Posted by Internet at Every Where on 4:11 AM
Congrats to the winners of our fantabulous Eat Pray Love giveaway, Justin Hampton of L.A. and Evimeinar Nasution of Winnipeg. Which begs the question, what's an Indonesian doing in the frozen tundra of Winnipeg, especially at this time of year? But I digress ... copies are on the way.For those less fortunate, get Elizabeth Gilbert's bestselling tale of her travels through Indonesia here, and check out her personal website here. And thanks again to the kind folks at Viking press. If you need a good stocking-stuffer for the holidays, here's a review excerpt from the New Yorker magazine:"At the age of thirty-one, Gilbert moved with her husband to...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 4:00 AM
Are we seeing a battle for the soul of Indonesian Islam, playing out before our eyes?Historically moderation has been the keyword, one that espouses tolerance as well as loyalty to one's faith. But with the world going to extremes, I wonder if it's a philosophy that's in retreat, even in Indonesia. The Jakarta Post has an article on the subject, with the news hook being the passage of the pornography bill, the emergence of shariah law in some areas, and the banning of the sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah, all of which tends towards a stricter Qu'ranic interpretation of the world.But more interesting than the text of the article itself, is the plethora of...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 4:30 AM
What makes me saddest about yesterday's Mumbai massacre, apart from the death and destruction that fill our screens, is how some of the most memorable places in the world are all being subsumed by terrorism.New York, London, Madrid, Bali ... the connotations these places bring up are no longer the greatness of human achivement, or the timelessness of their natural beauty, but the tragedy and gore of aimless terror.I've been to Mumbai, strolling along the grand gates of the waterfront, chewing betel nut purchased at local newsstands, drinking chai tea brewed in huge brass pots. Now I feel those days have been stolen by the Deccan Mujahadeen, replaced...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 6:00 AM
Much ado has been made in recent months about shariah-compliant investing, especially with all the petrodollars washing around the Middle East. Muslim investors are looking for someplace to stash their billions, that's in line with Qu'ranic precepts against drinking, gambling, and the charging of interest. (So how does Saudi Prince Alaweed bin Talal become a major Citigroup shareholder? But I digress.)Anyhow, such investing has just been made easier, by the formation of the Dow Jones Islamic Market ASEAN Index. Included are shariah-compliant companies in six of the 10 ASEAN nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 3:22 AM
The military relationship between the U.S. and Indonesia has always been a bit of a head-scratcher. Under strongman Suharto, it was pretty tight, with joint exercises and copious supplies of military hardware. In recent years it's cooled off, just as a democratic government has taken hold.Ironic, for a U.S. administration that famously wanted to spread democracy around the world ... especially in Muslim countries. It's as if they were taking revenge for human-rights slights like the East Timor debacle, but long after the fact. Go figure.At any rate, the Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on U.S.-Indonesia relations as a crucial test...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 4:02 AM
Can you name the best place in Indonesia to do business? How about the worst?You don't have to guess anymore, because consulting firm KPPOD (with assists to the Asia Foundation and USAID) has come out with its ratings of 243 'regencies' throughout the archipelago. Using criteria like infrastructure, taxes, security, and 'Capacity of Mayor' (I love that one), they've ranked cities from top to bottom.(Check out the original survey link here, and Reuters' recent take here.)And so, without further adieu, the winners: Blitar and Magetan in East Java, Prabumulih and Musi Banyuasin in South Sumatra, and Jembrana in Bali. The stinkers on the other end...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 7:01 AM
Life Magazine may be dead and gone, another victim of the print-to-digital revolution, but its iconic photos live on. In fact Google is now hosting their entire photo archive, of which there are about 200 shots of Indonesia at critical moments through the country's history.It's quite an amazing voyage down memory lane. There are photos of Indonesian leaders in the fullness of youth, like Sukarno and Suharto; images of visiting dignitaries, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Soviet Union's Nikita Kruschev; nature shots from decades ago, of Sumatran tigers, Borneo orangutans and Komodo dragons; and regular folks caught in a moment in time, from...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 3:35 AM
If you feel like getting away from it all for a while - far, far from the crashing Dow - reader Michael Corbett sends in word of a unique Indonesian cruise opportunity.The Orion is Australia's only five-star expedition cruise ship, and usually travels to spots like Oz's Arnham Land, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Antarctica. But in 2009 they're adding Southeast Asia to the roster, with its Spice Island Adventure.On the itinerary are islands like the Malukus, Komodo and Sumbawa, and the legendary dive site of Alor, along with rarely-seen spots like the uninhabited isle of Satonda. The nine-night adventure kicks off Sept. 10; prices range from...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 3:34 AM
