The Weight of Elegance: Redefining Beauty Through the Matrilineal Lens of the Minangkabau
The Minangkabau concept of beauty reminds us of what the mainstream global beauty industry so often forgets: that true radiance...
Observations
The Era of Racquet Sports: Why Padel and Tennis are Becoming Social Lifelines for Young Adults
In a time when loneliness and burnout sometimes go hand in hand with modern young adults’ busy, connected lives, racquet...
Still Samba, Not Sambal
Kenneth Yeung looks at why football-crazy Indonesia still can’t reach the World Cup. Indonesia has long languished in the global...
The School Holiday Dilemma: Travel, Rest, or Enrichment?
“Can’t we just stay at home? You know, have a staycation.” The words were seemingly being prised out of my...
Escape Economics and the Price of Getting Away
People are now travelling more than ever, whereas for many others, the idea of going anywhere feels further away than...
Top 10 Foreign Tourism Sins in Indonesia
It is often said that “travel broadens the mind”—yet this doesn’t explain the hordes of small-minded tourists fiercely competing for...
The Expat’s Guide to Indonesia’s Environmental Evolution in Travel and Tourism
Indonesian tourism sector is at a crossroad—and it is time for global travellers and expatriates to play their part. The...
We are What We Eat: Food as the Foundation of Life
When we choose food that nourishes rather than merely stimulates, we are shaping our health, the health of our children,...
Beyond Distribution: What Is Indonesia’s School Meal Programme Trying to Build? (An Opinion Piece)
If the free meal programme is to succeed, it must do more than deliver food. It must build standards, trust,...
Feeding Young Minds: The Link Between Nutrition and Learning
We have often heard it said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and for that reason,...
Is ‘Comfort Food’ a Healthy Solace or an Unhealthy Sanctuary? A Personal Reflection
Our editor examines his relationship with his ‘comfort food’ — and how the food mercilessly reflects his suppressed views about...
Between Sambal and Sourdough: What I Actually Eat in Indonesia
Contributing writer and expatriate Dewi Aroha reflects on how she navigates her immersion into the local cuisine and her cravings for...
Is Free Food the Best Education Investment?
Kenneth Yeung ponders whether big spending on free meals is the solution to Indonesia’s education challenges. “The state must declare...
The Myth of the Foreign Lovers
I used to believe that I was cursed. Not in a dramatic way, God forbid, just a neat, three-month one:...
The Intercultural Love Route
Intercultural love in Indonesia did not appear suddenly but emerged gradually through centuries of trade, migration and cultural exchange. For...
What are We Going to Leave to Our Grandkids?
Dutch-born Professor Geert Arend, also known as Gerry van Klinken, is a late-arrival greenie—a person who campaigns for protection of...
This January, Time to Come Up with Your Own Definition of ‘New Beginnings’
Our editor ponders how one should start realistically defining the phrase “new beginnings” and why we should no longer put...
Nusantara Mindfulness: New Beginnings Through Indonesia’s Art of Slowing Down
As modern life rushes us from one moment to the next, Java and Bali offer timeless wisdom on the art...
Top 10 Stories From Indonesia in 2025
Kenneth Yeung looks back at some of the year’s top stories, another year older but no wiser. August Riots Mass...
New Year’s Eve at Yogyakarta’s ‘Alun-Alun’: A Joy to Remember
Contributing writer and expatriate Pramod Kanakath reminisces about his experience celebrating New Year’s Eve in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for the first...
From London Winters to Tropical Christmas
Contributing writer, as well as United Kingdom native, David Nesbit reminisces about how he has embraced the ‘tropical Christmas’ in...