Don’t Get Lost – Find Your Why
I’m a big fan of Simon Sinek. For those of you who don’t know who he is, you can read...
Observations
Get Smart or Die Lying
Kenneth Yeung pompously pontificates on education in a time of viral uncertainty. As a pretentious 16-year-old, one of my favourite...
Education with the lot please?
Could COVID-19 present schools with an opportunity? Could it be a Gojek moment and a Grab moment, when the educational...
Mind your English
Until translation technology is perfected and the converted English sentence “The s**t’s about to hit the fan,” doesn’t prompt foreigners...
Dubious Dwellings
If you pay US$100 (Rp1.4 million) for a room at a luxurious hotel (or more likely your company does), you...
Normal Service will not be Resumed
If you’re a French, Russian, Japanese, Singaporean, American, British, German or Middle East citizen in Indonesia, then lucky you. Most...
Snakes are Out in Bali! Stay Calm and Follow Ron Lilley’ Advice
Poisonous Snakes are Out in Bali! Stay Calm and Follow Ron Lilley’s Advice Ron Lilley is, indisputably, the snake specialist...
Yours Lovingly
In the past, in an age of corner shops and pubs, it was enough to give your loved one a...
Finding a True Relationship on Online Dating Apps: Is It Really Possible?
Online dating applications have been catching the attention of people who are looking to find the future father or mother...
I Love Footpaths
For many, Jakarta is a city of kampung, and in the kampung, roads quickly become winding, one-lane tracks, with a...
Fire and Flood
This bule went home for Christmas. I was aware bushfires were burning in Australia and I was, in a slightly...
Welcome to the Roaring Twenties
It’s the start of a new decade and it looks like it’s going to be a prosperous one for Indonesia....
Social Jakartans
Until I came to Jakarta, social media was a foreign country for this bule. I only had one screen of...
Getting Indonesia to Work
Nigel Carpenter is a serious guy involved in important work. He’s also getting a tad frustrated. For the past three...
How to Fail Successfully
No matter who we are, where we come from, or whatever our age, we have all failed at something at...
Isn?t Rural Bali Nothing Else than a Long-Gone Myth?
Governor Wayan Koster is a Bali leader who got elected on identity politics. This kind of regional campaigning is relatively...
You Can Tell the Difference, But A Turtle Can’t
We all have to admit that we are trapped in a world littered with plastic. From plastic straws to many...
Greetings on Cakes are Inappropriate?
Finding a gift for that special person as an act of compassion, to congratulate them on a life achievement, to...
Happy Red Day
The Christmas and New Year holiday period is approaching. It’s time to deactivate the morning alarm and enjoy a few...
Australian Alert! Your Neighbor Has Changed
Telling Australians their ideas about Indonesia are out-of-date can be a head-banging exercise. Ambassador Gary Quinlan knows this well. The...
Prabowo in Jokowi’ New Cabinet: Has Indonesian Democracy Gone Astray?
It might have surprised many of Indonesia’s foreign residents, but newly reelected President Joko Widodo has just appointed his former...