By now everyone knows about Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. It's Elizabeth Gilbert's massive Oprah-blessed bestseller about travel and self-discovery, and now the good folks at Viking press have sent along a couple of copies for Everything Indonesia readers.To enter for the free drawing, send an e-mail to christaylornyc@gmail.com with "Eat Pray Love" in the subject line, and your mailing address in the body of the e-mail. I'll draw a couple of names from a hat and send free copies to the winners. If you're not one of those selected, then help out the author and buy the book at Amazon or Barnes...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 3:04 AM
Here we go again. Another day, another 2% drop for the Jakarta Index. Indonesian stocks are caught in the downdraft of the American market (magnified by the fall of the rupiah), where the Dow is now below 8,000 and basically where it was five years ago. What was that about 10% annual returns, that our financial advisors kept telling us about?You're probably wondering about where to invest your money, when nowhere is safe. Good thing I just wrote an article for Canada's Globe Investor magazine, on what Ben Graham (the king of value investing) would do right now. The answer is he'd probably be buying.In a nutshell, Graham looked to buy companies...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 7:16 AM
It's tough times for the hospitality industry, but you wouldn't know it by how Accor Hotels chain is expanding its footprint in Indonesia. My friend Cynthia Dammerer sent an update of what's happening on the ground:"Accor will open its 7th hotel in Bali in May '09, a five-star Pullman-branded hotel - the first internationally branded complex for the Legian region, that is growing steadily in popularity with tourists. Complete with restaurants, bars and boutique shops, the hotel sits opposite the famed Kuta beach, at the quiet Legian end, and offers five-star luxury in guest rooms and suites; Pullman "welcomer service"; and edgy new standards...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 1:23 PM
Mother Nature is always quick to replace one natural devastation with another. And so we forget about the massive tragedies that have aleady passed from our consciousness.Good thing institutions like the Red Cross and Grameen Bank don't forget, though. Their microfinance efforts in the northern Sumatra province, an area which was in danger of being completely wiped from the map in the tsuanmi of 2004, are helping families get back on their feet. In one Acehnese village alone, 90 women got loans from local partner Yamida to start bakeries, and buy oyster boats, and kick off countless other projects.In total, more than 17,500 women in Aceh are...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 10:08 AM
Looks like an Australian documentary about Indonesian deforestation, The Burning Season, has been picking up some big awards. It recently won an Inside Film prize for best documentary, for its creator Cathy Henkel.Labelled an "environmental thriller" for how it chronicles the competing concerns of palm oil plantations, the endangered orangutans of Kalimantan/Borneo, and entrepreneurs who are trying to sell carbon credits to Western polluters (and thus funding the forests in their natural state), The Burning Season took 18 months of shooting on four continents to complete.The issue seems to be reaching a tipping point, as environmental organizations...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 12:05 PM
It's one of the world's sad ironies that natural disasters so often hit nations that are the least equipped to handle them. Something like a Hurricane Katrina is horrible enough when it happens to the richest country in the world, so when the developing world is affected by Mother Nature, the effects are even more dearly felt.And so to the news of a massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake beneath the sea floor near the island of Sulawesi. The nearest town was Gorontalo, and no word on casualties or property damage yet, but the strength alone was enough to cause a serious tsunami warning. In fact it was an earthquake the triggered the Sumatra tsunami...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 6:00 AM
Terrorists have claimed another, unlikely victim: Rihanna's upcoming Jakarta show.With Indonesia on alert after the execution of the three Bali bombers, some countries have put out travel advisories about visiting. Until the situation shakes out, and we see if Jemaah Islamiyah or brother organizations take any revenge, many diplomats are saying it's best to be cautious.And so, the sultry R&B songstress from Barbados has canned her performance, saying security wasn't up to par. Perhaps understandable, since the 20-year-old doesn't really want to get caught in the nexus of international politics, religion and terror. She just wants to sing...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 6:55 AM
Hard to believe, but 2008 is fast drawing to a close. And for American taxpayers, that means you want to log any charitable contributions by the end of the year, in order to claim them by the April 15 filing deadline. If not, you may have to wait until 2010 to see any tax benefits. Don't just throw your money down a hole, though, but be rigorous about who receives your giving. To evaluate Indonesian charities that might be worth some of your largesse, check out sites like Charity Navigator, which has a rating system based on criteria like what percentage of donations are gobbled up by administrative costs. Plug 'Indonesia' into the search engine...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 6:59 AM
