If you think this is a post about food or culinary thing, this is not. You can stop reading now. No, I’m kidding. Please continue reading but when I said that this is not a post about food, I mean it (I thought some of […]
Medan: Unexpectedly Interesting
Just a stopover city was my initial thought about Medan. With more than two million residents, Medan is Indonesia’s fourth largest city and the nation’s largest city outside Java. Had it not been due to my visit to Lake Toba, I wouldn’t have intended to […]
Dance and Swing Until The Egg Breaks
Simanindo, a small village at the northern part of Samosir Island, was the last place that I visited on a trip to Samosir’s historical and cultural places. When I parked the motorbike at Huta Bolon Simanindo, I could hear some traditional music instruments were being […]
The King, The Missionary and The Trial Stone
Ambarita, a sleepy village 10 km north from Tomok was the second historical site which Robin and I visited on Samosir Island. We turned right as soon as we noticed a signboard which reads Batu Parsidangan on the main road. Then we navigated our way […]
The Legend of Samosir’s First Settlers
Legend has it that King Sidabutar was the first man ever set his foot on Samosir Island. Later on he and his descendants resides in an area which is now known as the small town of Tomok, 5 km south of Tuk Tuk. Before the […]
The Intriguing Culture of Samosir Island
North Sumatra, especially around Lake Toba and Samosir Island, has been known as the place where Batak people, or simply Bataks, come from and flourish. Physically, Bataks are quite different from other western Indonesians (although to foreign eyes they all look the same). They have […]
Lake Toba: Nature’s Wrath Turned Into Eden
Sumatra, about 60,000 – 70,000 years ago, the largest known explosive eruption on Earth in the last 25 million years occurred. Approximately 2,800 km3 of material was released and most of it was blown to the west. According to some research and measurements, at one […]
A Legacy of The Great Admiral
In the early 15th century when Ming dynasty ruled China, The Yongle Emperor sponsored seven expeditions of unprecedented naval fleet to impress other nations across the Indian Ocean and control trade in the region. The great expedition, however, was commanded by Zheng He, a Muslim […]
Candi Sukuh: The Naked Temple
Refreshing breeze of Mount Lawu touches my skin. Verdant hills and clear blue sky make a perfect combination of eye-soothing colors. My senses are definitely tickled and spoiled, I think. It is a nice welcome after three-hour drive from Semarang, two-hour two-bus rides, half an […]
Jakarta on A Sunday
“Is there any skyscraper in Jakarta?”. That question still resounds in my head until now even though it has been almost five years since my cousin’s friend, Daniel, posed us that question on our way from the airport to the city center. Since I don’t […]
A Nostalgic Escape in Bandung
The sun has not yet shown itself on the horizon. The roads are still empty. I notice only a few people walking around in their running pants or cycling with their friends. Many people are still comfortably sleeping on their beds, or so I think. […]
7 Super Shots from What an Amazing World!
A few days ago I was nominated by Mark from Migrationology to take part in HostelBookers 7 Super Shots. It was fun looking at some old pictures that have slumbered in my hard disk for quite a long time. Without further ado, here are my […]
What an Amazing World! 