All Aboard Transjakarta To See Jakarta’s Sights
The TransJakarta Jakarta Explorer tourist bus routes proved a success over the holiday break with visitors flocking to the Istiqlal...
History/Culture
Indonesia’s old manuscripts are waiting to be deciphered
Mehamat Boru Karo Sekalu, a lady working in North Sumatra Museum reads an ancient book written in Batak letters, eloquently....
Borobudur Reliefs Tell Wise Tales
Borobudur Temple was built in the eighth century and has more than 2,670 reliefs. Each set of reliefs tells a...
Lakoat Kujawas: Comfort Food and Literature from the Heart of Timor
Munching on shrimp dumplings fried in lard (babi oangke) at lively garden weddings, dipped in a tangy chili sauce bursting...
Alfred Raquez’ Trip to Batavia
“Alfred Raquez” is the pseudonym of Joseph Gervais, a bankrupt French lawyer who fled to the Far East in the...
British Bengkulu: A Forgotten Imperial Outpost
Bengkulu, October 1685: The fort stood atop a small hillock on the banks of a coffee-coloured creek. To the west...
Tana Olen, the Forbidden Forest
“We call this place Tana Olen,” Philius, the Dayak elder explained. “In Kenyah Dayak language this means forbidden forest –...
Menteng Pulo: Field of Honour
The most astonishing experience when entering the Netherlands Field of Honour Menteng Pulo (Menteng Pulo Ereveld) is the silence. Just...
Life Back Then
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 Jazz
“Jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.” – Herbie...
Rebuilding Ruins: PT Pembangunan Kota Tua
Most of Jakarta is made of new developments and expanding suburbs, however look to the North and you’ll find Kota...
Tugu Kunstkring Paleis: A Culturally Rich Dining Experience in the Heart of Menteng
On a quiet, leafy-tree street corner set amongst stately white mansions and European luxury cars parked roadside is a structural...
The Mapping of Java
The islands of Java and Bali located 8 degrees south of the Equator in the Indian Ocean are two of...
Settlers, Saints, Kings and Conversions: The Dawn of Indonesian Islam
Author of A Brief History of Indonesia, Tim Hannigan, travels back in time to explore the history of Islam in...
Kamasan: An Ancient Living Tradition
Imagine you are a master Balinese painter, and your King has recently commissioned you to do a piece of work....
The Kids Went Wild in Batavia
“The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician.” – Louis Armstrong Joey Alexander’s nomination for two Grammy...
Preserving the Balinese Language for Generations to Come
Language represents culture. In culturally rich Indonesia this is especially true; is an archipelago of over 17,000 islands with around...
Saudara Dalam Sejarah: Exposing the Story of Indonesia’s Forgotten Exiles
In the 1960s, Sukarno sent thousands of students to study abroad, including in China. After the 1965 anti-communist massacre, in...
The Outdoor Museum of Taman Prasasti – a Window to the Past
We take a trip to the Taman Prasasti cemetery in Jakarta, where Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles’ wife, along with many...
The Ancient Temple of Gunung Padang
The recent revelation that Gunung Padang, a megalithic site south of Cianjur in West Java, almost certainly conceals a step...
Indonesia’s War on Drugs
Nearly all UN members have endorsed the 1961, 1971 and 1988 conventions on the prohibition of the main illegal recreational...