Tipping
Tipping has been known for a long time in Indonesia. The local term is persen. Traditionally, however, such tips were given only as a token of appreciation for really valuable services rendered, and on an entirely voluntary basis. In its recent development, the custom of tipping has become commercialized in the sense that it is often considered compulsory in certain places.

Even so, there is no standard rule on tipping as is practiced today. The size of the tip is usually left to the discretions of the person who gives it. For small services such as carrying baggage, however, a minimum amount of the about Rp. 5.000 is considered appropriate.

The mass media
Television broadcasts in Indonesia (TVRI and RCTI) generally start at 3.30 p.m. and last until 11:00 p.m. or until midnight on weekends RCTI star at 1:30 p.m.

The public television network TVRI and RCTI have some channels. Channel 6 for TVRI (Jakarta and surrounding), and channel 8 and for RCTI; and other channel for the rest of Indonesia.

Viewers in Jakarta can from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily watch a special program in English, consisting of news and short documents or entertainment. ( some other TV channel are TransTV/Trans7, global TV, TPI, etc ).

The government runs two radio networks, the first and also the oldest, called radio republic Indonesia, or RRI, broadcasts entertainment, education programs and news. The other broadcast various items of information for specific audiences. In addition there are mostly entertainment and advertisements and relaying RRI’s news broadcasts, around the country’s leading Indonesian language newspaper circulating on nationwide scale include the dailies kompas, suara pembaharuan, and business Indonesia.

Major provincial newspaper are waspada in medan, singgalang in padang, genta in pekanbaru, pikiran rakyat in bandung, Surabaya pos in Surabaya, and bali post in denpasar.

Laundry
Laundry shops are available almost anywhere, but patience is often needed. For the visitors staying in the big hotels, laundry is obviously not a problem. Dry cleaning services are found only in the bigger towns and cities.

Sport and games
Play is an important part of life among Indonesians. Facilities for sports and games are commonly found even in small towns and many villages boast at least a soccer field, badminton or a volley ball court.

Badminton and soccer are the most most popular sports among Indonesians and never fail to draw huge crowds of spectators. Instructors are usually available at the better sports centers, and shops specializing in sporting equipment can easily be found in the town and cities.

Shopping
For many visitors, shopping is an important part of the travel itinerary. For those who like the experience or shopping or simply browsing in an Asian market place but have in the past been discouraged by the rubbish, it will be good to know that in many town and cities market places have been extensively renovated and cleaned up.

Much visited markets in Jakarta are Pasar Ular in Tanjung priok port area, Pasar Pagi and glodok in the downtown Chinese neighborhood, and the Pasar ikan fish market in the old sunda kelapa harbor area.

In Surabaya, popular markets are pasr tunjungan, pasar turi and blauran. In medan, there is pasar Mercubuana market, and in Ujung pandang the somba opu market place. Banjarmasin and Pontianak on the island Kalimantan boast floating markets. Yogyakarta has its beringharjo market, and semarang its pasar johar.
Tough bargaining is the name of the game when shopping in market places in Indonesia.

Souvenirs
Indonesian craftsman and artisans are highly skilled in making good use of the abundance of materials which their tropical natural environment provides.

Handcraft in a bewildering range of the shapes, colors, pattern, sizes and modern designs are on sale in the art shops and shopping centers that litter town and cities throughout the country.

Hand-woven and embroidered textiles, besides batik, are in great demand among visitor, judging by the sales which the art shops and department stores make. Statues and carved panels and objects are also much sought after as souvenirs, as are semi-precious stones and plait work.

Electricity
Electricity power generation in Indonesia is mostly done by water power, steam or diesel generator, and is undertaken by the government, which runs PLN, the state electricity company,

In most big cities and in rural areas near the big cities, the voltage is 200 volts. Elsewhere it is still 110 volts. Many hotels, however, have outlets for both 220 and 110-volt appliances.

Telecommunications
Telecommunications facilities vary in age and quality from place, but there is hardly a town in Indonesia at present that is not connected to the national telephone network. In the big cities, the telephone system employ the most up-to-date technology, and the network is comparatively extensive.

Public telephone booths are usually available near markets, in business and commercial neighborhoods and in other public places such as restaurant, hotels, stores, train and bus stations, hospitals and at airports. Roadside public telephone booths for local calls are usually activated by putting a Rp. 50 coin into the local telephone office or from privately run booths.

Telegrams. Prepaid telegrams can be sent from almost any city or town in Indonesia. Telegrams are among the cheapest fast means of communicating of long distances, as long as messages are kept short.

Telex.telex services are available in the big cities. Large companies usually have their own telex connection. Rates are determined on the basis of time rather than word count.

Telephones. Direct dialing long distance telephone services are available in most cities. In Jakarta, telephone numbers reach seven digits. In most other cities the number is five digits. For long distance calls, cities are assigned area codes, which listed in telephone\ guides.