For Whom the Bali Tolls
Finally road users on Bali’s congested southern tip are looking forward to some relief with the construction of a toll...
A Decade Gone and Bali’s Spirit Lives On
It was 10 years ago this month that people’s perceptions of the island of Bali changed forever. The idyllic island...
An Old Suburb and an Invasion
Tugu means memorial and memorial is an apt name for this old suburb up in North East Jakarta by the...
The Truth Behind ?Oktoberfest?
The first Oktoberfest took place in October 1810 to celebrate Crown Prince Ludwig’s wedding to Princess Therese von Sachsen Hildburghausen....
Pemuteran: A Road Runs Through It
As we head clear of Candi Kuning the traffic noticeably thins. We wind our way higher up into the mountains,...
Wali Songo
The Wali Songo are revered throughout Indonesia as the wise men who brought Islam initially to Java but ultimately...
West Java’ Beauty at Bay
The sun is shining, the weekend lies ahead. What better way to spend the free time than unwinding far from...
Mads Johansen Lange: A Danish Adventurer Nicknamed ?King of Bali?
Most people know Kuta as a hedonistic beach resort where anything goes. It’s a Phuket-on-Bintang, just about the only place...
The Comfort Woman
As job titles go it is difficult to think of any more crass, more cynical than ‘comfort woman’. To the...
Indonesian Expat 8 Ball Doubles Championship
They take their pool very seriously in Jakarta. Most evenings in many bars across the city you will find small...
Bandung’ Colonial Legacy
Bandung, with its factory outlets and bakeries selling the ubiquitous brownie, this city has long been a favourite destination for...
A Day at Banten Lama
Jakarta is sadly lacking in opportunities for a pleasant day trip out of the city. The traffic, not to mention...
Run to New York
The English, bless our little cotton buds, have always loved a gallant loser. Years of feeble cricket and football performances...
Literary Works Capable of Change
Take an ambitious businessman drunk on being so close to power, a media baron who uses his political acquaintances to...
Bengkulu Blues
At first sight Bengkulu seems an odd place for a trading post. It’s situated on the west coast of Sumatra,...
Benny & Mice
My Indonesian language skills have never been that good. I struggle to put three or four words together and when...
Of Spice and Profit
Nearly half a millennium before the world, slowly getting connected by grainy black and white TV images, was entranced by...
Going Nowhere Fast – Can Jakarta Learn from Bangkok?
Bangkok’s new international airport may look like the result of a kindergarten class having too much free time with the...
Love In The East
The early days of the expatriate in South East Asia back in the 16th and 17th centuries were fraught with...
Zheng He, The Chinese Muslim Eunuch
Zheng He is renowned today as a great explorer, honoured by both Chinese and Muslims throughout South East Asia. But...
Treading in Jogjakarta’s Ancient History
Jogjakarta and its Hill of Stones Anyone with but the flimsiest knowledge of Indonesia will know the pivotal role Jogjakarta...