Indonesia has many remote areas with limited or no internet access. Elon Musk hopes to solve that problem with Starlink satellite internet service across the sprawling island nation.

Musk arrived in Bali last Sunday, May 19th with a busy agenda, including the launch of Starlink at three Indonesian health centers, including two in Bali and one on the remote island of Aru in Maluku. Now, these clinics can exchange real-time data to improve diagnoses and disease management.

“I’m excited to bring connectivity to places that have low connectivity,” Musk said, “If you have access to the internet you can learn anything.”

Indonesia is now the third country in Southeast Asia with Starlink services. Malaysia issued the firm a license to provide internet services last year after a Philippine-based firm secured a contract with SpaceX in 2022.

Indonesian president Jokowi unveiled a plan to turn Indonesia into a global hub for EV battery production and, eventually, the manufacture of EVs. Last November he announced his plans to build an integrated EV ecosystem, in which the country would produce 600,000 electric cars per year by the end of the decade.

“We made an offer to build an EV battery factory here,” said Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. “He said he will consider it.”

Indonesia has the world’s largest reserves of nickel ore, an important component in manufacturing the lithium-ion batteries that power EVs. Indeed, in 2022, the country supplied 48 percent of global demand for nickel, a figure Jakarta believes has the potential to increase to 75 percent by 2030.

To this end, Indonesia has imposed a ban on the export of raw nickel ore, the explicit aim of which was to force investors to refine nickel in Indonesian smelters. It has also expended considerable diplomatic effort in wooing foreign investment in nickel production and processing, and in nickel-adjacent sectors, including battery manufacturing.

Jokowi has been courting Musk and Tesla for years.

In May 2022, Jokowi met Musk at the SpaceX in Boca Chica, Texas, in which he laid out a vision for how the U.S.-based firm could base its entire supply chain in the country.

Indonesia wants to build up industries to exploit its rich natural resources, which include the world’s largest nickel reserves. Nickel is an important material for EV batteries and solar panels. Indonesia supplies 40 percent of the world’s nickel and has the potential to increase this to 75 percent by 2030, according to the government data. The government has set a goal of producing 600,000 electric vehicles by 2030, and will require EVs and related components produced in Indonesia to contain of 60 percent local content by 2027.

The country has been trying for years to secure deals with Musk’s Tesla on battery investment and for Musk’s SpaceX to provide fast internet access for remote areas of the sprawling archipelago.

Pandjaitan, a powerful cabinet minister, said the president also asked the billionaire to invest in an AI center and for SpaceX to build a launchpad in Biak, an island in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua province.

Musk did not make any formal announcements related to his investment plans in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

“It’s likely that we will invest in Indonesia,” Musk said.

Tesla isn’t the only technology firm that is interested in Indonesia as a market and manufacturing base. Recently, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that the firm would invest $1.7 billion over the next four years to expand cloud services and data centers to expand the infrastructure for AI in Indonesia. This came shortly after Apple’s CEO Tim Cook made his own trip to the country, during which he made a similarly non-committal statement that the company would “look at” opening a factory in Indonesia.

Indonesia is the fourth-largest nation in the world with more than 267 million people. The country has more than 17,500 islands, including Bali, Borneo, Java, Lombok, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

Get the most from your trip with the Language and Travel Guide to Indonesia. Learn where to go and what to say. Thousands of islands. Hundreds of cultures. One book.

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Indonesia launched its first high-speed railway last month, which links Jakarta and Bandung. It cuts travel time between two key cities by more than two hours.

The railway is named Whoosh, a Bahasa Indonesia acronym that translates to time-saving and reliable. Hopefully, it will help ease the area’s traffic jams and carbon emissions.

The project has been beset with delays and increasing costs, and some observers doubt its commercial benefits.

The railway connects Jakarta with Bandung, the heavily populated capital of West Java province, and will cut travel time between the cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes. The nation touts its new railway as the fastest in Southeast Asia, with speeds of up to 350 kph (217 mph). The new railway service covers a total distance of 88 miles, but it will likely be expanded across Java.

“The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train marks the modernization of our mass transportation, which is efficient and environmentally friendly,” said Indonesia’s President Widodo.

