We were on a mission. A few months prior to our visit to Bali in June 2024, James went on a business trip to this island and had a local delicacy that he raved about when he came back to Jakarta. Called oret in Balinese, […]
All posts tagged: culture
Taking It Easy in Bangli
I first tasted loloh cemcem at a Balinese restaurant in Jakarta days after its opening in June 2022. When we saw it on the menu, James and I decided to give it a try out of curiosity, thanks to the green elixir’s color and unfamiliar […]
Bali is (Still) a Good Idea
Imagine waking up to a view of fiery skies with silhouettes of volcanic peaks. And when the sun has risen higher on the eastern horizon, its soft rays cast a gentle warmth that brings the forests and rice terraces on nearby hills to life. The […]
Snippets of Yogyakarta
About one and a half years ago, we were all shocked into disbelief as the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, and life as we knew it was abruptly turned upside down. In the ensuing months, we adopted new habits so that we could […]
Post-Pandemic Travel Dream: Appreciating the Little Things
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 […]
A Morning with Javanese Jesus
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 […]
Jordan and A Travel Resolution Fulfilled
People make resolutions on the first day of January every year hoping to achieve them by the end of December. Losing some weight, doing more exercise, eating more fruits and vegetables, having a better work-life balance, and spending more time with family are among the […]
ARTJOG 2019: A Retrospective
I must admit, contemporary art is something I have never been able to truly enjoy. Its propensity toward anything “out of the box” which requires deep contemplation to “understand” it rarely inspires me. Of all the artworks that fall into this category, there’s one particular […]
Bandung Part 2: Art Spaces
Having two parents with opposing views of the arts has not always been easy for me. My mom, who used to teach at a traditional Javanese dance school founded by her late father, understandably has a strong artistic calling. She taught me how to sing […]
Killing Time in Semarang
The city of Semarang, the capital of Indonesia’s Central Java province, is the place where I was born. However, since the age of 1.5 years old I have been moving around the country with my parents following my father’s assignments from the government institution he […]
Beirut Art through the Millennia
It is easy to associate Beirut with the scars of the civil war, and it is understandable if one is completely oblivious to Lebanon’s thriving art scene for the country has been portrayed in the media as one of many dangerous corners of the Middle […]
Eastern Asian Religions under One Roof
In the 21st century, we often see antiquity as a period of time when great artworks were produced despite limitations in technology. From Greek statues in fine marble and the colossal architecture of ancient Egypt, to classical masterpieces displayed in the Vatican and ornately-decorated manuscripts […]
What an Amazing World! 