indon, you tell me lah what...

I've lived in Indonesia for a year and a half now and can say a lot of the things on here are true for Java the main island, not Bali which is the only island most people ever visit (for good reason).

To start, corruption is incredible in the government that is focused on getting rich and not actually improving the lives of the citizens. The government hides its history including it's genocide of Chinese and suspected Communist Party members, and lies about a made up grand militaristic fight for independence when it was more of an abandoned colony.

The people have some of the unhealthiest habits. Almost every local dish is fried and chain smoking can start at an infant age. The infamous YouTube smoking baby is from here. There is cigarette smoke everywhere and people aren't educated enough to know it's bad for their health.

Garbage is thrown into the nearest river as means of disposal or burned creating poisonous plastic smoke. The local rivers are also toilets and baths for the poorer people.

The streets are pretty bad with lots of traffic and pollution in most major cities. There is an incredible amount of honking: honking at other cars, pedestrians, people on the roadside, animals etc. Throw in blaring calls to prayer, wedding, and a terrible invention called dangdut music and it's one of the loudest places ever.

The people can be the nicest most welcoming people or the most ignorant, selfish, uneducated people with a high opinion of themselves. Work ethic is not high due to corruption and people think they achieve things without working hard. There are even ghost legends to support this such as the Tuyul which is a small child ghost that steals from the poor to give to the rich. Jealousy is more rampant than I've ever seen in another country and successes are often blamed on Tuyul, witchcraft, or corruption. Also most people are afraid of the dark and sleep with either the T.V. or lights on.

All of this can only be expected really with a disintegrating school system where learning just isn't taking place. It's sad really. I believe this is only not higher on the list for the fact that so little people actually ever travel to or experience the real Indonesia. The country needs a serious change starting with education.