Our Obsession with Birds – The Sad Words of the Yellow-Crested Cockatoo
You many have heard about the recent shocking photographs of at least 21 yellow-crested cockatoos smuggled in plastic bottles in...
Tess Joyce
The Pasola Festival of Sumba | When the Worms Didn’t Come
In 1994, when travel journalist Ron Gluckman observed the Pasola ritual in Sumba, all of the “signs” were good –...
Why do We Cheat?
Cheating is not a laughing matter in Indonesia and people can lose their marriage, reputation, family and dignity over a...
A Raw Insight into Diet and Biting Down on Cancer in Indonesia
There are many heated debates at the moment about diets – things have changed significantly over the last century and...
The Art of Happiness
At a recent peace gathering in Jakarta hosted by the organic restaurant Burgreens, I saw a talk by holistic healing...
Comedy, Comics and Sketches of Real Life
You might already be familiar with Sacha Stevenson’s How to Act Indonesian YouTube videos in which Sacha makes some astute,...
Vegetarian, Organic Restaurants: Bali, Jakarta and Jogjakarta
Although Indonesia is a great place to find vegetarian food with plenty of soya bean options and vegetable side dishes...
Plasticology – Saving Bali, One Artwork at a Time
Tourism has impacted on the traditional Balinese way of life and changed the dynamics of this idyllic island and still...
Changing Faces of Batik
I first met Serbian artist Mikro Kosmos (Miroslav Dukic) in Borneo earlier this year. He played a didgeridoo which he...
A Weekend Trip to Gunung Salak
Just two hours away from Jakarta, Gunung Salak is a large volcanic range in Halimun National Park (the largest tract...
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...
The Yoga Bomb – Can it Explode with Flowers?
There seems to be a lot of confusion, everywhere. No-one quite knows what to believe in anymore. There?s just so...
An Endangered Creature called Gambuh
If you have ever been curious about Indonesia?s Majapahit Kingdom, you might like to see a performance of Gambuh -...
Permablitz Bali: Making Circles of Seeds and Friends
On past weekends I’ve often woken up with a hangover – my day’s almost over and I’m feeling too lazy...
Eat, Pray, Smile
“Ketut Liyer? You mean Ketut Liar?” is apparently a commonly repeated joke in Bali, although I did meet a couple...
Dangerously Nice: Kretek Cigarettes
I was a kretek (clove cigarette) smoker for almost two years. When I first started smoking clove cigarettes in Kalimantan...
A Tibetan Moon: Shamanistic Indie Designers
I recently had a good, earthy chat with a couple of indie jewellery designers who showcased their work at the...
The Christmas Spices of Indonesia
If you enjoy baking festive treats at home during the Christmas season, you may have noticed that imported foods such...
Seeing the World through Performance Arts
For eight years, Indonesian performing artist Melati Suryodarmo, studied under Marina Abramovi?, whose students undertake a strict schedule of fasting...
Development and Shifting Cultures: The Papuan Koteka
Perhaps the most iconic and essential item of clothing worn by the Dani and Yali men is the koteka or...
Rise of the Eco-Warriors
In 2010, students bashed their heads together at Microsoft?s Regional Innovative Education Forum and decided that they wanted to tackle...