“Our courage to try new things gives us confidence and the opportunity to learn and will be very useful for the future, making our human resources more advanced and our nation more independent,” he added.

The trains have been modified for Indonesia’s tropical climate and are equipped with a safety system that can respond to earthquakes, floods and other emergency conditions. The 209-meter (685-foot) train has a capacity of 601 passengers.

Ticket prices had not been finalized as of Monday, but PT KCIC estimated one-way prices per passenger would range from 250,000 rupiah ($16) for second class to 350,000 rupiah ($22.60) for VIP seats.

Passengers going to downtown Bandung must take a feeder train from the Padalarang station that adds a further 20 minutes, with an estimated cost about 50,000 rupiah ($3.20).

Indonesian officials say the high-speed railway is expected to improve economic productivity, while promoting more tourism.

The trains are powered by electricity, which will help reduce the country’s carbon footprint.

The Indonesian government is planning an extension of the Whoosh high-speed train from Bandung to Surabaya, East Java. The extension would be approximately 700 kilometers long and would reduce the travel time between Jakarta and Surabaya to just 3.5 hours.

If the project is approved, it will be completed by 2030. The extension would have a major impact on transportation and economic development in Indonesia, making it easier and faster for people and goods to travel between the two major cities. The bullet train’s speed will mainly appeal to business travellers and tourists.

Indonesia is the fourth-largest nation in the world with more than 267 million people. The country has more than 17,500 islands, including Bali, Borneo, Java, Lombok, Sumatra and Sulawesi. Learn where to go, what do and what to say.

Get the most from your trip with the Language and Travel Guide to Indonesia. Learn where to go and what to say. Thousands of islands. Hundreds of cultures. One book.

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If you spend enough time traveling across Indonesia, you will have the opportunity to experience everything from horse-drawn carts to high-speed trains. A bike ride is a great option, but be careful where you ride.

Cycling can be a great way to explore Indonesia. It is a tremendous way to tour the countryside at a controlled pace. The people that you meet along the way will make your trip even more memorable.

Biking has always been popular with tourists on Bali. Unfortunately, most roads are too narrow for bikers and cars, so take a bike ride at your own risk if you can’t find designated trails and paths. For a special bike ride, visit the Ubud area to recreate Julia Roberts’ bicycling scene in Eat, Pray, Love. The Bukit Campuhan area has a walking and biking path along the hill. It offers a peaceful ride through the grass and trees.

In Yogyakarta and many parts of Java, bicycles have always been common among the locals. Today, bikers are coming out in droves in Jakarta. Last June and July, cycling in the city increased by 500 percent. In high-volume travel areas, bike traffic increased by 1,000 percent.

The city is attempting to shift away from its car-oriented transportation system. It is improving connectivity between five intercity train stations to metro and Transjakarta stations, with 44 more stations to follow. It’s also improving pedestrian access to the terminals. For these efforts and others, Jakarta earned the Sustainability Transport Award for 2021.

Investments in the walking environment have resulted in 205 kilometers of new sidewalks for pedestrians. A bike-sharing system with 120 bikes and six stations has become popular. Parking was built at some transit stations, and a 63 km bicycle lane was established. The city is planning a 500-kilometer cycling network. A 200 km long protected bicycle lane is currently being developed.

“The public enthusiasm for cycling in Jakarta should be a wake-up call for municipal governments everywhere that just building for cars is no longer good enough,” says Heather Thompson, ITDP CEO. “Whether it’s a pandemic, a climate-change related weather event, or an air quality crisis, Jakarta’s success shows us the value of having all options for transit available to keep the city moving.”

Be prepared. The heat, humidity and frequent rainstorms in Indonesia can be a challenge. As you gain just a little elevation, the temperatures begin to drop. If you get high enough on the islands, it can actually get cold.

“My advice is to stick to designated bike paths,” said Gary Chandler, author of the Language and Travel Guide To Indonesia. “Cars and trucks frequently bump into each other on the narrow roads. A bicycle doesn’t stand a chance.”

Indonesia is the fourth-largest nation in the world with more than 267 million people. The country has more than 17,500 islands, including Bali, Borneo, Java, Lombok, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

Get the most from your trip with the Language and Travel Guide to Indonesia. Learn where to go and what to say. Thousands of islands. Hundreds of cultures. One book.

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