10 Things you never knew about Indonesia

1) Indonesia’s great tourist attraction is the National Monument in Jakarta, a giant-sized replica of the male manhood.

2) Expensive holiday villas in Bali are currently very popular with Australians who regularly visit this idyllic island. The well-heeled buyers are, however, completely oblivious to Indonesian law which specifically prohibits foreigners from legally owning property in Indonesia. But Bali isn’t part of Indonesia – or is it? Whatever.

3) The Indonesia flag is the same as the flag of Monaco. Unlike Monaco, however, Indonesia doesn’t have a grand prix.

4) Prostitution is completely illegal in Indonesia. To get around this restriction, “plus plus spas” are licensed to provide similar services to both locals and foreigners.

5) It is a curious quirk of nature that the zebra crossings in Indonesian cities can only be seen by foreigners. By contrast, they are completely invisible to the locals and this explains why motorists will never stop when you try to cross the road. So be careful!

6) The pizza man statue in Jakarta was a gift from the people of Italy to Indonesia to celebrate the opening of the 100th Pizza Hut restaurant in Jakarta in 1988.




7) Indonesia is prone to natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes, all of which are punishments from God and could have been avoided if the people had only been more pious.

8) There are few pavements in Indonesia. This is because everyone drives where they want to go making sidewalks redundant.

9) Indonesians often mistake Caucasian tourists for well-known celebrities or musicians, so don’t be surprised if the locals want to take your photo at touristy places like zoos or temples.

10) Smoking remains a very popular habit in Indonesia, as Indonesian clove cigarette producers came up with new formulas for cigarettes which actually improve your health the more you smoke. Quite why western companies didn’t think of this, I can’t imagine.