Extra marks to the new Jakarta Globe for chutzpah (for those not familiar with the term ... brass balls). In a digital era where print journalism is basically dying a slow and painful death, at least in America, in comes a new English-language daily.The Jakarta Post is obviously the granddaddy of English publications in Indonesia's capital, and I imagine it'll be a steep climb to unseat such an insitution. But the Globe is backed by big money, i.e. billionaire James Riady, and if he wants a newspaper then he'll have one. (Reminds me of Canadian media baron Conrad Black, who started the National Post as a conservative voice even as it lost millions...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 7:43 AM
A while back we reported on the unlikely story of Arreal Tilghman, an African-American from Delaware who somehow was becoming a star in dangdut, the popular Indonesian musical style.Looks like he's been through his apprenticeship and is ready to hit the airwaves. The 22-year-old won the Dangdut in America auditions, and was then spirited away to the archipelago to refine his techniques. He then came back for a November launch through his label NSR Productions, with a crucial assist from the Indonesian ambassador who promoted the event.I don't know much about him - does he sing in Bahasa Indonesia, for instance? - but am curious to see if this...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 7:12 AM
A fascinating documentary on PBS's Nova series tomorrow night, about a recent discovery on Indonesia's Flores island that rocked the archaeology world.It was Homo Floresiensis, the skull an adult female from roughly 18,000 years ago, who in size was no bigger than a three-year-old child. Labeled a human 'hobbit,' after the miniature humans of the Lord of the Rings books, it was a once-in-a-lifetime find ... that led to other discoveries in the same huge cave, of hobbits existing there for 95,000 years.Observers speculate that the tiny female could be the result of either a dwarfism-related illness, or the 'island effect,' where species evolve...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 8:31 AM
In my travels I've never seen anything particularly egregious about Indonesian airlines, and in fact I've quite liked Garuda. In comparison I've risked my life on some real clunkers, like airlines from Bhutan and Bangladesh, where they're still working on the idea of proper cabin pressure.Seems like the European Commission, though, has a different stance on Indonesian airline safety. In fact they have a blanket ban on local airlines travelling to EU countries, which is a crushing blow in a tough economy. Even at the best of times, airlines face a very difficult path to profit.RI is doing its best to try to overturn the ban, lobbying the EU ferociously...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 9:48 AM
About time that elite travel publications recognize that there are some outstanding five-star resorts in southeast Asia. This time it's Forbes Traveler, which names world's 50 best new hotels. The local Indonesian winners: St. Regis Bali, and Hotel Tugu Lombok.The latter is cousin of the famed Tugu Bali, helmed by Anhar Setjadibrata. Guests get to enjoy the white-sand beaches of the island's northwest, along with the legendary sunrises over Mt. Rinjani. And talk about a personal touch: The owner dipped into his personal collection of Indonesian antiques to furnish the place. As for St. Regis Bali, hardly a surprise that the legendary upscale...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 7:32 AM
Barack Obama did it.May this new era of politics heal the divides of America and the world.The final paragraphs of his victory speech (full text here):"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 12:14 PM
Voting day here in the U.S., finally, after two full years of a loud and incessant campaign. An eerie calm, almost, as voters and networks - in fact the world - wait for the polls to close, and the madness to begin.Democrat Barack Obama looks on course to capture the presidency, given his slight leads in a number of important swing states, from Ohio to Virginia to Colorado. But you never know; in the last election, John Kerry was said to be leading by countless exit polls, until he wasn't. And we all know the outcome of that.We'll see if America is ready to leap into a multicultural future, with someone whose formative years were partially spent...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 12:29 PM
Finally, some relief for Indonesian investors. After being beaten to a pulp the last couple of months, the Jakarta Index just rose over 7% in a single day. This volatility is giving me a headache.So what gives? Looks like an interest-rate-related bump. With global demand destruction taking place, and commodities slumping all over the world, that means downward pressure on prices instead of upward. That, in turn, means the Indonesian central bank doesn't have to be quite so diligent in tamping down inflation, because it's already moderating of its own accord. And that has market-watchers giddy that there might be big rate cuts on the way, which...
Posted by Internet at Every Where on 12:44 PM
I have a special place in my heart for Sumatra's Riau province, where I spent some time doing development work back in the '90s. I was about 200 km from a telephone, far even from the local capital of Pekanbaru, in a village where you had to take a river raft even to get there.So when reader Jasmine Borschberg sent in news of her spa on Batam island, off Riau's coast and just south of Singapore, I had to give her props. Called Tempat Senang, it's dropped in the middle of gorgeous gardens and has cultivated a Balinese feel with its lush, woodsy architecture (with individual guest suites decorated in Indian, Indonesian, Chinese and Thai styles)....
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