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The essentials of Indonesia in eight friendly questions. Easy to join in, whatever your age, with a few surprises along the way.
Eager first-timer 0–3 · Volcano-view explorer 4–6 · Indonesia expert 7–8
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It is called Sang Saka Merah Putih, 'the Heirloom Red-White', and has a red stripe on top and a white one below. Monaco, whose flag looks almost the same, complained after Indonesia became independent, but the two only differ in their shape and a slightly different shade of red.
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The exact number depends on whether you count tiny sandbanks that disappear at high tide, and counts have ranged from about 13,500 to more than 17,000 islands. That makes Indonesia the largest country made up of islands, and its name combines India with the Greek word for islands.
Photo: Central Intelligence Agency, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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The Komodo dragon is the biggest lizard on Earth, and males can grow to about 3 metres long. It smells with its long, forked yellow tongue and can pick up the scent of food several kilometres away, and a 1926 expedition to Komodo Island helped inspire the 1933 film King Kong.
Photo: James Jolokia ( james1203 ), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
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Satay is small pieces of meat, often chicken or goat, threaded onto sticks and grilled over charcoal, usually with a peanut sauce. It counts as a national dish in both Indonesia and Malaysia, and the peanuts for the sauce first came to Asia from the Americas.
Photo: Gunawan Kartapranata, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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The equator crosses the city of Pontianak, on the island of Borneo, where a famous monument marks the line between the northern and southern halves of the Earth. Around 21 March and 22 September, the midday sun stands straight overhead there, and for a few moments shadows almost disappear.
Photo: SunDawn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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On this day, called Nyepi, people stay at home, there is no work, travel or noise, and even the airport closes for the whole day. The night before, villages parade huge, colourful monster figures called ogoh-ogoh through the streets.
Photo: Matt Croxson, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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Indonesia's first two golds came at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, both in badminton singles, won by a woman and a man who later married each other. Indonesia is one of only two countries, together with China, to have won Olympic gold in all five badminton events.
Photo: Peter, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Orangutan is often said to mean 'person of the forest' in Malay. These reddish-brown apes spend most of their lives in the trees, and every evening they build a fresh sleeping nest of branches, sometimes adding leafy 'pillows', 'blankets' and even a roof.
Photo: Eleifert, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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