I couldn’t breathe, for every time I did, I let out a horrid cough. The air was so rancid. So pollution filled, choked by all the endless stream of cars passing by. Where was this CouchSurfing host of mine? He said 15 minutes! That was my first impression of Jakarta, the bustling capital of Indonesia, […]
Category: Indonesia
Few things are quite as breathtaking as having a historic place virtually to yourself. I tried it at Petra, entering at 6:00am to get some solitary time at The Treasury, which really proved to be memorable. So when it came time to visit Indonesia‘s Borobudur Temple, the largest Buddhist Temple on Earth and a UNESCO World Heritage […]
There’s something about ancient sites that really inspires me. To see first hand just how ingenious humans can be, especially when faced with construction challenges a millennia ago is just mind-boggling. That’s what was running through my head as I wandered through the misty jungles towards Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world! I […]
Have you ever looked back at certain items you always travel with and thought about just how far that object had been with you? Don’t worry, I don’t usually do that either… That is, until, I had to replace my flip-flops while I was in Indonesia… You’re probably thinking I’m crazy right about now, aren’t […]
Please note that this story contains graphic images and descriptions about the slaughter of animals, a tradition that is very important to the Torajan people. “There! Rambusolo!,” my new Indonesian friend said as he pointed to a crowd of people gathered amongst the rice paddies. We’d been riding this motorbike all day trying to find […]
A roof swept up like the shape of a boat. It’s the first thing you notice when you wander into a village in Tana Toraja (pronounced Tah-nah Tow-rah-jah), a small region in the highlands of the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. The exterior walls are piled high with horns of various buffalo, signifying the wealth […]
Oh mandi. I don’t have words to express just how brilliant a creation you are. For the fact that you are so very simple and so very useful is just where your ingenuity starts to come in. You are, for folks with limited indoor plumbing, a saving grace. You are…a bucket. To Flush Many westerners freak […]