The Spice Islands: A Virtual Tour of Indonesia

• Week 1 and 2: Java
  After an introduction to the unique geography and history of Indonesia, we’ll explore Jakarta, Indonesia's massive capital, visiting Kota Tua, home to Dutch colonial buildings and the old port of Sunda Kelapa, where traditional wooden schooners dock. We then head to the Botanical Gardens of Bogor. In Yogyakarta, the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, we’ll discover classical Javanese fine arts and culture such as batik textiles, gamelan music, visual arts,and wayang puppetry. We’ll also explore the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks; Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddhist temple; and the Hindu Prambanan Temple Compounds. We continue to Surakarta, another important production centre of batik and other textiles, and the nearby Sangiran Early Man World Heritage Site. We look at the Chinese heritage of Semarang and conclude with a visit of Mount Bromo, an active somma volcano and Hindu pilgrimage site located in Tengger Semeru National Park.
• Week 3: Sumatra and Borneo
  We will explore Medan and the Bataka heritage around Lake Toba in Northern Sumatra to appreciate Indonesia's wildlife. We’ll also see fascinating orangutans in their natural habitat in Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.
• Week 4: Bali
  Bali has long been Indonesia’s premier tourist destination, and although it suffers the predictable problems of congestion and commercialization, Bali’s original charm is still very much present. With its emerald-green rice terraces, beautiful beaches and exceptionally artistic culture, the small volcanic island of Bali is the only Hindu society in Southeast Asia. Even today, the mountainous areas of the island have not lost their magical charm, which makes Bali a favourite cultural destination. Bali’s rice terraces and their water temples have been designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The early morning hours also bring a sense of serenity to Bali’s many temples.
• Week 5 and 6: Flores, Sulawesi, Timor and Papua
  In Flores, we’ll explore Komodo National Park, inhabited by close to 5,700 giant lizards whose appearance and aggressive behaviour led to the moniker "Komodo dragons." On the island of Sulawesi we’ll explore the port of Makassar and the unique culture of Tana Toraja, featuring bright green rice terraces, tall limestone outcrops, bamboo graves and traditional Tongkonan houses. In the lush gardens of Manado, we’ll discover the wildlife of Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve, home to threatened mammals such as the Celebes crested macaque, spectral tarsier and Sulawesi bear cuscus. East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is Asia’s newest country. Through its Portuguese colonial legacy, it is still predominantly Roman Catholic. We'll explore the capital Dili, see some beautiful beaches and colonial Baucau. We conclude on the island of New Guinea, visiting the beautiful diving area of Raja Ampat and the legendary Baliem Valley in the highlands of Western New Guinea. This long, narrow valley sits 1700 metres above sea level and is occupied by the Indigenous Dani people, who remained unknown to the Western world until the 1930s and are now making the rapid transition from complete isolation to the modernity of the 21st century.

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Identify some of Indonesia’s most important islands
• Explore unique cultures and diverse landscapes
• Discover unusual wildlife
• Gain insights useful and up-to-date travel information to these unusual places

• Participation in Zoom seminars
• Watching multi-image musical video presentations
• Participation in written discussions with other students
• Supplementary resources accessed through Canvas
• Reflective essay (applicable only to certificate students)

No textbook is required. We will provide all course materials online.