We just finished a really short run through Sumatra (really just Bukittinggi and Lake Tobah) and arrived in Jakarta last night. Tomorrow we fly on to Yogyakarta and get into the heart of the island of Java. We’re having a surprisingly good time so far. Here’s Indonesia’s report card so far:

A Sumatran coffee is great. Motor oil without the edge. I’m lovin’ it.
A+ The agrarian countryside is the most beautiful I think I’ve ever seen. Bright terraced rice paddies wedged between volcanic hills and deep lakes. In some spots, it’s a postcard in every direction.
B People are reserved, but friendly. They’ve suffered from a huge drop in tourism in the last few years, but haven’t hassled us or tried to compensate unduly for their economic troubles.
A Travel here is nearly free. Flying is cheaper than taking a bus. Hotel rooms in the resorts hit hardest by the drop in tourism can go for $2 a night. A hotel dinner at same resorts is a whopping $7 for the two of us. Of course, here in Jakarta, we just spent $35 to pig out at Tony Romas. But that doesn’t count.
B+ The local food is great. We haven’t gone too deep into the cuisine, but like what we’ve tried so far. And since the country is split between Moslem and Christian, we get bacon and pork. Pork rendang with coconut shavings is my favorite so far. Well, that and the A&W rootbeer float I had today…
A There are no other tourists here. At all. Got the hole country to ourselves.

Not everything passes, though:
F- Road quality is the worst I’ve ever been on. The Trans-Sumatran Highway is a muddy, windy, bombed out back alley. We made the mistake of doing an overnight ride on it and feel fortunate to have survived.
C- Reliable tourist information is tough to come by. Prices, times, routes, all the stuff you like to know as a tourist gets a different answer from everyone you ask and yet another reality when you get to the truth. Not unheard of, but annoying.

Internet has been hard to come by. Hope to get some photos up soon, but who knows