Waisak at Borobudur Temple in the early morning..

Waisak is a holy day for Buddhists and is celebrated annually in Indonesia during the full moon in either May or June at Borobudur Temple in Magelang.  Also known as ‘Buddha Day’, the occasion commemorates the birth of Prince Siddhartha in Lumbini, his enlightenment, and his passing in Kusinara in 543BC. I had been looking […] Read more »

Something Strange and Beautiful

Going to see music in Jakarta is often a community event.  The musicians never seem to take with them the attitudes of rock stars, rather they tend to play for the people.  Any song requests are accepted and attempted, any budding musicians can join the band, or steal the microphone for a whole set, with barely the […] Read more »

Train Spotting at Manggarai

In a city with a population of around 10 million people, it’s no wonder that Jakarta’s roads are in gridlock with cars, motorbikes, buses, trucks, bajas, rubbish men pulling carts, and many other weird and wonderful modes of transport, making travel across the city incredibly slow and very frustrating.  Considering another 2 million travel from […] Read more »