Indonesia: Tour de Bali
Breathtaking sights merged with a culture that is so rich and pervasive. That's Bali, a Hindu island in central Indonesia east of Java. Famous to international tourists and travelers, it took a huge hit when the first bombing happened in 2002, and again after the...
Sunset In My Rearview Mirror
...is the view I get when I head home from campus. I have come to associate it with the peace of homecoming, the quietness of a day's end, and the coming rest. It is especially precious on Fridays. On this particular Friday, this certain poem seems to match the mood...
Indonesia: Its Underappreciated Talents
Two Sundays ago my mom took me to a place in Jakarta that I had never visited before, even though I was born and raised in the city. Located in the recreational complex in North Jakarta (Ancol) where you would find amusement parks, marinas, Sea World, etc., Pasar...
Indonesia: Jakarta’s Facelifts
Or, The Thrill of Being in a Developing Country Each time I go home, I have to reacquaint myself to Jakarta because it’s always a different city that I come home to. My 3+ years absence makes this process much more noticeable, since a lot has happened during that...
Indonesia: A Familiar Rabbit Hole
Coming from the US to Indonesia feels a little bit like being Alice in Wonderland for me – the world seems to shrink in size. Cars are smaller, roads narrower, furniture and doors more compact, etc., and people stand and drive much closer to each other. And in case...
Indonesia: The Prelude
In about 15 hours, I'll be taking off to Hongkong and Shenzhen for the first four days, and Indonesia (Jakarta and Bali) for the rest of this 22-day trip. They're all familiar territory, except for Shenzhen, but it just has been a while. The last time I went home over...
My Right Brain
“I’m a left-brained girl,” is a phrase I have said often, particularly in reference to poetry. You know, being an engineer and all, I just don’t get poetry. You feed me a poem, and I would have no idea what it’s talking about. But I think there may be some changes to...
If I Lived Then
In the 2006 biopic Amazing Grace, my favorite monologue takes place in a scene where the movie’s hero, William Wilberforce, is compelling an elite class of society to come face to face with the horrid reality of slavery. During a lunch cruise, the luxurious reception...
Bird’s-eye View, Personal Secrets
The Story of Complex People: Part III. Read Part I and Part II. (cont'd) A human being is in a very questionable position to judge another's motives. After all is said and done, at the end of our lives, we only have our own complexity to understand, and perhaps not...