An Old Suburb and an Invasion
Tugu means memorial and memorial is an apt name for this old suburb up in North East Jakarta by the...
History/Culture
The Truth Behind ?Oktoberfest?
The first Oktoberfest took place in October 1810 to celebrate Crown Prince Ludwig’s wedding to Princess Therese von Sachsen Hildburghausen....
Marriage Curstoms-Balinese Elopement
I was browsing my Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch Indië, not looking for anything specific as I was curious who or what...
Wali Songo
The Wali Songo are revered throughout Indonesia as the wise men who brought Islam initially to Java but ultimately...
The Path to Perfection through Action
I hug trees. Some trees hug me back. Learning about the sculptures around the place I live and work from...
The Importance of Being Charming
My home village of Batur may be more spectacularly beautiful, but Ubud is where tourists choose to linger for longer....
Mads Johansen Lange: A Danish Adventurer Nicknamed ?King of Bali?
Most people know Kuta as a hedonistic beach resort where anything goes. It’s a Phuket-on-Bintang, just about the only place...
Four Faces Needed to Face Bali’s Brave New World
On July’s windy days, the skies of Denpasar fill up with kites. These grand birds and fish dance and glide...
The Comfort Woman
As job titles go it is difficult to think of any more crass, more cynical than ‘comfort woman’. To the...
JAKARTA – from Health Hazard to Traffic Jams
Batavia, as Jakarta was called during the colonial days, was once styled the “Queen of the East”. This label was...
The Legend of Kebo Iwa
If you frequently travel between Sanur and Ubud, there’s a fat chance you’ve seen the big baby statue sitting in...
Miguel Covarrubias’ Visual Notes
Miguel Covarrubias’ father was a Sunday painter. As a very young child, Miguel liked to sit by his father, watching...
Bandung’ Colonial Legacy
Bandung, with its factory outlets and bakeries selling the ubiquitous brownie, this city has long been a favourite destination for...
Do as You’re Told – An Artful Welcome to Bali
“It appears that each Balinese native, from the womb to the tomb is creative,” rhymed Noel Coward in his irreverent...
BALI–Before The Tourists Invaded
Traders-colonisers from the coast of Coromandel brought Hinduism to Java. The religion was adopted by the Majapahit kingdom in the...
Run to New York
The English, bless our little cotton buds, have always loved a gallant loser. Years of feeble cricket and football performances...
Not Losing Their Religion
How many people know there’s an Indonesian god at Jakarta’s oldest Chinese temple? And who knew the city’s oldest church...
Literary Works Capable of Change
Take an ambitious businessman drunk on being so close to power, a media baron who uses his political acquaintances to...
Bengkulu Blues
At first sight Bengkulu seems an odd place for a trading post. It’s situated on the west coast of Sumatra,...
‘Bintang, Anyone’?
Indonesia’s Most Loved Beer and the History Behind the Label A holiday spent in Indonesia most likely revolves around a...
Of Spice and Profit
Nearly half a millennium before the world, slowly getting connected by grainy black and white TV images, was entranced by...