Tag: Indonesia
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Nyepi: Bali’s “Silent Day”
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It almost sounds like a stand-up comedian’s joke, but it isn’t. Balinese are very serious about doing nothing during the Nyepi holiday, or “Silent Day.” They take it so seriously that people have been known to be arrested — even deported — for walking outside or camping during this sacred…
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The Natura Villa, in Ubud, Bali
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One of the many delights of traveling is the chance to experience customs and cultures that are very different from your own. I’ve been to many parts of Indonesia, but this visit to Ubud, Bali, had some delightful, fascinating surprises. I’ll talk about the wild festival of Nyepi and the…
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Orangutans in Borneo (Kalimantan)
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Camp Leakey and the Rimba Lodge Everyone remembers where they were when Covid hit. In my case, I was in the forests of Borneo, the Indonesian section, known as Kalimantan. I’d wanted to go there since college, when I read Eric Hansen’s fascinating account, Stranger in the Forest: On Foot…
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Kawah Ijen: Indonesia’s Crater of Blue Fire
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last year, when as (bad) luck would have it, the day I landed in Surabaya, Kawah Ijen crater erupted, spewing toxic fumes so intense they killed the entire riparian ecosystem in and around the crater. Officials closed it to all human entry (not even the sulfur miners were allowed to…
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Dancing with Dragons: A Visit to Komodo Island
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Few things in my childhood filled me with awe as the Komodo dragon, the largest lizard on the planet. While it does not breathe fire, its bite is so fetid that the animal’s primary hunting method is just to waylay its prey, bite it, and wait for it to die…
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Borobudur Temple: The Largest Temple in the Buddhist World
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I am not a spiritual, dharma-seeking kind of guy. In fact, I think that I’m well aware how lucky and “blessed” I’ve been in this world and try to treat this world and its peoples as Paradise, rather than think there’s anything grander coming next. But to witness daybreak at…