The Tastes of Paradise
Anyone who has set foot in Indonesia will be familiar with these local versions of products that expatriates learn to...
Observations
Going at Home and Going Away
I had only been back in the UK for a day and already I was in a public lavatory watching...
The Big Bang Bang Theory
I was born and raised in the UK, where there are around 6.6 guns for every 100 people (this is...
Potential is a Dangerous Aphrodisiac: Indonesia on a Tinder Box of Aspirations
I have been traveling to Indonesia on business for more than a decade and I find it amazing how pervasive...
Disconnect and Find Yourself
Ever spent a day without your phone? You should give it a try! I remember growing up in Nottingham, in...
RE: Maid in Indonesia
“Maid in Indonesia” touches upon a few very important items that most foreigners who live and work here can appreciate....
Don’t Burn Our Future!
Aradhya Sharma, a 10th grader at Singapore School, Bona Vista reminds us of the hazards of burning rubbish and the...
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Jakarta Traffic?
In Jakarta, there appears to be no discernible pattern for the traffic. One expat shares his observations about the city's...
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Healthcare
Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. Who hasn’t heard and probably used...
Opinion: Saving Indonesia from the Mistakes of the West
Indonesia is a place that travellers speak of as a paradise. Advertisements for leisure travel depict pristine white sand beaches,...
Lost In Bali
Daniel Pope recalls a new year that didn’t begin well I am a mobile technology geek. As well as carrying...
Return of a Friend
Jakarta’s Jalan Jaksa was once a great place for making odd, surreal and semi-imaginary friends, as Daniel Pope recalls. When...
Coping in the Big Durian
Jakarta isn’t a city for everyone. Many of the problems aren’t unique to large cities in emerging economies: poor sanitation...
How Backstreet Bali Money Changers Cheat
Unseasoned visitors to Bali, relieved they’ve safely negotiated Ngurah Rai’s fickle Customs and Immigration, suddenly get hit by the cacophony...
Writing the Indonesian Experience
When I first arrived in the early ‘90s, it was close to impossible to find any English language books about...
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...
Crossings
Daniel Pope remembers some of his international comings and goings. In 1986, while the cold war was still going on,...
Bali and the World – We Have a Problem!
I first came to this Island of the Gods on my honeymoon in 1988. The marriage did not last long,...
Are We the Maritime Axis Yet, Mr. President?
Amidst widespread problems of human rights, poverty, and rampant corruption facing Indonesians as witnessed on daily news reports, hope emerged...
Property: Nightmare or Sound Investment?
Will Rogers (the actor, writer and real-life cowboy) said it best: “Don’t wait to buy land. Buy land and wait.”...