Education Extremes
‘‘I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way’’. I couldn’t agree more...
Outreach
The Truth Hurts
I have decided I am going to be completely honest with everyone from now on. No more lies, no more...
Just Take it Easy
We expatriates must admire the Indonesian ability to put things in perspective and to talk things down because it could...
Happy Birthday Grumpy French Man
40 years old. All of the people who are on the way to pass over this age say that it’s...
Solution to the Global Economic Crisis
We are, most of us, living far from our families, which is good for some people and sad for others....
The Fearless Guardian Angel
My friend Tony and I were coming back from a party late one night on his Suzuki 250 motorcycle when...
A Self-Help Model for Aid that Really Works: The East Bali Poverty Project (EBPP)
When writing about aid projects words like ‘uplifting’, ‘inspirational’ or ‘downright bloody fantastic’ rarely, if ever, enter the vocabulary of...
I Hate St. Valentine
That’s the most stupid fake date on earth! When I was a teenager in Europe, it even didn’t exist (or...
The Unnecessary Fire
We call the magical device we have in our pockets a “phone”, but it really should be called a “communicator”....
Enlightenment from my Chinese Friends
I have been living here for a while now, but I realised that I am totally ignorant about the Chinese...
Straight From The Heart
The Family at Lestari Sayang Anak Orphanage I think a lot of us, although we may not like to admit...
An Expat’ New Year’ Resolution
I told my Facebook friends that I was writing an article about New Year’s resolutions, and asked them for inspiration....
A Rare Christmas Treat
I woke up early on Christmas day 1984, seriously hung-over after an inpromptu party the night before. The planned party...
Are you Mr Magoo, too?
As I slide at break-neck speed down the slippery slope of life towards the age of 50, I can’t help...
Party Animal
One Friday night when I was 15 years old I persuaded my folks to let me go to my first...
Blind, Bamboozled and Big
For me, travelling is as much about the journey as the destination. One of the things I enjoy most “en...
The Battle of the Beer
It was Christmas Eve 1984, and, just like I did every year in those days, I was running around the...
The Bargain Tree Hunter
If you plan on walking into a department store this week and dropping Rp 3.2 million on a six-foot tall...
Have Yourself a Grumpy Little Christmas
Guys, I am back to my grumpy old self. In the last article, “Solution to the Global Crisis”, I tried...
Deck the Malls
Criticising Jakarta’s shopping malls for their ostentatious Christmas displays is too easy. We can feel sickened by the crass commercialisation...
Darryl Patton: Godfather of the Expat Bars
Darryl Patton, 1941-2011 Englishman Darryl Patton was the innovator behind many of the early expatriate bars in Jakarta, pioneering much...