41: A Difficult Birthday
As birthdays go, 40 was, surprisingly, OK. I think turning 40 is OK for most women, provided you’re vaguely “well-preserved”, simply because it sounds so...
Category: Places
Is THIS the Biggest Environmental Issue Facing Indonesia?
Ladies, gentlemen, environmentalists. Allow me to introduce the Aqua cup, or “Aqua gelas”, a single-use, single-cup serving of water that is designed to be thrown...
Five Reasons You Should Totally Dive Malapascua
We loved diving Malapascua, a pretty, white-sand island off Cebu, in the Philippines. And, frankly, it would be hard not to. Malapascua is one of...
On Reading Brave New World in Singapore
Brave New World is one of those books that… Well, I won’t exactly say that everyone has read it, but I’d imagine most people feel...
Two Nyepi Resolutions
Tomorrow is Nyepi. That’s the Hindu day of silence on Bali, when everyone has to pretend they’ve left the island so Bali’s not terribly intelligent...
Toraja: Just Plain Mental
In January, we went back to Toraja, the highland area of Sulawesi that’s famous for its gory funerals, not to mention burying babies in trees....
Friday Photo: Balinese Kris
This is Empu Nyoman Punduh, a kris-maker in Kintamani, Bali, with his masterpiece. The Balinese kris is central to the culture. A young man gets...
How to Spend 48 Hours in Ubud
If you’re coming to Bali, a night or two in Ubud, the island’s arts, culture, food and spirituality capital, is pretty much a must. So...
#BoycottBali? Nuh-Uh
The impending execution of two of the “Bali Nine”, Australians shopped to Indonesian authorities by Australian police for trying to smuggle heroin into Australia, has...
The Friday Photo: Sunrise on Mount Batur
Mount Batur is an absolutely classic volcano climb that, to my shame, we’d not yet done in Bali. It’s an easy enough hike, once you...