How did Indonesia’s Economy Come Around?Mirella PandjaitanOctober 7, 2020October 8, 2020 by Mirella PandjaitanOctober 7, 2020October 8, 202001112 Studying the Indonesian economy from a historical perspective is essential. A deep understanding of history is needed to support sustainable...
Kota Tua – A Stroll through Jakarta’s Historical PropertySNA Media ClubSeptember 17, 2019September 18, 2019 by SNA Media ClubSeptember 17, 2019September 18, 201901306 Jakarta is not just high-rise buildings and malls. The capital city is home to a multitude of grand buildings with...
Surabaya: A Journey Through TimeIndonesia ExpatMarch 15, 2018 by Indonesia ExpatMarch 15, 201801331 Have you ever wondered why Surabaya is nicknamed the City of Heroes? Well, here are two historical places in the...
Success in the Sky: The KLM Story (Part One)Indonesia ExpatMarch 14, 2018 by Indonesia ExpatMarch 14, 201801565 The letters most commonly associated with the history of Dutch aviation are “K.L.M.,” which stand for Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (“Royal...
The Role of Contemporary Art Museums in Indonesian SocietyCaranissa DjatmikoNovember 20, 2017 by Caranissa DjatmikoNovember 20, 201701863 With the recent opening of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Jakarta, its Director Aaron Seeto reflects on...
The Dutch Pioneering Voyage to the East IndiesIndonesia ExpatNovember 8, 2017 by Indonesia ExpatNovember 8, 201702316 By Bartele Gallery Jakarta The last decade of the sixteenth century heralded the emergence of the Dutch as the colonial...
What the Temples of Indonesia Tell UsAni SuswantoroOctober 9, 2017October 18, 2017 by Ani SuswantoroOctober 9, 2017October 18, 201701245 We live in a vast archipelago nation alongside 129 active volcanoes. Traditional wooden houses in this region have withstood the...
Rockefeller and the Demise of Ibu PertiwiKerry B. CollisonSeptember 12, 2017September 14, 2017 by Kerry B. CollisonSeptember 12, 2017September 14, 201701327 It was towards the end of my tour at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta when, in 1969, West Papua became...
Indonesia Through the Eyes of Rio HelmiGrace SusetyoMay 24, 2017May 26, 2017 by Grace SusetyoMay 24, 2017May 26, 20170941 Best known for his large format photo books Memories of the Sacred (2011) and River of Gems (1991, with Lorne...
Indonesia’s old manuscripts are waiting to be decipheredAni SuswantoroMay 10, 2017August 1, 2017 by Ani SuswantoroMay 10, 2017August 1, 201702191 Mehamat Boru Karo Sekalu, a lady working in North Sumatra Museum reads an ancient book written in Batak letters, eloquently....
Borobudur Reliefs Tell Wise TalesAni SuswantoroApril 26, 2017 by Ani SuswantoroApril 26, 201703227 Borobudur Temple was built in the eighth century and has more than 2,670 reliefs. Each set of reliefs tells a...
Trouble in Paradise: Komodo Island, Tourism and ConservationGrace SusetyoMarch 29, 2017April 4, 2017 by Grace SusetyoMarch 29, 2017April 4, 201703094 With Komodo Island gaining popularity in recent years as a favourite expat destination, it’s easy to only come for the...
Alfred Raquez’s Trip to BataviaWilliam L. GibsonMarch 9, 2017March 9, 2017 by William L. GibsonMarch 9, 2017March 9, 201701944 “Alfred Raquez” is the pseudonym of Joseph Gervais, a bankrupt French lawyer who fled to the Far East in the...
Tambora: Mysteries of a Lost CivilizationGrace SusetyoFebruary 28, 2017 by Grace SusetyoFebruary 28, 201703510 In addition to changing the global climate through “The Year Without Summer” and losing nearly half of its original altitude,...
Rebuilding Bima: An Expat’s Perspective on Resilience in the Face of DisasterGrace SusetyoFebruary 13, 2017 by Grace SusetyoFebruary 13, 201702044 After encountering generous and passionate locals in the historical royal city of Bima in October of 2016, Grace Susetyo was...
Opinion: Saving Indonesia from the Mistakes of the WestAmina GhaziJanuary 30, 2017 by Amina GhaziJanuary 30, 201701972 Indonesia is a place that travellers speak of as a paradise. Advertisements for leisure travel depict pristine white sand beaches,...
Recruit To RevolutionTerry CollinsAugust 24, 2016 by Terry CollinsAugust 24, 20160752 John Coast was 31 when he flew to Bukittinggi in 1948. His life’s journey until that point had been one...
British Bengkulu: A Forgotten Imperial OutpostTim HanniganJuly 26, 2016July 27, 2016 by Tim HanniganJuly 26, 2016July 27, 201601652 Bengkulu, October 1685: The fort stood atop a small hillock on the banks of a coffee-coloured creek. To the west...
Cangkuang, West Java’s Small and Mystical Hindu TempleAni SuswantoroJuly 26, 2016January 30, 2017 by Ani SuswantoroJuly 26, 2016January 30, 201701290 Discovering one of the few Hindu-Buddhist relics ever to be discovered in West Java. One Tuesday morning, a gang of...
Life Back ThenRosie MilneMay 31, 2016June 4, 2020 by Rosie MilneMay 31, 2016June 4, 20200797 Author of Olivia & Sophie, Rosie Milne, explores what expat life was like 200 years ago. My novel Olivia &...
The Influence of Javanese Music on Early JazzTerry CollinsMay 31, 2016March 8, 2021 by Terry CollinsMay 31, 2016March 8, 202101128 “Jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.” – Herbie...