How to Distinguish
- The domain is .id
- Cars drive on the left
- Cigarettes are commonly sold roadside, and red and white flags are often seen in front of houses(by Geotips )
- Many plates are black, and with blur they may look split into three blocks
- There are many Alfamart convenience stores (参考文献 PT Sumber Alfaria Trijaya Tbk)
- If the median is yellow, Indonesia is more likely than Malaysia
Signs you can find
By Yan Arief Purwanto from Yogyakarta, Indonesia - IMG_9328, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Signs for Alfamart, Bank Mandiri, and BRI can appear even in small towns. Alfamart has over 17,000 stores nationwide .
Cigarettes are commonly sold roadside . Even without a cigarette image, “18+” indicates a tobacco ad.
Most plates are black and, with blur, can look split into three segments . In Malaysia they usually look split into two. Other colors like yellow and red also exist . If you are torn between Malaysia and Indonesia, three-way blur or front plates on motorcycles point to Indonesia .
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Poles often have red-and-white paint, or are black metal poles painted at the base or entirely black .
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By Fandy Aprianto Rohman - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
You may see PT Pertamina, Indonesia’s largest oil and gas company; the number on the sign can indicate the region (参考文献 Pertamina).
By Yoshi Canopus - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Narrow two-lane roads . If the centerline is orange, consider Thailand.
There are many types, so see Indonesia bollards
Nippon Indosari Corpindo Tbk is an Indonesian bread maker (参考文献 Official site).
Indonesia goods
Narrow down state/region
- Learn where kabupaten are (see map and the reference) (参考文献 Peta Indonesia HD PDF)
- There are 38 provinces
Sometimes abbreviated as “KAB”. This sign is from the Cepu area (参考文献 Cepu, Blora).
.jpg#/media/File:00_Papan_Nama_Terminal_Cepu_(1).jpg)
By id:User:Mujionomaruf - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
There are 38 provinces. Kabupaten are a smaller unit.
By Bennylin - Own work, derived from File:Indonesia blank map colored.svg, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
Architecture
- Indonesia has many ethnic groups, so building styles vary(from 『10 More Maps You NEED To Know for Geoguessr by zi8gzag』) (参考文献 Traditional houses in Indonesia)
- Plonkit Indonesia is detailed; use it
- West Sumatra: Minangkabau traditional houses with curved roofs
- North Sumatra: Batak roof styles
- Riau: Lontiok houses with curved roofs, stilted floors, and odd-numbered stairs (参考文献 Lontiok)
- Banten: Sulah nyanda houses of the Baduy (参考文献 Sulah nyanda)
- Sumba: Uma Marapu houses with tall pointed roofs (参考文献 Sumba tall-roof houses)
Tongkonan houses appear (参考文献 Toraja Tongkonan houses). They are very similar to Batak houses around Lake Toba in North Sumatra.
Minangkabau traditional houses in West Sumatra (参考文献 Rumah Gadang). In the matrilineal Minangkabau, houses are inherited from mother to daughter.
These are rare in cities, so they may be hard to use as GeoGuessr hints.
By Fitri Penyalai - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
Lontiok houses are stilted and have curved roofs. The roof tips may have a cross (参考文献 Lontiok).
By Hermadiyansyah Putra St Bagindo - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
On Java, reddish tile roofs are common.
By monica renata from jakarta - Tarung-Waitabar, CC BY 2.0, Link
- Agriculture varies by region
- Rice: more likely Java (over 50%) but appears nationwide
- Corn: if you see both rice paddies and corn fields, Java is likely
- Oil palm: common in North Sumatra and Kalimantan
- Data source: U.S. Indonesia Production Country Summary (USDA)
If you see rice paddies and corn together, go to Java.
There are no plantations in southern Sulawesi. If you see plantations together with Jawi script, consider Riau.
- Ternate Island has Gamalama in the center; roads and houses line the slopes
- Area codes often appear together with place names
- 08XX numbers are too generic; avoid hunting every sign. Place names are more useful.
- Ignore 08 and memorize that codes increase counterclockwise starting from Jakarta.
- 03x: East Java
- 031x: Surabaya
- 036x: Bali
- 0361: Denpasar
- 0380: Kupang
- 07x: South Sumatra
- 0751: Padang
- (参考文献 Telephone numbers in Indonesia)
- Pertamina gas station numbers can indicate region
- 1x~5x: smaller numbers are farther north
- 6x: Kalimantan
- 7x: Sulawesi
