“What are you two marrying each other for?”
You’ve got nothing in common and it will all end in tears. So speak the foreboding words of warning for...
Observations
Chinese New Year, a Path of Social Cohesion
It was not until last 2014 I really fathom what Chinese New Year was like until one of my Chinese-Indonesian...
“Green” and “Sustainability” – Synonyms?
Moving into the third decade of the second millennium, society finds itself at a crossroads like never before. A glance...
Nature’s Hounds
Ready to recycle more and drive less? A green lifestyle generally prompts a healthy one and taking care of yourself...
The Happiest and Unhappiest Provinces in Indonesia
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) has released the 2021 Happiness Index. The data includes a list of the happiest and...
Dangdut, Indonesia’s “Music of the People” – an Expat’s Take
In 1969, I bought a second-hand book in the Portobello street market in London, Two Faces in Borneo, written in 1928...
Jeff Hadler: A Scholar with Heart
When Jeff Hadler passed away a few years ago, I was a bit dazed to know it. A friend of...
Coping with the Loss of Loved Ones during the Festive Season
Christmas is just around the corner and it is bound to bring back feelings of loss and deep yearning for...
2021: Another Indonesian Year of Living Dangerously
While COVID-19 dominated the news in 2021, hundreds of Indonesians were killed by landslides, floods, and accidents throughout the year....
Quick Grub
When I was new to Indonesia and ordered a hamburger in a squalid Jakarta street-side restaurant, it was as if...
On the Outside Looking Back Aspects of The Pandemic In Indonesia
As an Indophile stuck in Australia during the pandemic, I’ve had a hard time making sense of what’s happening over...
Indonesia – Some Insights for Visitors
Let’s begin with some basic insights. First, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. And, as the Australian...
How Some Europeans Thrived During the Japanese Occupation
Should President Joko Widodo model any of his “Ten New Balis” tourist attractions on the mountain resort of Sarangan in...
Expats’ Cultural Confusion – Adapting and Accepting
You have moved to a new country, unpacked your boxes, decorated your new home, and then, when everything is set...
Are Carbon Offset and Environmental Service Incentives Saving the Environment?
The perspective is from Kalimantan’s local community. Carbon offset is currently starting to be promoted as an effort to offset...
Literature and Immigrants
Having been elected the 45th president of the United States in 2017, Donald Trump sparked further controversy as he imposes...
Splashing Out on Culture
Can history be used to coin cash in a country where citizens would rather tramp malls than museums and reckon...
Roll Out the Barrel
“I do not live in the world of sobriety,” remarked Oliver Reed. While most of us wouldn’t sink so permanently...
Students and Mental Health during Online Learning
The case of a suicide of a high school student in Gowa Regency, South Sulawesi, some time ago during online...
Holistic Healing and a New Economy
The world feels like it’s been turned upside down, dropped off a cliff, then kicked around a car park for...
Crazy Rich Indonesian Criticized for Bathing in Milk
Stupid attention-seeking antics are packaged as big news, diverting the Indonesian public’s focus from important political issues, such as whether...