The Defeat of Siam. Quite a name for a place situated not too far from the border with Siam – modern-day Thailand – itself. Imagine if there was a city in France called La Défaite de l’Allemagne (The Defeat of Germany). That would have caused […]
All posts tagged: travel
Candi Bubrah & Lumbung: Overlooked and Underrated
Wildflowers can be interesting and pretty. But if there is an orchid sitting next to them, people’s attention would almost certainly be fixated on the latter due to the extravagant colors and shapes of its blooms. The same thing can be said about two ancient […]
Prambanan: The One that Keeps Calling
Do you have a special place that, for whatever reason, keeps calling you to return even though you’ve been there many times? I do. Those who have been following my blog for years wouldn’t be surprised if I tell you that such a place for […]
Great to See You Again, Cambodia!
Eleven years ago, in my early years of blogging, I went on a whirlwind trip to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam in just one week. Back in those days, I was focused on seeing as many countries as possible despite the brief time off from work […]
Mount Kencana: Into the Tea Country
Nowadays, wherever you go in the world, it seems like cafés and coffee shops can be found at almost every corner of a city. Many people get their daily cup of Joe out of necessity (or should I say addiction?) thanks to the caffeine kick […]
Puncak: Jakarta’s Lush Backyard
As he carefully navigated the bends and twists of this mountain pass through thick fog that drastically reduced visibility, he kept murmuring wow and phew, being both perplexed and relieved every time he managed to conquer a sharp turn. My father was at the steering […]
A Ride to the Past
I love trains. Take a metro system, and you’ll be whisked to other parts of a city much faster than if you drive a car. Hop aboard an intercity train. In many cases, you’ll get to your destination reasonably fast. Taking the train induces less […]
No Peacock at Candi Merak
Merak. In your language this word may or may not mean something, but in Indonesian it refers to the peacock, one of the most extravagant-looking birds whose visually-arresting plumage varies from metallic blue to bright green. It also happens to be what a candi (ancient […]
Candi Selogriyo: A Picturesque Detour
Candi (pronounced chaan-dee). It is a broad term Indonesians use to refer to ancient structures dating back to a period in history when the archipelago was predominantly Hindu/Buddhist. It can be a temple, a bathing compound, a gate, basically anything even if its original purpose […]
15 Years On
Some people have known what they love doing since they were very young, but others find out about that one thing they’re most passionate about only when they’ve grown up, and I belong in the latter category. When I was little, I didn’t know that […]
Tasting Jakarta
This coming June 22nd, Jakarta will be five years shy from turning half-a-millennium old. This megacity has come a long way from its humble beginnings when it was still called Sunda Kalapa, a port that was controlled by successive Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in the […]
Sarinah: A Compelling Restoration
Until three weeks ago, if you asked me if I would ever write a blog post about a mall, I would have certainly said no, or highly unlikely at best. That was also what I had in mind when I decided to revisit a decades-old […]
What an Amazing World! 