Heading home after a late night out, I was pulled up in West Jakarta by two apparent policemen. At such spot-checks, police usually want to inspect any bags and see some identification. Earlier that day I had collected my passport, along with a renewed work visa and police registration card, all of which I showed [...]

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Real Estate agents around Indonesia, and internationally, think that land laws in Bali are different from the rest of Indonesia, as foreigners can own freehold land! You can also own freehold land with a secondary title on top of it, being the Right of Use (Hak Pakai) and Right to Build (Hak Guna Bangunan). Some [...]

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An attractive woman in a Jakarta bar looks around for the drunkest and most clueless unaccompanied male foreigner – the competition is usually pretty fierce. She chooses a target and informs him she is desirous of having sex. If the man is staying at a five-star hotel, the woman may claim they cannot go there [...]

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Nigerian Sweetheart Unlike most scams coming from Nigeria that rely on greed, the Sweetheart Scam preys on heart-strings to loosen purse-strings. Scammers trawl social networking sites, looking for profiles of white male models, soldiers or even handsome oil workers, choose one, copy his photos – and any videos he may have posted – and then [...]

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If you’re a certified Scuba diver, you know this scene too well; floating around beside a beautiful underwater wall abundant with vibrant coral, getting up-close and personal with a timid pygmy seahorse, or holding on and feeling the force of a strong current blasting over your face as you watch sharks and schools of barracuda [...]

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What if having more actually meant enjoying less? Welcome to the age of ‘Affluenza’ or gluttony, this disease is marked by patients doggedly pursuing more, more and more leading to symptoms such as excessiveness, anxiety and waste (not to mention debt)…. Though ‘Affluenza’ is a supposed condition (coined by Hamilton & Denniss in a book [...]

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One of the most important things for Indonesian expatriates to remember is that the country’s laws and regulations are often amended and updated. However, sometimes the opposite is also true. Laws that have not been changed for quite some time suddenly receive a major overhaul, leaving many foreigners wondering what the changes entail. This article [...]

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Finding quality Indonesian classes is surprisingly tough in the nation’s capital. And as interest grows it may get tougher. Back in 2006, when he was teaching English at a Jakarta high school, Desmond Breau did what many expatriates in the capital get around to eventually: he sought out an Indonesian language teacher. And then he [...]

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Located on the 17th floor of Sentral Senayan 1, a square office tower next to the Sogo side of Plaza Senayan, this rather dull and uninteresting building does not do justice to the exciting activities taking place inside. The three words of the title will mostly be read as Indonesian Heritage society, that is, the [...]

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With a population of nearly 240 million people, with more than 17,000 islands, and with a significant political and economic place in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is playing an increasingly prominent role in global economy. As a result, not only is Indonesia clearly of interest to foreign investors, but it also sparks excitement in foreigners who [...]

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Some things in life are worth spending a little extra time and effort preparing for, and retirement is certainly one of those. After several decades of hard work, won’t you deserve the best you can get? For many Indonesian-based expatriates, that might be right on their doorstep – or if you’re based in Jakarta, just [...]

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1. Don’t accept below standard Health Insurance Any expat with his head screwed on will be well aware of the importance of having health insurance whist living in Indonesia. If you don’t have cover, you’re paying. If you don’t have the money, you’re not getting the treatment. But what about the quality of the insurance [...]

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Individuals from all over the world come to Indonesia for a variety of reasons. Some arrive for the purpose of exploration, some for the purpose of employment, and oftentimes for the purpose of accompanying one’s partner who has to relocate to the country. Whatever the reason for the extended stay in Indonesia, some expatriates may [...]

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Indonesia is known as one of the emerging markets on the worldwide scale and it is becoming an increasingly attractive option for foreigners to seek work in cities like Jakarta, which enjoys a growing economy and allows for many financial opportunities. However, the process of coming to work in Indonesia is riddled with issues of [...]

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