Take an ambitious businessman drunk on being so close to power, a media baron who uses his political acquaintances to strengthen his own newspaper’s position, the highly idealistic radical who talks of empathy with the common worker with his middle class friends all the while telling said workers their leaders know best, and a civil [...]

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Indonesia’s Most Loved Beer and the History Behind the Label A holiday spent in Indonesia most likely revolves around a bottle of Bintang. It is a household name and the perfect thirst-quencher to help one survive the tropical heat of this archipelago. For years now Bintang has always been a favourite amongst locals and foreigners, [...]

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An old photograph of ‘Indo’ girls (mixed European and Indonesian) in Batavia The early days of the expatriate in South East Asia, back in the 16th and 17th centuries were fraught with danger and the unknown. Never knowing when a passing ship would call in and take them home and consumed with a fear they [...]

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Zheng He is renowned today as a great explorer, honoured by both Chinese and Muslims throughout South East Asia. But while his name may be familiar, details of his exploits remain less so. In the early 15th century, while Europe was slowly emerging from the Dark Ages and Native Americans were unsullied by claimants to [...]

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