Greetings from Indonesia

This is a huge country whose islands play join-the-dots all the way from Singapore to Australia. It contains three of the world's six largest islands, sits nervously on the ring of fire which makes it prone to volcano eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes and of course to tsunamis. It is hot, densely populated and in the current rainy season it is very very wet. And it has some of the nicest, politest, mild-mannered people I have ever met. They are constantly smiling, always go out of their way to help and are a gentle considerate people.

The country's capital is also at a total standstill because of the traffic. Never was a metro system more needed. But it is a country of immense contrasts too - a skyline of skyscrapers in Jakarta, and malls filled with global designer labels jostle with poor housing and workers that live on less than 35GBP per month. The country wears its Islam, its nationhood and its democracy in its heart. I'm constantly asked questions about Britain, the government, and I'm asked to share reflections on being Muslim and British. Only ten years into democracy and reformasi, my first impressions of Indonesia are of a country that is pulsing with faith, politics and nationhood and making great strides to race into the 21st century. My impressions are also of a vast and cultured land with huge variation in countryside, ethnicities and cultures. They also make a fantastic cup of coffee. Java, they call it...