A massive man-made structure surrounded by green pastures emerged from afar, in the eastern part of Semarang near the city’s suburban region with a volcano lurking from behind. Four pointy small minarets stood on an elevated platform, flanking a white dome over the terracotta-colored roof […]
Hong Kong is known among Asian visitors as a gastronomers’ paradise. Apart from its world-renowned dim sum, countless local dishes await to be discovered and devoured beneath the endless skyscrapers – reason enough for me to go back after two visits to the city. From […]
A girl in Balinese traditional sarung for woman puts canang sari – a small basket of woven palm leaves filled with colorful petals and shredded pandan leaves – on the ground, then sprinkles holy water on it, puts some incense sticks made from the fragrant […]
It was the second week of my visit to Hong Kong earlier this year, the weather was rather gloomy and the temperature dropped significantly. Around the same time the Sochi Games had just started, yet Hong Kong was even colder than the 2014 Summer Olympics […]
It was 7 pm, James and I were seated in Ubud’s wantilan, a shaded traditional pavilion open on three sides with a stage set up for the night’s performance, flanked by Balinese gamelan – a set of traditional musical instruments originally created to lull kings […]
Red, spicy and addictive. Sambal Panggang Pe (smoked ray covered with ground chili paste and spices) look not only visually appealing, but also menacing to some for its generous spread of chilies. Widely available throughout Central and East Java, Sambal Panggang Pe is highly popular […]
A towering water fountain stands amid decorated pools, water flows from one pond to another, carps meander around beautifully-laid stepping stones, all under the beautiful morning sun and skies. As we enter the grounds of the water garden a pool welcomes us, rimmed by intricately […]
Gangsters running around dark alleys, carrying automatic weapons to shoot any raiding policemen they see. Prostitutes standing under neon signboards, in claustrophobic settlements where the sun hardly penetrates. Meanwhile, residents doing their daily activities, indifferent to the madness around them, carry on with their business […]
Bali, a land with towering volcanoes and pristine rivers flowing out onto turquoise water of the Indonesian seas. Its fertility not only brought welfare to its residents but also sparked wars between Bali’s many small kingdoms, fighting for as many lands to control as possible. […]
We step out of Diamond Hill MTR station in Kowloon, walking towards a walled area surrounded by tall housing estates and bordered by overlapping flyovers. A gilded pavilion emerges behind the walled enclosure, standing on a small island in a pond, glowing under the midday […]
We are standing at a bus stop in Sai Kung, a town with relaxing ambiance in the New Territories, anything but similar with the busy downtown of Hong Kong Island. It is a Wednesday morning in January with clear blue skies, a nice break from […]
The moon. For millennia it has been a perennial source of fascination for humans from almost every culture in the world. The celestial object – often perceived as a gentle balance to the mighty sun – plays an important role in many mythologies: from the […]
