Indonesia air pollution is a major topic this year, especially for those of us living under the smoky clouds. Unlike countries such as China or the USA, where air pollution is caused largely from coal factories and automobile exhaust, here in Indonesia, the major air pollution culprit is slash and burn farming. Slash and burn…
Read More
Bukit Dinding (Wall Hill) is a stunning backbone of boulders arching above East Kalimantan’s rain forest, about an hour and twenty minute’s drive from downtown Balikpapan. Pak Yayan has been telling us about this place for months, and since Sam had a weekend off to go further from camp, we said, “Let’s do it!” Now, the title…
Read More
Cycling around Balikpapan is all kinds of fun, but perhaps the best part of it is the random field trip encountered during these rides, like riding through rambutan plantations, watching mussels gleaned at low tide and then smoked, visiting a farmer harvesting seaweed for sale to cosmetic industries, or, as was the case this Sunday, cycling…
Read More
Even though I learned [basic] conversational Bahasa as a girl growing up in Indonesia, as an adult who has spent years and years away, I constantly find myself spouting awkward Bahasa blunders when attempting to revive my Bahasa skills. The other day, a friend and I finished a group walk (a/k/a “Hash“) where, at the end-point,…
Read More