IndonesiaAt a meeting “I’ve never seen a tie in Indonesia,” says Virginia Gorlinski, a Northwestern University music professor who has traveled to the country dozens of times. Modesty’s more important to Indonesian moguls, who wear batik button-downs with khaki pants and closed shoes. Women sport ponytails, plain dresses, long sleeves, lipstick, and blush, and leave any notable jewelry at home.
On the street Flip-flops? “They’re what you wear in the bathroom,” Gorlinski says. “Never out in town.” Pair heel-covering sandals (like gladiators), sneakers, or ballet flats with Levi’s or Lee jeans—American denim is revered in Jakarta and its surrounds. Wear some kind of collar (a polo shirt, perhaps) as a sign of respect.
At a party Men swap jeans for khakis and sneakers for loafers. Cotton’s not formal enough to wear out at night; to Indonesians, synthetics hang best and are worn in vibrant prints. Because the typical man measures five feet two inches (women average four feet ten inches), you needn’t bother packing heels.
P.S. In rural areas, naked bathing’s a bad idea, no matter how private your stretch of the river feels. Some locals are so modest that they don’t even strip down in their own bathrooms.
