Treading in Jogjakarta’s Ancient History
Jogjakarta and its Hill of Stones Anyone with but the flimsiest knowledge of Indonesia will know the pivotal role Jogjakarta...
Travel
The Rinjani [Rubbish] Trail
The naturalist John Muir is credited with a quote most mountain climbers have memorised and tend to recite after a...
Sticks and Stones won’t Break by Bones and Artfully they Speak for me – the Eco in Kamoro Art
Long and heavy it lies on the wet morning grass, the dew licking its undersides. Young sunlight grazes its skin....
Jakarta for the Weekend?
Jakartans leave their work early on Fridays, hoping they can beat the traffic to the airport and enjoy a weekend...
How Indonesia’s Spices Unrolled the Map of the World
As Indonesia prepares to celebrate 66 years of independence it is an appropriate moment to turn the clock back 560...
Art and Revolution
S. Sudjojono, 1913-1986 One of the ultimate tools of revolution is art. So, too, revolution ideas often stimulate revolutionary visuals...
Did You Know…?
In 1602 eight early British expats were dropped off in what is now known as Banten Lama by the first...
Riding Jalur NuRa
As the crow flies Puncak is a mere 80 kilometres to the south east of Jakarta. In the hills of...
The Origins of the Piggy Bank
In the west the Piggy Bank has long been a time-honoured rite of passage, a whimsical but didactic tool for...
It’s a Swamp Out There!
There isn’t a lot of green space left in Jakarta. Perhaps more than people realise, but still very little. What...
Breaks for Bread Winners
School holidays are both a curse and a boon for expat parents living in Jakarta. Firstly, not all of us...
Indonesia’s First Celebrity Artist
Raden Saleh Boestaman (c. 1807-1880) This well-known photo of Raden Saleh, Indonesia’s ‘first’ western-style painter was taken in 1870 when...
Young Diver’s Dreams Find a Home in West Java
Kyle Blakeway’s love of the ocean runs deep: it started when he earned his junior open water dive certification —he...
Staying in Town for the Holidays?
Let’s face it, Julia Roberts’ “Eat Pray Love” was just way too glib to get the old heart racing. An...
Pulau Tidung @ Pulau Seribu
I used to think the ultimate culture shock trip from Jakarta was the flight over to saccharine sweet Singapore but...
Gereja Sion
Back in the middle of the 17th century, Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta was one of Batavia’s hottest addresses. It was a...
Climbing the Less Well-Known Peaks of Indonesia
As editor of the not-for-profit hiking website Gunung Bagging, I have spent the last few years exploring countless mountain peaks...
Finding and Booking Flights on Your Phone
School holidays are nearly upon us and I am sure you are busy planning for a trip somewhere. I...
Batavia – A Chinese Town Under Dutch Rule
No-one knows when the Chinese first hit what was to become Jakarta. Certainly, when the Dutch first arrived, in 1596,...