As a middle aged man I don’t mind admitting I have no idea what wellness is. Then again I don’t know how to use leverage as a verb and I don’t get excited about gadgets named after fruit. So when the Editor told me Wellness was the theme for this issue I had visions of [...]

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Indonesia’s historical baggage over the last century and a half means that as we tip headlong into this new fangled thing people call globalization, Indonesia’s educational infrastructure is struggling to catch up to the 1970s. Forget concepts like the Internet, creative thinking and meritocracy, many students are still being sat in lines to learn rote [...]

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When it comes to ostentatious shows of wealth, no one does it better than the Europeans. Backed by generations of inherited riches, the elites of England, France and Germany would express their affluence the only way they knew how; building bigger, better, brasher country estates that screamed ‘look at me’ at their neighbours, peers and [...]

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It’s not just oil and gas, English teachers and missionary types who like to call Indonesia home. Despite all the problems that plague football in this country, until recently we have two national associations and  two national teams while now we have two league set ups and two bodies claiming to run the national team, [...]

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Little is known of the Sriwijaya Empire, a polity that in its prime spread its tentacles across much of Southeast Asia from Central Java to the narrow Thai peninsula. From its centre in Palembang, Sriwijaya controlled the strategically vital Melaka Straits, levying tolls on the vessels that traded between China and India. Long before business [...]

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I don’t know about others, but for me one of the joys of living in Indonesia is its people. Not the unthinking drivers who don’t know basic road etiquette or the coiffured Ibus who trip round the high end malls but the folks who you come into contact with as individuals. Yes there are good [...]

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Every so often the local English language media throws out a story so lacking in credibility no one could ever believe it. But believe it people do and many inches of cyber space soon fill up with people venting their spleen at the latest piece of nonsense. It doesn’t matter that the story lacks credible [...]

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Old Dhaka is a mish mash of narrow lanes, crumbling houses home to a myriad of artisans and a history that dates back more than 400 years. There are no accurate maps to the area, there are very few road signs and hardly anyone speaks English. But wandering these historic streets will bring you up [...]

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Tugu means memorial and memorial is an apt name for this old suburb up in North East Jakarta by the port for this may well be the longest inhabited community in Jakarta. Shards of pots and pans, the sort of thing that gets archaeologists all excited while boring the pants off many museum visitors, have [...]

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The Wali Songo are revered throughout Indonesia as the wise men who brought Islam initially to Java but ultimately throughout the isles. Wali, which is used today to denote a civic leader as in Wali Kota or Mayor, Songo means nine. History though likes to play tricks with us and while their legacy is clear [...]

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The sun is shining, the weekend lies ahead. What better way to spend the free time than unwinding far from the stresses of city life by catching some rays on a beach or chilling on a mountain slope? Jakarta’s residents are spoilt for choice when it comes to weekends away. There are beaches, nature, indigenous [...]

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As job titles go it is difficult to think of any more crass, more cynical than ‘comfort woman’. To the uninitiated it conjures up images of fair maidens, perhaps with a flower in their hair, permanent white smile, pandering to the needs of a weary traveller perhaps in an airport lounge or at an upmarket [...]

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Bandung, with its factory outlets and bakeries selling the ubiquitous brownie, this city has long been a favourite destination for Jakarta folk looking for a cooler shopping experience. Now, of course, with the advent of budget airlines it’s not only Indonesians flocking to splash the cash. People from Malaysia and Singapore are discovering it makes [...]

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Jakarta is sadly lacking in opportunities for a pleasant day trip out of the city. The traffic, not to mention the crowds, on a visit to Bandung, Bogor or Puncak are enough to put many trippers off while the attractions of factory outlets, tracking down that perfect brownies or hot springs soon fade for people [...]

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