The Expat Xmas
The best policy for most festive expatriates is to huddle together like Antarctic penguins at someone’s pied-a-terre and drink themselves...
Cycling in Indonesia – Gears for Fears
The ongoing bicycling renaissance has been enjoying a sharp uptick of late as locked down populations across the world attempt...
Rice as Nice for Indonesian culture and its cuisine
Indonesian culture and its cuisine Indonesia’s local restaurants and roadside food stalls, known as warung in Bahasa Indonesia, can be...
Housequake
When I first moved to Indonesia, more years ago now than I care to remember, finding a pad to live...
Emotional Availability
Emotional availability – a phrase that is in essence closely related to that better-known 21st-century phrase, emotional intelligence – is...
Panned and Deliver
Come hell, high water (coming soon to an ankle-deep thoroughfare near you folks), global pandemics, lockdowns, and large-scale social restrictions,...
Children’ Activities in Jakarta
At first glance, Jakarta may not seem that promising for children. Indeed, if you come from a developed world city...
Cold Sweat
Thinking of fitness applications for the latest action-packed, fully hand-sanitized society we now live in is all due to COVID-19...
Venturesome Visa Vacations
I recently had the pleasure of setting sail from Soekarno-Hatta international airport on that most familiar of missions; the Singapore...
Smoke and Mirrors
It’s been a rough old time for the world’s rainforests of late. Over in Brazil, discount store autocrat Jair Bolsonaro...
Come Hell or High Water
The wet season will soon be upon us unless climate change has already pushed Indonesia over the edge into a...
Wheel Meat Again
“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and feed him for a...
Lost in the Supermarket
Fastidious shoppers may prefer the rarified aisles of fancy expat supermarkets, but spare a thought for the city’s traditional markets....
A,B,C,D,e ? The E-Reader Cometh
In our utopian/dystopian (delete to taste), ever more digitally wired future, absolutely everything will be hooked up to the so-called...
Chain Reaction-Cycling Trip in North Sulawesi
“Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race,” so said literary time traveller...
Lake Placid
The mighty Lake Toba remains one of Indonesia’s most impressive stop-offs Outside of Bali, the dodgy pizzas and dishevelled hotels...
You Can Check Out Anytime, but You Can Never Leave
There comes a time when we all need a break from the carbon monoxide and burning plastic smoke that drifts...
The TV Set
Transgenderism has been hitting the global headlines of late, and Indonesia is a nation with its own cross-dressing traditions. Whilst...
Hammer to Fall: Property Ownership
It’s time to bring out the legal eagles for a look at expatriate matters What with various cable TV channels...
The Straight and Narrow
The neologistic acronym LGBT has been hitting Indonesian headlines this month, as the nation continues its ill-advised trudge towards good-time,...
Swipe All My Tears Away
Internet dating has seemingly got the whole world by the proverbial short and curlies, and Indonesia is no exception. Sites...