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...
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...
Cliff Top Golfing on the Bukit in Bali What can be more inspirational than hitting a golf ball over terraced rice paddies or more satisfying than sinking a putt while a soft ocean breeze washes over you? That’s what golfers can expect at Bali’s newest golf course,...
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...
Karangasem Regency in East Bali is an area of intense beauty dominated by Bali’s highest and most sacred volcano. Mt Agung’s 3,142-metre peak, and its dramatic foothills and valleys shaped by centuries of lava flows, combine to create a landscape unrivalled...
