Whether you've always wanted to go to Indonesia, or interested in learning about this interesting country, I've got a book for you!

Tim Hannigan was born in Penzance in the far west of the UK, and grew up on the stormy shores of the Atlantic. Before becoming a full-time writer he worked as a chef, an English teacher, and a tour guide to fund his travels. His first book, Murder in the Hindu Kush, was published in 2011, and was shortlisted for the Boardman-Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature. Subsequent books include the award-winning Raffles and the British Invasion of Java, and A Brief History of Indonesia. He has also worked on guidebooks to destinations including Nepal, Myanmar, and India – as well as Indonesia, of course - and now that he's no longer a chef, he actually enjoys cooking!

Hannigan's latest book is A Geek in Indonesia: Discover the Land of Komodo Dragons, Balinese Healers, and Dangdut Music, published by Tuttle Publishing (we love them!). It's a fascinating read, and one that you won't be able to put down. 

As with all Tuttle Press books, this is a treasure. It's a window into another culture and a travel guide all rolled together. It is a book filled with wonder and intercultural sensitivity, enticing photos and clear explanations. Here's what I love about A Geek in Indonesia:

• The chapters. They range from culture to daily life, music to traditions, food to play.

• The expertise. Obviously, Hannigan knows his stuff. I learned more about Indonesia in this book than I have in years of reading about it. He delves deeply into wide-ranging topics, and teaches us much on every single page.

• The writing. Hannigan is an excellent writer, able to bring a far-flung (or near, depending on where you live) culture and people to life - and inspire a deep longing to visit.

• The photos. This is a vibrant, diverse culture. The photos that are liberally placed throughout the book bring this fact home to us. 

I love this book! Highly recommended.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Hannigan, and ask him about the book, inspiration, researching, travel clichés, cultural sensitivity, and more. Here's what he had to say...

Please tell us about your book, A Geek in Indonesia...
When people ask me about the book, I usually say it’s a post-guidebook guidebook with a personal angle. That doesn’t necessarily explain things very clearly, but it might make people curious! It’s basically a colorful account (literally; there are loads of photos) of the stuff you would get in the intro of a traditional travel guide – the history, food, highlights, etc. – plus loads of stuff that you wouldn’t, from Indonesian punk rock to Indonesian TV chat shows. There are lots of little personal opinions and experiences thrown into the mix, too.
 
What inspired you to write this book?
I’ve written a lot about Indonesia, but always in the form of history books, guidebooks, or travel articles. When Tuttle asked if I’d consider writing an Indonesia addition to their “A Geek in” series, I jumped at the chance. The format gives you way more flexibility and opportunity to talk about personal experience than you’d ever get working on a conventional guidebook, and there were loads of things that I love about Indonesia that I’ve never had a chance to cover in other books – like its underground music scene, or its frantic social media world.

Wacky public transport in eastern Indonesia
 
We love research - what were the joys and challenges of researching this book?
Research is what I do – but usually that means the deep trawl of archives or academic texts that provides the raw materials for narrative history books. This time around, I was researching things that I’d never before had cause to think about in detail – the history of Indonesia’s TV soap operas, for example, or the biography of some controversial dangdut singer. In a way it was like going back to my beginnings writing feature articles for newspapers and magazines, where you might have to produce 1,500 words on a subject you know nothing about (“England’s royal dining customs” is one I had to do that also sticks in my memory!) But the great thing with A Geek in Indonesia is that I got to choose these random topics myself!

Three-wheeled Indonesian pedicab
 
What might people be surprised to learn about Indonesia (and visiting Indonesia)?
People from the US or Europe tend to be primed with guidebook and travel show clichés when they go to a country like Indonesia – and with outdated notions about a binary division between “the West” and “the developing world”. They come expecting “the real Indonesia” to be all picturesque villages and exotic customs. That stuff does exist, of course, but what I hope A Geek in Indonesia will remind people is that TV talent shows, Twitter accounts, innovative digital start-ups, and, of course, punk rock, are as much “the real Indonesia” as some photogenic old farmer, ploughing a paddy field with a buffalo.

Selfies at high altitude in Java
 
How can travelers connect with locals - with cultural sensitivity - in such a diverse country?
One of the things that might come as a surprise to some visitors, is just how big a travel scene there now is amongst young Indonesians. It’s something that’s really taken off in the last decade, and it’s very much tied to social media. The country has thousands of dedicated travel bloggers and Instagrammers taking trips to far-flung bits of their own country and opening up places that the guidebook writers of old never got to. If you stay in modern backpacker hostels in Indonesia these days, you’ll almost certainly meet young Indonesians doing exactly the same thing as you, and that’s a great way to make new connections. 

One thing that’s worth saying about travel in Indonesia – although the urban middle classes tend to speak at least some English, in general, compared to places like India or Malaysia, English isn’t widely spoken. Fortunately, Bahasa Indonesia, the Indonesian language, is relatively accessible to English-speakers, and it doesn’t take too much effort to learn a few basics, which will get you some great responses from locals.

Young Indonesian soccer fans

What's up next for you?
There are a couple of other Indonesia-based things already in the pipeline, but for the most part I’m busy working on my PhD. It’s not a conventional PhD, though; it’s a travel book – about travel writing! I’ve been travelling around interviewing famous living travel writers, and delving into the archives of famous dead ones, and in the process trying to grapple with the various peculiarities and controversies of the genre. It’ll be a few years before it sees the light of day though…
 
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Anyone who wants a slightly – only slightly! – more serious introduction to Indonesia can look for my earlier books, which focus on the history, although in a thoroughly non-academic style.

Find Tim online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tim_Hannigan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABriefHistoryOfIndonesia/
Website: https://timhannigan.com/

All photos courtesy and copyright Tim Hannigan and Tuttle Publishing