Development Vs Indigenous People and the Environment
Over the past 50 years, the name of the region of Papua has been changed several times from Netherlands New...
Observations
Jakarta, Rattle and Roll
Not long ago, I watched Dawn of The Planet of the Apes in 4-D at a Blitzmegaplex cinema complex in...
Chain Reaction
Our intrepid reporter tackles the idyllic island of Sumba by bicycle. If you’re a wild-eyed bounder of adventure and boast...
Psychogeography for Beginners
Borneo is a terrific place to visit, however hiking there from Jakarta is perhaps not the best way of setting...
We’ll Be Right Back After These Messages
Forget Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. When advertisers take on viewers, the gloves come off… The recently televised boxing match of the...
IndoJazzia: Indonesian Jazz is Going Places
With the news that 11-year-old Indonesian pianist Joey Alexander’s first album, My Favourite Things, topped the jazz charts in the...
Nepal Earthquake April 25, 2015: A Survivor’ Report
I feel lucky to be writing this. Had the course of events only been slightly different, this would have never...
Seven Days of IT Blackout (and I Don’t Mind)
Nabilia Soenasto is a 12th-grader at the Singapore School, Bona Vista in Jakarta, and was one of the winners in...
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...
#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...