When my young daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease at the age of ten, I had to learn all about gluten. The test to diagnose the disease was in itself a major undertaking. She was hospitalised and diagnosed via an endoscopic biopsy. A small camera was sent down a...
Every year at the Bau Nyale Festival in Kuta, Lombok, jockeys come together to compete in a horse racing event unique to Indonesia. Jockeys are always light, but these jockeys are different. They are children who start their training when they are four or five years...
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...
I had the honour of meeting Rohani, a wise, proud man, on the front porch of his home in Kabalutan Village, in the Togean Islands. He is a Bajau, a man of the sea, and has been a fisherman all his life, or as he likes to say, a hunter. Armed with just a simple wooden...
Writer Stephanie Brookes shares a heartwarming tale from Bali about a couple of university grads from the Netherlands who are helping special needs children find their voice through photography and art. “I watched a documentary called Born Into Brothels a year ago,...
When I arrived at the Bulgari Resort Bali, I was immediately greeted by a vista which took my breath away. Located on the southern Uluwatu cliffs, the resort offers dramatic unbroken views of the Indian Ocean. A refreshing crushed basil, mint and honey drink magically...
Rote Island, on the Southern most tip of Indonesia, is a remote outer island with a charm all of its own. It’s a timeless place. The roads are basic, with hardly any cars and very few traffic lights. The beaches seem endless, and have very few people on them. In other...
Ever wonder where your organic food products are grown or made, distributed or sold? Stephanie Brookes looks into the local farming practices and organic trade in Bali. There is a growing trend in Bali and elsewhere in Indonesia to seek locally sourced sustainable...
I have always fancied the notion of “glamping” – camping in a glamorous 5-star tent. From the moment I arrived at Menjangan Dynasty Resort in the far west of Bali, I was not disappointed. A team of enthusiastic safari gear clad “bush dwellers” greeted me, decked...
I slowly shuffled forward in the queue of passengers boarding the ferry at Kupang Harbour. I was about to cross the Timor Sea to Rote Island. Ahead of me, a long line of tall-coned straw-like cowboy hats snaked its way up the gangplank. Finally arriving at the...
