Tag Archives for baby
A Tough Question
In Magic Lounge, the drinking den where we sprawl on orange sofas and use their satellite internet after a day on the beaches of Kuta, Lombok, A approaches me tentatively. He has something to tell me. Or maybe ask me. “Excuse me, ibu,” he says. “I have just had a baby!” “Oh! Congratulations,” I say. [...]
Souls Growing Skywards with the Trees
At Pana, the cave graves were easy to find, half of them broken open, looming out of a granite slab in the oncoming dusk and framed by dark bamboo. The baby graves? Well, as the beautiful kids who gave us directions and made us sign the guestbook said, they were in a “big tree”. “These [...]
Turtle Island, Indonesia
Pulau Derawan, a tiny palm and sand island off the coast of Indonesian Borneo, is famous for sea turtles. Now, in general, when it comes to sea turtles, it’s wise to keep your expectations low. Maybe, just maybe, there’ll be a glimpse of a reptile or two sculling in the blue yonder, when you’re diving. [...]
1: A desire for previously unknown accessories in routine consumables. Eg? “I want that toothbrush, mum, definitely that one.” “Why?” “It has a built-in tongue scraper.” 2: A pathological suspicion of drivers of vehicles for hire, in all their forms. Eg: “Mum! He hasn’t put the meter on!” “I know. We haven’t finished getting in [...]
Women of the Woods
The Malay name orang utan means “man of the forest”, and, after a visit to the Semanggoh Orang Utan Centre, it’s easy to see why. 30-ish kilometres outside Kuching, Sarawak, Semanggoh is, technically, am Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center. Not some kind of, erm, “rest facility” for the Lindsay Lohans of the primate world. But a [...]
Babysitting, Hmong Style
It’s not easy being a woman in the Hmong tribal minority of northern Vietnam. Or a girl, for that matter. This little girl is six, and had been carrying her eighteen-month old little brother in a sling on her back for most of the day. The forlorn look?
