Feb 20, 2011

My students were positioned in orderly rows, girls on one side and boys on the other. They blushed and covered their mouths with their sleeves as I attempted to coax them into conversation. They lowered their eyes, twiddled their hands behind their backs and clamped their mouths shut. There is no sound quite as gut wrenching for a teacher – particularly a

“When I was in Bali, I couldn’t wait to get back to Jakarta so I could eat some bread,” my mom told me over the phone when I called from the Indonesian island of Bali. “Yeah, but that was 30 years ago, right?” I may have been naive in heading to Bali thinking of beautiful beaches, simple Indonesian food and locals hawking handmade crafts, cheap

I had truly landed in expatriate paradise when I was picked up in Jakarta by a driver in an AC van. The vehicle sailed past past gleaming malls and street food stalls, back to my friend’s gated community. There, we were buzzed through by security men, who scanned the car with a weapons detector before allowing us to pass. Inside the compound were paved

Liquidy Temples, Butterflies My last Panorama tour begins at the gorgeous seaside temple of Tanah Lot, which was built in the 16th century on Bali’s southwestern coastline atop rocks pounded by waves. (Beach footgear is suggested.) This being a top visitor attraction tourists must run a gauntlet of peddlers down towards the ocean. There, a cave contains a

For The Road to Bali, part 1. For The Road to Bali, part 2 During most of my two weeks in Bali I stay at Parigata Villas Resort, which, as noted, is right near Sanur Beach, where Parigata has the Banjar Café, a seaside eatery and bar providing lounge chairs, sun umbrellas and towels for guests of Parigata’s three properties. The water is quite calm at Sanur,

For The Road to Bali, part 1 Bat Cave, Mother Temple Tour Bali is an exquisite isle, and my package includes three private trips that reveal its natural and cultural splendor. Panorama Tours provides a driver and English-speaking, sarong and sandal wearing guide named Made who drove me in a van to Goa Lowah, an astounding cave on the southeast coast so full of

Karmic Cleansing Ceremony There are many tropical isles, but what makes Bali unique is its age-old Hindu culture and spirituality. Visitors to the “Morning of the World” can participate in a Melukat, or Balinese Karma Cleansing Ceremony. This purification process, presided over by a Pemangku (Hindu priest), seeks ablution for the body and soul and is offered

A curious interest in traditional Bali and a passion for learning about world music led me to the tranquil town of Ubud. With Ubud’s pleasant climate due to its location just before the mountainous regions, and its welcoming locals, I felt a warmth for this place the moment I stepped foot into the town. A centre point for Balinese culture, music, arts and

Measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, the popular tourist center of Yogyakarta was struck by a devastating earthquake. Homes and hotels throughout the area having been flattened leaving over 5000 people dead and many thousands more injured and homeless. The earthquake hit in the early morning hours on Saturday, May 27 and lasted nearly a minute according to some

I wasn’t sure what to expect from my first ASEAN Tourism Forum. For that matter, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Philippines either. As a destination, I have always imagined the Philippines as curious and exotic. At the same time, I know plenty of Filipino people who are just pleasant and friendly. Perhaps, a couple of good reason’s why I jumped at