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....
Travel
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...
Climbing Mt. Merapi: No Jumping Pictures, Please
What makes a great Monday morning? Sleeping in? Not wearing any clothes until lunch? How about summiting one of the...
The Comfort Woman
As job titles go it is difficult to think of any more crass, more cynical than ‘comfort woman’. To the...
Get on the Bus
My Pembantu, Mami, who has worked for me for eight years mentioned after my asking how her weekend was that...
It’s Karimunjawa, Dan, not Kilimanjaro!
Kilimanjaro, Kalimantan, Karimunjawa, Kilimantanjawa? For a foreigner, it’s fairly easy to find yourself mixing and twisting these rather similar names...
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...
Nusa Penida, More than Mola Mola and Mantas
Some of the world’s best storytellers are divers. Fishermen, hunters—they simply can’t compare. There’s nothing quite like sitting under a...
A Day at Banten Lama
Jakarta is sadly lacking in opportunities for a pleasant day trip out of the city. The traffic, not to mention...
Get Some Fresh Bandung Air!
When visiting Bandung there are many attractions and nature reserves to explore in the surrounding mountains. Included amongst these are...
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...
A Trip to the Badui Tribe
First published on Alterity Incredible as it may seem, but just 120km (75 miles) from the bustling metropolis of Jakarta...
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,...