On an island the same size of Greece or New York state lives almost half of the Indonesian population, namely 114 million people, and still growing. Small wonder that Java is the most populous island of Indonesia and of the world. Population density is an amazing 860 persons per km² (2250 per mile²). It contains some of the biggest cities of the country, like Jakarta (8.5 million), Surabaya (2.7 million), and Bandung (2.2 million). Due to its population size, many less populated areas are cultivated for rice, tea and other crops, sometimes leading to beautiful scenery like the tea plantations near Bogor.
Despite the huge population, there are still beautiful natural sights, most notably the Green Canyon area near the coastal town of Pangandaran or the magnificent volcano landscape in the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park in the far east of the island. In a few cities you can see some nice parks and gardens, like in the country capital Jakarta, but especially in nearby Bogor with the beautiful botanical garden and the adjacent garden of the presidential palace.
The most important historical sights are all clustered around the so-called culture capital of Java, Yogyakarta. In the city itself are the old Dutch fort and other Dutch colonial buildings, an old mosque and the Kraton, an old Javanese palace complex. In the neighbourhood you can find the famous Borobudur temple and the less famous but at least equally beautiful temple complex of Prambanan. The town is also famous for its arts and culture, e.g. for the shadow puppetry play Wayang Kulit, batik, a special technique used to paint cloth or the gamelan, a traditional Indonesian music form.
Other historical sights are mainly situated around Jakarta, the cosmopolitan capital of Java and of Indonesia. The centre is modern, with large squares and broad avenues. Here you can find the huge white National Mosque and the ugly megalythical structure of the National Monument. The historical sights in the town are mainly around Kota district, place of the old Dutch West-Indies capital of Batavia. An other interesting town near Jakarta is the relaxed garden city Bogor (see above).
${QuickSuggestions} The vast majority of the population on Java is Muslim, most of them not very strict. Unfortunately, a small minority is willing to use terrorism, allegedly in support of their religion, which lead to the bomb blasts of former years.
On the other hand, most people are very friendly as long as you show respect, e.g. don't consume alcohol in places frequented by Muslim locals (although a few of them might drink it occasionally, but always in private), or don't wear bathing costumes away from the beach towns. A good advice is to always stay calm, as is the case throughout Southeast Asia. If you do get bothered by a local, it mostly helps to say 'tidak' (no) a few times. It will definitely not help you to shout to the person, as it might give the opposite result.
Indonesian food is often referred to as Chinese food with a sting. Local favorites include gado-gado (mixed vegetables with peanut sauce), nasi goreng (spicy fried rice) mostly eaten with ayam goreng (spicy fried chicken) or soto ayam (chicken soup). Many dishes, even Western-style, are served with spicy red sambal sauce. Local beers like Bali Hai or Bintang are of the general Pilsner type, quite drinkable and incredibly cheap, around 10,000 Rp for a large bottle (660ml). Heineken is the most wide-spread international beer. The coffee (kopi) is good but sweetened milk is added unless you order "kopi tidak susu" (coffee without milk). Other sweet drinks are the drinks starting with "es" (ice), coconut milk mixed with anything ranging from red beans (es kacang) to sweet jelly (es cendol). It's not as bad as it sounds! Other sweet drinks like Fanta or Coca-Cola are widely available. Be sure to check the date as sometimes they are standing there for years.${BestWay} We arrived on the east of the island on the Gilimanuk ferry coming from Bali, only a short passage. On the island itself there are plenty of transportation possibilities. On the main east-west tourist route (Bali - Yogyakarta - Bandung - Jakarta) many kinds of buses are available, from luxury air-conditioned VIP buses with television and lots of space, only stopping in the major cities, to age-old buses almost falling apart where the fresh air comes only through the windows and stopping a 100 times every kilometer. Depending on the bus type this will cost you a cheap 2000-20000Rp (0.2-2 euro) for 100km if you buy your ticket at the bus station and not through a travel agent, that may ask triple the regular price!
There is a railway connecting Jakarta through Bandung and Yogyakarta to end in Surabaya in the east of the island. Again, three types are available, namely eksekutif, bisnis (business) and ekonomy class, with comparable prices but slightly slower and more comfortable than the buses. For short distances in town and to get to smaller places, a bemo (mininbus) is a useful and cheap alternative to a taxi. They ply set routes, ask around in the bemo stations to see where yours will arrive. Also occasionally check what other passenger pay because some drivers will ask a higher price to tourists. Other transport possibilities includes bicycle or car rental shops or the fun but small Indonesian becak or trishaw, where two persons can take place in the front of a bicycle taxi. Haggle over the price and it may drop to a price up to 10 times lower.
The major international airport on the island is the Soekarno-Hatta airport near Jakarta, which can be reached easily by bus from Bogor and Bandung as well. Other airports can be found near all major cities like Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Bandung.
From journal The Most Populous Island in the World