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U.S. Embassy Warns of Volcanic Eruption in Indonesia

This just arrived in my inbox – not exactly the kind of message I see on a daily basis. I guess there’s never a dull moment in Indonesia. U.S. Embassy Jakarta U.S. Consulate General Surabaya Warden Message April 13, 2006 The U.S. Embassy informs Americans in Indonesia that the Indonesian Center for Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised the alert status for Mt. Merapi Volcano in Central Java to Level 3 on April 12, 2006. Level 3 means that volcanicRead more
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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
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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
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Photos of Indonesia

From the discussions related to this previous post, I’ll take the time to answer the question here, so it doesn’t get lost in the mix. How about pictures of other islands in Indonesia? Seperti Sumatra, Kalimantan, dan Irian Jaya (They are not small and rich of cultures as well). And how about the one close to home? I havenÂ’t seen Javanese dancer and much of javanese cultures in your gallery (Seperti Tari Jaipongan dan tari bondan–those are popular too). …Read more
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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