Bali to Banyuwangi – A Women’s Motorbike Adventure

Bali to Banyuwangi – A Women’s Motorbike Adventure

TripbaliGazing over the Indonesian map sprawled out on the table, my eyes turned to the more remote Eastern part of Java. I live in Bali and drive a motorbike, as most of us do living here. I thought, maybe if I rally the troupes, we could ride our motorbikes from...
Blitar – Tales of Intrigue in East Java

Blitar – Tales of Intrigue in East Java

Blitar is a quiet, friendly town in East Java. From mystical lakes with god-fish legends to the stunning Bung Karno Museum honouring the founder of Indonesia, it is full of history and intrigue, as well as colourful characters. At the entrance to the Bung Karno Museum...
Majapahit Hotel Surabaya – Java Romance, History and Elegance

Majapahit Hotel Surabaya – Java Romance, History and Elegance

It was love at first sight when I first saw the Hotel Majapahit, Surabaya, in East Java. This glorious colonial hotel has catered to luxury-end guests since it opened its doors over one hundred years ago. Stories about the hotel abound. World-acclaimed novelists,...
Rituals and Heritage of Mount Bromo

Rituals and Heritage of Mount Bromo

“I am Tenggerese, and our people are descendants of the 13th-century  Majapahit Kingdom”, the flower seller said as he adjusted his bouquets. “Please leave these flowers on the crater rim and offer a prayer. This offering will make the gods of the mountain very...
Lazy Cats And Savannah Lands – Baluran National Park, East Java

Lazy Cats And Savannah Lands – Baluran National Park, East Java

Leaning over the sturdy railing at the waterhole, I made sure to look up to check no lazy cats were lounging in the nearby trees. This was macan tutul country – home of the Javan leopard in Baluran National Park, East Java. I asked the ranger, Pak Teguh if he had...
Meeting the Baduy People, Java

Meeting the Baduy People, Java

The Baduy people live only 167 kilometres from Jakarta. They live in the Kendeng Mountains, follow a traditional way of life and do not embrace any aspects of modern living.  It is, for example, forbidden to use a wheel or travel in a vehicle with a wheel. They do not...
Romancing The Stone

Romancing The Stone

When I arrived at the Hotel Tugu in Blitar, a three-hour drive from Malang, I felt like I was taking a journey back in time. The pages of history opened before me as I sat in the late afternoon sun at Waroeng Jawa, an open-air lounge where guests gather around oil...
On the Obama Trail – Bali and Java

On the Obama Trail – Bali and Java

Published:   Garuda Colours In-Flight Magazine, September 2017 In June this year, following an invitation by Indonesia’s President Jokowi Widodo to visit the Presidential Palace just out of Jakarta, President Obama came to Indonesia. This visit had special...

FULL MOON RISING – BUDDHA’S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Share This: Every May, a vibrant festival is held at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddhist temple, located in Central Java. Buddhists from the far reaches of Asia gather to celebrate the holy festival known as Waisak, celebrating...