People are getting to know Indonesia for more than politics today. They are learning about things like wildlife conservation, natural beauty, cultural diversity and wonderful food. After the New Order Era has ended in 1998, Indonesia has been faced with a difficult lesson about democratization. No doubt the nation has to face economic turbulence and crisis everywhere. However, as part of this, freedom of speech and press are developing, which makes people aware and becoming critical about their surroundings.

The nasty coverage of Indonesia's conflicts such as lootings and riots in Aceh, Maluku and Poso has made tourists to postpone their visits to Indonesia. In reality, there are still lots of beautiful places here, which are very safe to visit.

Indonesia is an archipelago of 13, 677 larger and smaller islands. It is the world's largest with the fifth most populous nation in the world. It occupies a land mass of 5,193,250 kilometers. Geographically it straddles the equator, linking two continents; Asia and Australia, whilst separating the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is a very beautiful country which stretches more than 6400 km from west to east. 250-300 ethic groups live in this country, with each has its own dialects and traditions. Consequently, many people has realized this and today, many people are becoming part of the tourism renaissance of Indonesia.

This is our invitation to you to join this new movement of people, who in the wake of the great discoverers, want to see, hear touch, taste, smell and feel Indonesia for themselves. And so, experience the sense of spiritual upliftment and exhilaration that Indonesia so uniquely seems to offer.

In these few pages we can give you but a foretaste of the countless discoveries awaiting you in Indonesia, especially in the tropical province of North Sumatra…

The main islands of Indonesia are Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Irian Jaya. Sumatra is large, mountainous island with a number of active volcanoes and wide, swampy river plains to the east of the mountains. Java is the heartland where Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta is located. It contains more than 60% of the country's population and a number of other important cities such as Bandung, Yogyakarta and Surabaya. Kalimantan is the largest island, with a mountainous interior, surrounded by large river plains. The north western part of that island is a part of Malaysia. Sulawesi is also mountainous and volcanic. It looks a bit like long fingers of land with deep gulfs in between. Irian Jaya has the highest mountains in the country. The lesser Sunda islands of which Bali and Timor are probably the best known. Due to its location, Indonesia's climate is mostly equatorial tempered by trade winds.

Like all archipelagos Indonesia has a diverse population with a wide variety of languages, traditions and religions. This variety is reflected in the national motto 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika', which means 'Unity in diversity'. The population of Indonesia is a mixture of two main different groups, one coming from the Indian subcontinent via Myanmar (Burma), the others from the direction of South- East Asia and China. Archipelagos tend to be regions with a lot of contact between different population groups and Indonesia is no exception. Over the many centuries, it has been a staging point along migration routes and a meeting place for traders of many different countries. This is reflected in the characteristics, languages and traditions of the population.

Therefore, Indonesia is a country of multi- destinations and therefore fits for multi- visits. Indonesia has so much to offer that you will able to choose one at a time and come again and again.