Planning a family trip to Indonesia? TripNest turns it into its own app: 10 narrated story podcasts about Indonesia for the drive, games and a quiz for the kids, an audio phrasebook, and the day-by-day plan and map the whole family shares.
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A temple you read by walking
Imagine a giant stone cake with nine layers, hundreds of Buddha statues and carved pictures running all the way around. Builders finished it in the 9th century, then it sat quiet under plants and volcanic ash for centuries. We climb it step by step and find out what the carvings are trying to tell us.
The biggest lizard on Earth
On a few dry, grassy islands in eastern Indonesia lives a lizard longer than a car door is wide. It has a forked tongue, a heavy tail and a very good sense of smell. We find out how rangers keep visitors and dragons a safe distance apart.
Volcanoes, ash and very good soil
Indonesia sits where huge pieces of the Earth's crust push together, which is why it has around 130 active volcanoes. That sounds alarming, but volcanic ash also makes some of the richest farmland in the world. We visit Mount Bromo at sunrise and learn how scientists keep watch.
Puppets, an oil lamp and an orchestra
In wayang kulit, flat leather puppets dance behind a white cloth while a gamelan orchestra plays and one performer speaks every single voice. Shows can last most of the night. We listen to the gongs and meet a few of the best-loved characters.
Nutmeg, cloves and sailing ships
For a long time, nutmeg and cloves grew on just a handful of small islands in Maluku, and nowhere else. Ships crossed whole oceans for a sackful. We follow the spice route and smell what all the fuss was about.
The people of the forest
Orangutan means "forest person", and these great apes build a fresh nest of leaves nearly every night. They live wild in only two places on Earth, both of them Indonesian islands. We find out how they use sticks as tools and leaves as umbrellas.
How batik cloth gets its patterns
A batik maker draws on cloth with melted wax using a little copper spouted pen, then dips the whole thing in dye. Wherever the wax sits, the colour cannot reach. We watch a pattern appear as the wax melts away, and learn what some designs mean.
Sharing water down a hillside
Balinese farmers cut green terraces into steep hills so water can trickle from one field to the next. Farmers meet in groups called subak to decide who gets water and when, and temples help keep the schedule. We stand in a paddy at dawn and listen to the frogs and ducks.
The busiest reefs on the planet
Indonesian waters hold more kinds of coral and reef fish than anywhere else. There are fish shaped like boxes, fish that change colour, and a pygmy seahorse smaller than your thumbnail. Snorkel along with us and count how many you can spot.
Follow the smell of charcoal
Carts roll past with clinking bells, each selling one thing perfectly: satay over coals, noodle soup, sweet coconut pancakes. Some sellers announce themselves by tapping a bowl. We taste our way down a street and pick up the words you need to order.
170 / 1,700 / 17,000
The Komodo dragon / The green iguana / The monitor gecko
Buddhist temple / Royal palace / Wooden bridge
The Indonesia podcast has 10 narrated story episodes for the car or the plane: The Stone Storybook of Borobudur, Meeting the Dragon, Living on the Ring of Fire, Shadows and Gongs, The Islands Everyone Wanted, Orangutans in the Treetops, Drawing with Hot Wax, Staircases of Rice, Inside the Coral Triangle and Street Food Tour.
"Terima kasih banyak", said tuh-REE-mah KAH-see BAH-nyak. It's one of the phrases in the Indonesia audio phrasebook, recorded so the kids can hear it before they try it.
112 (Emergency (all services)), 110 (Police) and 118 (Ambulance). TripNest puts it in your trip's contacts page next to your own contacts.
Every trip starts free: the day-by-day plan, map and contacts. Premium adds the Indonesia podcasts, kids' games and the audio phrasebook for $24, once per trip - no subscription.
No. Your trip is one link that opens on everyone's phone, grandparents included, without an account. You can add it to your home screen so it works offline once you land.