Category Archives: Uncategorized

I emailed this letter to The Jakarta Post, not sure if they would publish it. They did. I’ve already gotten a couple reactions from readers that utterly surprised me: they thought I was being serious! Such is the danger of … Continue reading →

A kind reader reported the other day that this long inactive blog was hacked earlier this year, and malicious code inserted into the website files. They’ve been cleaned up. There’s been a lot happening in Bali. Too much, one could … Continue reading →

One of the mysteries of Bali is the eternally full garbage truck. You never see any empty ones. They are always full, and always stopping to cram on yet more garbage. You almost get the feeling that something….mystical…is going on. … Continue reading →

If you a person of authority, you are allowed to say really dumb things. Some years ago, the Minister of Justice commented on a foreigner who’d been on death row in Sumatra for several years, his appeal dragging on, causing … Continue reading →

Lately there have been news reports in the local paper of riots and houses being burned in a community. The papers faithfully report the number of houses burned, the names of the victims, initials of those arrested. The article quotes … Continue reading →

Tip number 1: Think corruption Not too many foreigners can read the local language papers, but if even they could, they might still scratch their heads and go, hunh? For example, some time ago, in the same day’s edition of … Continue reading →

Bali is going to the dogs Well, jokes about rabies aside, maybe so, maybe so. But then so is the rest of the world. If only people could be less greedy. While I am at it, let me pause a … Continue reading →

Bali is a vortex of higher spiritual energies, a sacred place to seek enlightenment. I often wonder if the new age folks here in Bali (to use a catch-all term for a wide spectrum of somewhat similar beliefs and practices) … Continue reading →

Bali’s the place to make your fortune. He was an Aussie tourist I met surfing, ran into him a couple more times. A cheerfully mate-y type, he had a hire car with driver, and he was the sort of fellow … Continue reading →