Living in a place with the highest number of historically active volcanoes in the world (as per USGS), most Indonesians (except for those living in Borneo and a few other islands) have for generations been accustomed to living a life attuned to the deadly cycles […]
Have you ever been in a situation where you have visited cities and towns far from home, but you’ve never set foot in the one just on the other side of the mountain or across the river? In the late 1990s my parents moved to […]
Any conversation about Indonesia’s natural landscape will almost certainly mention its plethora of volcanoes. Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire – where some of the world’s strongest and deadliest earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur – Indonesia is home to more than a hundred active […]
Chapter 4, Part 9 We were in the middle of the Banda Sea, the deepest body of water in Indonesia with some parts going as deep as 7,000 m. The violent waves reared up the small boat, filled with Fiona from the Netherlands, Torben from Germany, […]
“Konde… Ratu… We want to see you…” Dino taught us what the local people say every time they want to see the lakes of Kelimutu, often shrouded in thick mist more than 1,600 meters above sea level in the southeastern part of Flores. Konde, the […]
Going to Mount Bromo in East Java now seems to be a fortuitous annual trip for me. Having visited the scenic national park in November 2011 on a solo trip and October 2012 with my travel companion, James, last June I visited this quintessential Indonesian […]
“It looks so forbidding!” James says with his eyes deeply contemplating at the summit of Mount Rinjani, piercing the sky above the island of Lombok. From the crater rim, the afternoon sun illuminates the very top of the volcano, giving a golden hue to the […]
In a cold dawn at Cemoro Lawang, James and I are awaken by the loud alarm from my phone and smell the putrid odor of sulphur inside the room. The night wind must have blown away the puffs from Mount Bromo’s crater to the village […]
What an Amazing World! 