TOUR AROUND KALIMANTAN

Borneo is the world's third largest island (after Greeland and New Guinea) with a land of area of 746,309 square kilometres. The nothern section of the island is not pat of Indonesia, but forms the East Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, as well as the tiny, oil-rich, independent sultane of Brunei.

Kalimantan, which means "River of Diamonds" in Indonesia, is the name Indoensia gave to her two-thirds of the huge island of Borneo. It is a rugged land, through which flow tremendous rivers : including the Kayan, the Mahakam, the Barito, and the Kahayan. The region has abundant natural resources, many of which are still untapped, and is covered by one of the world's largest stretches of trapical rainforest. Although the region is home to just 5 percent of Indonesia's population. Kalimantan's 549,032 square kilometres represents 28 percent of tje nation's land mass.

Sumatera is the fourth largest island in the world after Greeland, New Guinea and Borneo, with a land area of some 473,481 sq km - roughly the size of Spain.

Well over a dozen major ethnic groups live on the island, speaking more than 25 different languages and hundreds of dialects. Sumatera today supports 40 million people -- over 20 percent of Indonesia's population -- with a land area and population density similiar to that of California, though far less urbanized.

Found here are some of Indonesia's most dynamic peoples. The Acehnese of the north are fervent Muslims renowned for their fierce resistance to Dutch rule. The Minangkabau of West Sumatera have migrated throughout Indonesia and today form the economic and intellectual elite in many areas. Sumatera's largest group, the Malays, were the great seafaring traders of Asia in pre-modern times., and their tongue forms the basis for the national languages of Indonesia and Malaysia. Last but not least, the Batak of the northern highlands around Lake Toba are one of the nation's most resourceful and flamboyant groups.