What We Bring to the Table
My family and I are moving house – no small feat in the world’s largest archipelago. Our imminent upheaval to...
Observations
#SaveDodo: Swiss-Belhotel International Kalimantan’ CSR Program for Orangutans
The word orangutan translates to “person of the forest” in Bahasa Indonesia. These majestic primates have distinctive orange hair and...
Wrongful Conviction
If you passed the young woman in this photograph on the street, she might remind you of someone – your...
Tales from the Kantor Floor
Let’s face it: for all the wonderful, awe-inspiring, eye-opening things about living in Indonesia—and there are many, from the jaw-dropping...
Just Visiting
Most expatriates will never see the inside of an Indonesian jail. But should you ever have a friend fall afoul...
Making the Possible Impossible
Any foreigner who has dealt with a government department in Indonesia—whose offices maintained a 1960s atmosphere of clattering typewriters and...
Getting to the Other Side
The safest time to cross the street in Jakarta can be when the city is at maximum danger level, as...
Into and Out of the Comfort Zone
I was recently forced to do something that I have never really wanted to, and to my great surprise I...
The Day We Put a Price on Love
I have vivid memories of my early years, and no trouble recalling my first Valentine’s Day. I may have been...
Water, Water Everywhere
A weekend getaway to the Thousand Islands brings these seafaring friends more than they bargained for. No other start to...
Leaving Behind Nothing but Your Footprints
On a long weekend with his family and close friend, a Makassar-based expat decides to travel to Samalona Island in...
Never Mind the Trees
Here we are in January again, avoiding eye contact with our New Year’s resolutions and drinking normally despite a rueful...
Thriving at the Farm
Troubled youths work hard in the fields, exercise responsibility and have fun at the Learning Farm. A seed is a...
Yayasan Kasih Anak Kanker Indonesia: Don’t Let Kids Fight Cancer Alone
Helping a sick child fight their illness takes a big enough emotional toll on a family. Adding a financial strain...
What the Dickens Do I Know About Christmas?
It’s hard to get excited about Christmas when words like “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” make me want to...
Yayasan Kasih Suwitno at Ruang Carlo Community Centre
Non-discriminatory, friendly and free services for people with HIV and AIDS. World Aids Day took place on 1 December 2014...
Dua Tangan Cukup: Actions from Across the Archipelago
It’s invigorating to discover that more school communities are getting to the business end of the environmental cause. Let’s start...
Sun Bear Education and Conservation Centre, Samarinda
While everyone is familiar with the orangutan and the problems that the cuddly, cute orange ape faces, spare a thought...
The Circus of Dreams
A few impossibly narrow, winding roads and sharp turns through a kampung in Pondok Aren, South Tangerang, dodging goats and...
For Whom the Beer Froths
Had you needed to take refuge from a local war a decade ago when the city’s foreigner hang-outs were livelier...
The Batang Toru Forest: A Home to Endangered Animals
Deforestation in Sumatra is reaching dramatic levels, with more that 45% of the tropical rainforest cleared in the last 20...