In early January when heavy rain poured over Semarang on a daily basis, I was sitting in my room – sorting out photos for my future posts from the amazing trip to Bali and Timor-Leste with James last December – when an email arrived in […]
All posts tagged: travel
Feeling, Breathing Ubud
We walked through a small alley, lit only by a few lamps mounted on a fence. While passing a small tree something suddenly fell on my head, too heavy to be an insect but too light to be a snake. I bowed my head, shook […]
Venilale: Putting Together Pieces of the Puzzle
Simon, our driver who is originally from the Indonesian city of Atambua in West Timor, transports us from Baucau to the small town of Venilale in the hilly interior of Timor-Leste. The roads are in a fairly good condition, but with few vehicles passing by […]
An Eye-Opening Journey to the East
“East Timor is a very dangerous place. The farther you go to the east, the more you will likely be shot. There was a helicopter flying over the eastern region and it was attacked by automatic rifles from the forest below.” I recall being a […]
Sights from Asia’s Lusophonic Corner
It is almost 2pm in Timor-Leste (formerly known as East Timor) as our plane starts its descent towards Dili, the capital of Asia’s newest nation. The rugged green landscape below looks untouched and undeveloped, a stark contrast to an aerial view of Bali – where […]
2013, The Journey Continues
2013 has been a year of intense travel, both for leisure and business. Since January almost every month I left Jakarta to travel, from a short drive to Bogor – a city to the south of Jakarta – to a 14-hour flight to Istanbul. As […]
Politics, Religion and Art at Jakarta’s Focal Point
Gleaming under the morning sun, a gilded petrified flame sits atop a whitewashed monolith. Emanating from its base, trees cover most of the wide plaza providing shade for visitors – and a few decades ago, deer. Monumen Nasional – widely known by its acronym, Monas […]
Venerating Gods and Spirits in Bali
Delicately carved wooden statues in realistic proportions embellish people’s houses, floral designs are intricately sculpted on temple figurines, and sturdy yet delicate rock-hewn statues stand at major roundabouts and intersections. It is in Bali where statues hold a more significant role in people’s lives than […]
An Aftertaste of Istanbul
We were standing under Galata Tower, a 14th century gem perched on the hill of Beyoğlu, a district in the European side of Istanbul. South we headed, where an even more ancient landmark emerged from afar, on top on Seraglio Point. Hagia Sophia, once the […]
A Taste of the Archipelago
It is easy to find Japanese, Italian, French, Middle Eastern, and even Thai restaurants in Jakarta, the capital and economic powerhouse of Indonesia and also home to 10 million people. However sometimes I wonder why it is not the case for Indonesian restaurants elsewhere in […]
Medan’s Chinese Heritage
It was only half past eight at night but the streets were mostly deserted. Alexander and I walked around the small alleys of Medan to find a place where we could have some authentic Medanese dishes, off the more touristy Kesawan and Merdeka Square. We […]
A Glimpse of Malang
Crisp cool air refreshed my skin, the wind blew on my face, giving me a chilling sensation I have not felt for a long time from big cities in Indonesia. Yet I was in Malang, one of the biggest cities in East Java. Five years […]
What an Amazing World! 