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Travel Pictures - INDONESIA - 1992

All images © Ron Miller

          During all of my travels, the tropical archipelago of Indonesia was about as far
     from Tennessee (in several ways) as I could get. The highlights of my visit included
     relaxing at the travelers enclave at Bukit Lawang (Sumatra), observing orangutans
     in the wild (Sumatra), the un-earthly landscape of Mt. Bromo (Java), and the verdant
     landscape and bizarre culture of Bali. The only negative I encountered was the
     constant harassment by aggressive vendors (the most aggressive on the planet).
     Although I intended to travel the chain of islands beyond Bali to Flores, I was worn
     out from stomach problems that first began in Nepal.

My innovative, travelers guesthouse that provided guests with "liquid" air conditioning -
Bukit Lawang; Sumatra, Indonesia

After three days trekking through the Gunung Leuser N.P., I arrived in this rural community. These Sumatran children may have never
seen anyone with European features and, while curious, they were also cautious and maintained what I call a "cannibal-safe" distance -
Gunung Leuser N.P.; Sumatra, Indonesia

This typical Batak house would traditionally have housed eight families - and without interior walls! "Batak" is a collective
term used to identify a number of ethnic groups whose heartland is in the Lake Toba area. The majority of the "Batak"
people are Christian and represent the largest church community in this Muslim nation. The Batak people were
introduced to Christianity by the German Lutheran missionary Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen (1834-1918)
who translated the New Testament into the native Batak language -
Sumatra, Indonesia

Batak-style tourist huts on Lake Toba, a vast water-filled caldera that is the largest volcanic lake in the world.
The lake is 3,000 feet above sea level and more than 1,600 feet deep. Volcanologists say that the eruption that
created this vast caldera sent more than 2,000 times more material into the atmosphere than Mt. St. Helens
and deposited ash up to 20 feet deep on the Indian subcontinent nearly 2,000 miles away! -
Sumatra, Indonesia

Sipisopiso Falls plunges 360 feet off the rim of Lake Toba's vast caldera -
Sumatra, Indonesia

This view from the barren summit of the active volcano Mt. Merapi (9,560 feet) and toward the lush green slopes
of the dormant volcano Mt. Merbabu, vividly shows the creative and destructive powers of nature -
Mt. Merapi; Java, Indonesia