The Great OutdoorsDaniel PopeFebruary 13, 2019February 14, 2019 by Daniel PopeFebruary 13, 2019February 14, 201906460Fatahillah Square Kota Tua (Old City), North Jakarta Once notorious for its criminally-neglected historic buildings, whose roofs were prone to...
Rat’s Tail SoupDaniel PopeDecember 19, 2018 by Daniel PopeDecember 19, 201803592Around the corner from my hotel in the Cambodian city of Phnom Penh is a small Indonesian restaurant. Having lived...
In Praise of Pedestrian TastesDaniel PopeNovember 21, 2018 by Daniel PopeNovember 21, 201802082Daniel Pope prods his proletarian fork at a few Indonesian favourites. “Food, glorious food! Hot sausage and mustard! While we’re...
Never the Trains Shall MeetDaniel PopeNovember 7, 2018 by Daniel PopeNovember 7, 201802100Not long ago, any authentic Indonesian model railway set required dozens of tiny model passengers perched precariously on the roofs...
Public Transport: Masochism for the MassesDaniel PopeOctober 10, 2018October 10, 2018 by Daniel PopeOctober 10, 2018October 10, 201802004Daniel Pope endures and occasionally enjoys Jakarta’s improving public transport options. Travel these days is absurdly easy. Just flip open...
The Malls That Ate JakartaDaniel PopeSeptember 11, 2018 by Daniel PopeSeptember 11, 201804476When humans eventually colonise Mars, it’s a toss-up what they will build first. If they’re Chinese, they might put up...
The Tastes of ParadiseDaniel PopeJuly 3, 2018 by Daniel PopeJuly 3, 201802081Anyone who has set foot in Indonesia will be familiar with these local versions of products that expatriates learn to...
Going at Home and Going AwayDaniel PopeJuly 3, 2018 by Daniel PopeJuly 3, 201801163I had only been back in the UK for a day and already I was in a public lavatory watching...
Street ReminiscingDaniel PopeApril 11, 2018 by Daniel PopeApril 11, 201802052Khao Sarn Road, Bangkok; Street 172, Phnom Penh; Jalan Jaksa, Jakarta. The list of famous and cheap backpacker streets in...
Baguettes and RiceDaniel PopeMarch 15, 2018 by Daniel PopeMarch 15, 201801142Throughout my twenty years of teaching EFL in Indonesia, we – that is my noble fellow teachers and myself –...
Lost In BaliDaniel PopeSeptember 28, 2016 by Daniel PopeSeptember 28, 201601134Daniel Pope recalls a new year that didn’t begin well I am a mobile technology geek. As well as carrying...
Return of a FriendDaniel PopeSeptember 7, 2016 by Daniel PopeSeptember 7, 20160747Jakarta’s Jalan Jaksa was once a great place for making odd, surreal and semi-imaginary friends, as Daniel Pope recalls. When...
CrossingsDaniel PopeMay 24, 2016 by Daniel PopeMay 24, 20160697Daniel Pope remembers some of his international comings and goings. In 1986, while the cold war was still going on,...
Indonesian CrittersDaniel PopeMarch 22, 2016 by Daniel PopeMarch 22, 201611865You don’t need to watch a scary movie to make your flesh crawl, as Daniel Pope explains. A fellow English...
The ImposterDaniel PopeJanuary 25, 2016 by Daniel PopeJanuary 25, 20162 1189Daniel Pope muses on how sometimes it’s better to tell fibs when you want to fit in with the culture....
Marching OrdersDaniel PopeDecember 15, 2015 by Daniel PopeDecember 15, 20150630An army marches on its stomach and so does an English teacher, as Daniel Pope found out. Despite my earning...
Medical AnomaliesDaniel PopeSeptember 19, 2015August 4, 2017 by Daniel PopeSeptember 19, 2015August 4, 201701281When well-off people in Indonesia need medical treatment, they often head off to Singapore. Daniel Pope thinks he knows why....
Fun With WeaponsDaniel PopeAugust 21, 2015August 4, 2017 by Daniel PopeAugust 21, 2015August 4, 201702165Daniel Pope contemplates whether a foreigner could get away with murder in Indonesia. My local hangout in Jakarta in the...
Jakarta, Rattle and RollDaniel PopeJuly 13, 2015May 1, 2021 by Daniel PopeJuly 13, 2015May 1, 20210871Not long ago, I watched Dawn of The Planet of the Apes in 4-D at a Blitzmegaplex cinema complex in...
Making the Possible ImpossibleDaniel PopeMarch 10, 2015August 23, 2017 by Daniel PopeMarch 10, 2015August 23, 20171975Any foreigner who has dealt with a government department in Indonesia—whose offices maintained a 1960s atmosphere of clattering typewriters and...
Getting to the Other SideDaniel PopeFebruary 23, 2015August 23, 2017 by Daniel PopeFebruary 23, 2015August 23, 201702413The safest time to cross the street in Jakarta can be when the city is at maximum danger level, as...