonesian, but teh tarik (indian)and ice kacang (some say from taiwan) is non indonesian and not popular. Lah is a slang more in bahasa indonesia if i wasnt mistaken, lah is also used occasionaly at the begining of asking a question and the language are malay based.
We wont be speaking the current bahasa if it werent for the dutch. Rendang is more on sumatrans influence over java while tempeh exist in malaysia it didnt become such a big thing as in indonesia where tempe already almost funtion as staple food and soto is non malay dish. The only reason some of those dishes are served are because of javanese migrants to malaysia and the sambals are very different.
As far as i concerned cendol is more indonesian, but teh tarik (indian)and ice kacang (some say from taiwan) is non indonesian and not popular.
Yes, a bit like Hindi in India.
Oh yeah true...yeah soto is more Indo, although you can find it in Malaysia. That's true. Even Sri Lanka has 'sambol'. Sri Lankans also wear sarongs, like Malays, Sumatrans, Javanese, Balinese.etc.
Dunno where cendol came from, but it's huge in Singapore and Malaysia. I always assumed it was Malaysian in origin, but yeah i dunno...yeah teh tarik is of course big in SG, MY...bandung seems big in Indonesia too, it's often used in ice kacang. Hmmm I dunno if it's from Taiwan, but it arose in S'pore long before Taiwanese influence I think. Shaved ice is big in Taiwan.
Do Indonesians like nyonya/Malay style kueh or kuih? Like the colourful cakes? Or is kuih there the more cake-like kuih lapis, or both? I think of layer cake as a very Indonesian dessert.
Oh yeah true...yeah soto is more Indo, although you can find it in Malaysia. That's true. Even Sri Lanka has 'sambol'. Sri Lankans also wear sarongs, like Malays, Sumatrans, Javanese, Balinese.etc.
Dunno where cendol came from, but it's huge in Singapore and Malaysia. I always assumed it was Malaysian in origin, but yeah i dunno...yeah teh tarik is of course big in SG, MY...bandung seems big in Indonesia too, it's often used in ice kacang. Hmmm I dunno if it's from Taiwan, but it arose in S'pore long before Taiwanese influence I think. Shaved ice is big in Taiwan.
Do Indonesians like nyonya/Malay style kueh or kuih? Like the colourful cakes? Or is kuih there the more cake-like kuih lapis, or both? I think of layer cake as a very Indonesian dessert.
Hmm cendol is very southeast asian (they also have it in thailand), so its origination is unkown but its a big business in indonesia for sure. As for es bandung, we never associate the drink with bandung itself forr most of the time but its there, bandung is more es doger than the es bandung itself.
Of course we have many colorful kue with varieties of colors, kue lapis and onde onde is just one of the very many and also many other varieties of small snacks that are equally popular, we call them as "jajanan" ranging from pastry like cakes to lemper, klepon, cenil, klapeertart, nagasari etc and etc. Most of the famous malay kuih exist in the list too.
Hmm cendol is very southeast asian (they also have it in thailand), so its origination is unkown but its a big business in indonesia for sure. As for es bandung, we never associate the drink with bandung itself forr most of the time but its there, bandung is more es doger than the es bandung itself.
Of course we have many colorful kue with varieties of colors, kue lapis and onde onde is just one of the very many and also many other varieties of small snacks that are equally popular, we call them as "jajanan" ranging from pastry like cakes to lemper, klepon, cenil, klapeertart, nagasari etc and etc. Most of the famous malay kuih exist in the list too.
Yes that's true...I've had Vietnamese kuih, or what looked like kuih, in HCMC, and it just didn't taste anywhere near as tasty/flavoursome as Malaysian kuih. Yep, one of the great many things Malaysia/Singapore/Indonesia share, as part of the greater Malayo-sphere...Philippines is definitely the 'poor man out' cuisine-wise.
BTW do you know the chain Bengawan Solo in S'pore? Sounds Indonesian. They have some pretty good cakes/pastries.etc. I love kueh dada, like the coconut/gula melaka wrapped up in pandan crepes.
Yes that's true...I've had Vietnamese kuih, or what looked like kuih, in HCMC, and it just didn't taste anywhere near as tasty/flavoursome as Malaysian kuih. Yep, one of the great many things Malaysia/Singapore/Indonesia share, as part of the greater Malayo-sphere...Philippines is definitely the 'poor man out' cuisine-wise.
BTW do you know the chain Bengawan Solo in S'pore? Sounds Indonesian. They have some pretty good cakes/pastries.etc. I love kueh dada, like the coconut/gula melaka wrapped up in pandan crepes.
Oh but some filipinos desert shares similarity to the malayo sphere, they also have onde onde for example and there is some quiet varieties of cakes there that are spanish based which tasted good as well. Bengawan solo is a song and a river in the city of surakarta. Most of the desert seems to be indonesian, not sure about pandan crepes though since our kue dadar seems to be different.
Malaysia has things Indo doesn't, and vice versa...
Malaysia has British colonial cities like George Town, Malacca which it's diverse cultures, things like the Batu caves...you can taste authentic Indian and Chinese culture and food. Plus East Malaysia is as good as anywhere in Indo for nature, and better than most of SEA...Indonesia has things like Borobodur and other old Hindu/Buddhist era temples and ruins. I think both should be visited, one shouldn't just discount Malaysia like that. Malaysia is just easier for a first time traveller too.
I have to argue about the nature, since we have more active volcanic areas and natural wonder like lake toba, 3 colored lake, dieng plateau, raja ampat, pink beaches and komodo island. And apart from temples and ruins there is the other tribes too scattered, isolated and unexplored.
Oh but some filipinos desert shares similarity to the malayo sphere, they also have onde onde for example and there is some quiet varieties of cakes there that are spanish based which tasted good as well. Bengawan solo is a song and a river in the city of surakarta. Most of the desert seems to be indonesian, not sure about pandan crepes though since our kue dadar seems to be different.
Yes, Filipino desserts probably are the best part of their cuisine, although halo halo etc just seem similar to like cendol or ice kacang with ice cream.
I wonder what things are common in S'pore that are rare in Indonesia. Singapore has some more Chinese/Indian sweets too.
I have to argue about the nature, since we have more active volcanic areas and natural wonder like lake toba, 3 colored lake, dieng plateau, raja ampat, pink beaches and komodo island. And apart from temples and ruins there is the other tribes too scattered, isolated and unexplored.
Sabah and Sarawak boast reefs, beaches, rainforest (of course things which Indonesia has), also the Niah/Mulu caves, some of the biggest caverns in the world, and Kinabalu. Indonesia has West Papua including Puncak Jaya, but hardly anyone visits there.
True, Indonesia definitely has the run in terms of volcanoes.
Sadly there are very few orang asli in Malaysia. They were there before the Malays. In Sarawak, there are the various tribal groups too of course.
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hmm we do like nasi with fried chicken, but its never complete with aa dollop of sambal or tempe ulek 
as for affinity between the 2 country, i think its in sumatra and parts of borneo only.
