For its relatively small size, Hong Kong has so much to offer. From some of the tallest skyscrapers in Asia to verdant hills towering over white sand beaches, opulent luxury malls to lively traditional markets, centuries-old temples to an ultramodern museum of art, and small […]
It has been two months since the first confirmed case of Covid-19 in Indonesia was announced, seven weeks since the company I work for began implementing the work-from-home protocol, and three weeks since the government of Jakarta imposed “large-scale social restrictions”. Just like most of […]
If you google anything about Hong Kong these days, most results will probably show the territory’s number of COVID-19 cases, although compared to the rest of the world, Hong Kong seems to have managed to flatten the curve. And if months ago you also googled […]
It is remote and barren. It is a land of scorching heat. Yet, here we are, in Wadi Rum, a large valley in the southern corner of Jordan not too far from the border with Saudi Arabia. While many people visit my home country for […]
We as modern-day tourists often see ancient sites as places that inspire us, leave us spellbound, or whet our curiosity of the world we live in. We perceive them and give them attributes based on our standpoint, making them objects of our fascination. But what […]
Imagine an alternate world where ninth-century cathedrals across Europe and mosques throughout the Middle East and North Africa were buried deep in the ground for centuries until being rediscovered in the 20th century. People only knew a little about their existence, mostly from stories told […]
A pair of big round eyeballs are staring at mine with a curly mane accentuating the creature’s fierce face. Standing on its hind legs, with mouth agape and chest puffed up above its forelegs, one of the prancing lions of Candi Ngawen stands before me, […]
If you think this post is about the American South or Southern Europe, it is not since I have never been to those parts of the world. Rather, this is a story about the southern part of Jakarta, a city I have called home for […]
Petra has been amazing so far, and the Treasury is even more impressive in person even though I have seen countless pictures of this famous ancient monument prior to the trip. But James and I know there’s more than just this magnificent structure – believed […]
The world is filled with so many wonderful places, and that’s often why a lot of us travel across the globe to see and experience those sites ourselves. Most of the time they meet our expectations, although sometimes we come home feeling disappointed for various […]
Rainy season has officially arrived in Jakarta, after a prolonged dry season which rendered a lot of parks and gardens in the city brown and barren. Those which received a regular watering schedule, either from the city government or from local community associations, fared slightly […]
The hamlet of Bambanglipuro is an archetypal village in the heartland of Java; rows of traditional houses and small mosques interspersed with patches of paddy fields line both sides of the country road we take from the city of Yogyakarta, or Jogja for short. Our […]
