2 Live Crew for 5 Year Olds?

So the other day, my Chinese buddy invited me to his kid’s birthday party. Actually it was for his 5 year old and 10 year old (girl & boy respectively). Despite the fact that he’s obscenely wealthy, I had visions of a dozen kids screaming around a flaming birthday cake while the adults got buzzed up in the corner on the spiked punch. Um. Yeah. Wrong. Driving past the gated security in one of the most prestigious (and quiet) neighborhoodsRead more

A Story all too Familiar to Jakarta

I blatantly ripped this off of a post by fellow expat, Indcoup, but found it disturbingly true. She is thirty-two years old. Her real name is Darmasiah. She has five children and is a widow – or to be more accurate she used to be a widow. A year ago she married a builder’s laborer called Asmawi. They lived in a shack and their only possessions were a bedsheet and a rack for storing crockery. Four of the five childrenRead more

Protests Spread in Indonesia Over Caricature

Protests spread in major cities over caricature The Jakarta Post, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya Despite calls for restraint, protests intensified in the country’s main cities Monday over the publication in European media of caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Protesters in most of the cities decried what they considered the use of freedom of the press to justify insulting Islam. About 200 protesters from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) in West Java town of Bandung threatened to conduct searches for Danish nationalsRead more

Quiet in Kuta, Ubud is a Mood

Foreword: As many of you may have noticed, my site was down for about 5 days! I’ve never had that happen, but there was a ‘miscommunication’ with my web host. I won’t vent my frustrations now, but I apologize for that happening. In three years time, that’s never happened. It should be fine now. …… Well after one of the worst landings of my life (on Adam Air), we arrived in Bali. When the plane hit the ground, I literallyRead more

Gettin Poked

That sounded bad. Sorry. Today I got jabbed with a needle twice – once for the flu vaccine and once for a typhoid update. A doctor from Global Doctors was kind enough to come to work to offer vaccines for whoever wanted them. I know what you’re thinking – the flu vaccine has nothing to do with protecting against avian flu. True, however, I’ve heard from a number of ‘professionals’ (in a calm, yet warning tone) that if you’ve hadRead more

Coin Rubbing for Healing?

Let me start by saying that this post isn’t meant to be condescending or written with an ironic tone. Having said that, what’s up with the coin rubbing for healing purposes here in Indonesia? After the gym last night, I dropped by the grocery store to pick up a few things. As I was going down the aisle, a maid (I believe) was blocking my way – before I politely asked if I may pass, I noticed massive red streaksRead more