Long Live the Hamster
When my youngest daughter was about five years old she asked me if she could have a hamster. Not an...
Outreach
Multi-City Flying: Save Money on the Way to Europe
In Europe the holiday season begins in June and lasts until the first few days of September. The longest day...
A Mended Broken Promise
I arrived in Indonesia more than ten years ago and then duly scarpered back to England. After a year of...
Birth Certificates
When Fanta, a four-year-old girl living with her family under the toll road in West Jakarta was molested, Jakarta Police...
Ferzya from Aceh
Whenever I meet someone on my travels around Indonesia like Ferzya, I am filled with great hope for the future...
Singapore International School Bona Vista students seriously care for their environment
Dua Tangan Cukup: Actions from Across the Archipelago The students of Singapore International School, Bona Vista, are always eager and...
The Village that Saved its Culture, Leatherback Turtles and its Coral Reefs
There are only a few beaches in the world on where the giant leatherback turtle lays its eggs. The leatherback...
Social Media Marketing: Where’s the Payoff for Small Businesses?
Like most small business entrepreneurs in Indonesia you have probably progressed from posting your most recent meal photos on Facebook...
Sekolah Kami – Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Trash-Pickers’ Children through Education
As we approached the school to volunteer our time, girls swept with rush brooms and boys tidied up. They are...
In Pursuit of Happiness: Expat Clubs in Bali
For whatever reason, people have been forming clubs since time immemorial and it is no different here in Indonesia. Early...
Car Theft Hoaxes
“There’s a new method of car theft,” a colleague breathlessly told me last week. “Thieves throw an egg at your...
The Curious Case of the Innocent Driver
The university city of Oxford in which I am fortunate enough to have been born, raised and schooled, attracts approximately...
An Endless Journey: Reflections of an Indonesian Journalist
One doesn’t plan to live 97 years, but in doing so, it is impossible not to consider how it was...
The Big Noise
Jakarta is not the ideal domicile for a person fond of peace and quiet. It is packed with roaring vehicles,...
Inaro the Kerokan Healer
A conversation about world of healing would be incomplete without mentioning the wonderful world of kerokan. Kerokan, synonymous with masuk...
Dua Tangan Cukup – Actions from across the archipelago
Raja Ampat in West Papua of Indonesia is known for being paradise for divers, bird-watchers and nature lovers. It is...
The Jakarta Expat Pool League
I’ll be honest with you, I have never really taken to pool. It’s all the rules I can’t handle. You...
Money Politics
Vote buying is risky business, especially for candidates who fail to get elected and cannot repay their debts. Yet the...
Parlez Vous Bahasa?
For most people, the Indonesian language is without doubt one of the easiest languages to learn. It has very simple...
On Deadly Roads
I’ve never felt so close to pounding someone’s face with my knuckles. How has road behaviour degenerated to such mindlessness,...
Aini Abdul – The Sailor’ Daughter
Aini Abdul was born in a small village in Southwest Kalimantan to a Dayak Iban father and a Javanese mother....