A Dive Paradise in Sulawesi
Prince John Dive Resort isn’t in Palu. It’s about an hour up the road, in a tiny place called Donggala....
Travel
Amed and Tulamben: Bali’s beautiful north east coast
Bali’s tourism industry is currently enjoying a strong resurgence as large numbers of foreign tourists are once again visiting Indonesia’s...
Wali Songo
The Wali Songo are revered throughout Indonesia as the wise men who brought Islam initially to Java but ultimately...
In Search of the Blue Lagoon
South of Malang in Eastern Java an uninhabited island contains deep within its dense jungles a salt-water lagoon framed from...
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...
West Java’ Beauty at Bay
The sun is shining, the weekend lies ahead. What better way to spend the free time than unwinding far 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...
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...