Indonesia Travel Stories

Jul 21, 2015 • 4 min read

The grown-up neighbour to Bali's party centre of Kuta, Seminyak has attracted travellers in-the-know for years with its hip hotels, cool cafes, slick bars…

Jul 14, 2015 • 3 min read

For a grab bag of stimulating experiences, this remote province is hard to beat. Indonesian Papua is as far east in Indonesia as you can go, with sublime…

Jun 25, 2015 • 4 min read

There’s more to Malukan food than its famous mace, nutmeg and cloves. Dig deeper than the mie goreng and soto ayam served in most rumah makans …

May 12, 2015 • 5 min read

Bali's shopping is legendary. Not only are visitors spoiled for choice by the variety of goods on offer, there's also a rich array of shopping venues and…

Apr 10, 2015 • 6 min read

Whether you’re looking for the royal treatment or a quick rub-down, Bali's spa options are seemingly infinite. Indulgent travellers could easily craft a…

Apr 1, 2015 • 6 min read

Decades of tourism haven’t dampened Bali's deep-rooted spirituality and natural charms. Volcanoes rise from the sea, monkeys swing in the trees, and there…

Feb 2, 2015 • 5 min read

Kerinci Seblat National Park sprawls from the coastal plains of West Sumatra, up the forested valleys and over the deep river gorges of the Barisan…

Dec 5, 2014 • 4 min read

Freediving. It's easy to understand its appeal. Keen to experience the deep ocean without the cumbersome steel tank and tangle of tubes myself, I decided…

Oct 8, 2014 • 4 min read

A trip across Flores is like stepping back into the Indonesia of William Dampier and Joseph Conrad. Buffalo still plough the fields here and old women…

Aug 7, 2014 • 4 min read

While Indonesia’s capital is powering ahead as a global business hub, Kota, its old town, is arguably still its top traveller highlight. Indonesia’s Dutch…

Feb 13, 2014 • 3 min read

From the all-night shadow-puppet performances to the bold and socially aware graffiti covering many a wall, Yogyakarta, the cultural and spiritual capital…

Nov 27, 2013 • 6 min read

From steaming jungle to the cloud-capped summit of Mt Kinabalu, Borneo’s natural wonders are undeniable. But the island is no longer the deserted paradise…

Jul 11, 2013 • 5 min read

Bali may have its fair share of tourists seeking nothing more than seven days of sun, sand and sex in the southern party triad of Kuta, Legian and…

Feb 18, 2013 • 4 min read

When a destination is as big and sprawling as Sumatra – the planet’s sixth largest island – there’s a wealth of exotic and challenging experiences for…

Jul 25, 2012 • 6 min read

The Indonesian island of Flores used to get by on Bali’s overflow alone, and the trickle of travellers that landed in the sleepy west coast town of…

Jul 10, 2012 • 3 min read

Nobody in Europe had heard of the Ijen volcanic crater during the European Middle Ages, when painters were busy decorating churches and chapels with…

Jun 29, 2012 • 4 min read

Tucked within Indonesia’s ferociously powerful waves, lies a unique surfing experience that will bring mile-long smiles to beginners and intermediate…

Mar 29, 2012 • 4 min read

With a new international terminal at Kalimantan’s Berau airport in Indonesian Borneo opening in April 2012, newly proposed routes from Kuala Lumpur and…

Jun 2, 2011 • 5 min read

While Indonesia’s volcanoes are often noted for the beauty of their spectacular peaks, steaming craters and view of the earth’s bubbling core, Mount…

Feb 27, 2011 • 7 min read

To eat and drink in Indonesia is a never-ending adventure. Hungry or not you’ll be tempted by strange foods, waylaid by exotic aromas and entranced by new…

Nov 11, 2010 • 6 min read

It's almost 40 years since Birute Galdikas established her study site for primates, deep in the heart of Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan,…

Nov 11, 2010 • 3 min read

There are pockets of vast forest filled with wild and wonderful creatures unique to Indonesia. It's not just the orang-utans that hide in these forests;…