Alternative Travel: Sumbawa by Motorbike

By: Ed Caffin

Apart from the legendary surfspots at Maluk and Lakey Peak, few see more of Sumbawa. Mostly, it is only observed from behind the window of a bus, speeding over the trans-island highway to the eastern side, just in time to catch the ferry to Flores. The odd traveler that spends more time to explore the island, finds himself lucky enough to enjoy it’sbeauty in relative solitude. His sole companion might preferably be a motorbike.

Public transportation isn’t very good on Sumbawa, which is probably the main reason why most travelers never make it here. Thus, renting a motorbike seems a great way to explore Sumbawa. A sepeda motor is never hard to find anywhere in Indonesia. On Sumbawa, rental bikes tend to be more expensive (around 75.000 Rupiah per day), so if you’re on a tight budget, get one on Bali (around 35.000) or Lombok (usually around 50.000) and take it across with the ferry.

The Indonesian Rupiah: Money with Character & a lot of Zeros

By: Ed Caffin

Indonesian money surely isn’t the most practical. Most people carry many notes around in their wallets, because even for the smallest purchase, you’ll need thousands of rupiahs. It gets worse when you have to pay large sums of cash, and all those zeros start to make you dizzy. Also, well-used notes, like the 1,000 rupiah one, can look so much abused that I sometimes hesitate to pay with them. On the other hand, rupiah banknotes are, unlike those of most other countries, quite beautiful and interesting to look at. The Indonesian rupiah truly is money with character. Here are some facts and figures.

Why are rupiahs called rupiahs? The name rupiah comes from the Sanskrit word for wrought silver, rupya. The name was first used to denote a coin introduced by a 16th century ruler in Northern India. The coin obviously was silver based. From there, rupee or rupiah became a common name for the monetary unit in many countries along the Indian ocean, like India, Pakistan, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. And the name also made it to Indonesia.

Five Things to Love about Kaki Lima

By: Ed Caffin

Not everybody loves them. The Indonesian mobile food-cart, the kaki lima has an infamous reputation. Most people find them annoying and claim they cause even more chaos in the already busy city streets. Others even find them an eyesore. Only some, like me, admire their charm, the way they are built and the way they are skilfully manoeuvred through busy traffic or a swampy rice field. Here are five things to love about Indonesia’s famous Five-Feeters.

The first thing, of course, is it’s name. Kaki lima means five feet, due to the fact that originally these carts all had five legs. That is: two wheels plus back stand plus the two legs of the guy that is pushing it. How could you not love something with a name like that?

Design on Bali: Less is More

By: Ed Caffin, first published on Jakarta Expat

Keeping up with the latest contemporary trends, architectural design on Bali is of course all about minimalism. Or at least, that’s what everybody building a new villa on Bali seems to talk about. Because less is more, you know? Modern minimalist architecture may be trendy, but how does that combine with the architectural traditions known to the island? I discussed these and other questions with one of Bali’s young and emerging architects: Made Dharmendra.

Melasti day. Ceremonial processions block the streets as I am on my way to meet Made in his Denpasar office. Today the annual washing of the temple implements takes place, just a few days before the biggest day of the year on Bali, Nyepi Day, the holy day of silence. I am happy to see that beautiful Balinese traditions, like this one, are very much alive. And so are mine I’m afraid: I will be fashionably late for my appointment.

Ternate: Snacks, Drinks and Karaoke

By: Ed Caffin

Ternate, the small but busy island-capital of the North Moluccas, is not a place many travelers linger around for too long. Its remote location and conservative character have built its reputation as a dull city. I explored the island for a few days, and although it might indeed not fit all travelers, I soon discovered that there are a lot of nice things to see and do in Ternate. And, by no means a rock ‘n roll party-town, nightlife can be fun too. There are more than a dozen places to have good food ánd a good time - at least, if you like Karaoke.

Around noon, men with praying-carpets over their shoulders walk toward the new big mosque in the centre of town that watches over the Sultan’s city. Muezzins on the dozen or so minarets nearby take turns in singing,― some beautifully and some less so – their fellow believers to prayer. For those that might have missed it all, signs on major roads make sure all muslims do their duty: ‘Go and pray! Don’t be too late…’

Visiting Komodo National Park: into Dragon’s domain

By: Ed Caffin

The marvellous Komodo National Park is arguably one of the most interesting places to visit in Indonesia. Located on the edge of the Lesser Sunda islands, it consists of a number of phenomenal islands, surrounded by clearblue coral seas, abundant with marine life. But above all, the park is home to a truly remarkable creature, the Komodo dragon, worlds largest lizard. Spending a few days in the heart of dragon’s territory will prove to be unforgettable.

Komodo National Park comprises more than 1700 square kilometers and was established in 1980 in order to conserve the Komodo dragon. Currently there are still around 5000 of them, divided into smaller populations on Komodo, Rinca and two other islands in the park, and a small coastal strip on Flores. The national park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 and over the years it has been dedicated to protect the habitat of other land and marine species too.

Beautiful Lombok and its rapid transformation

By: Ed Caffin

Lombok, nestled between Bali and Sumbawa, is a stunningly beautiful island. It consists of green mountains and highlands, lush and fertile lowlands and countless pristine beaches. Dubbed “the unspoiled Bali” by many travelers, development Lombok’s tourism industry over the past few years has been dazzling. With the new international airport recently opened and numerous new hotels, Lombok seems ready to become Indonesia’s next top tourist destination. I headed out there to check it out.

On my first trip to Lombok, some five years ago, the island certainly seemed unspoiled. At least to a large extent. Apart from the west coast, large scale tourism could not be found. Lombok’s interior, dotted by small villages and rice fields, was reminiscent of what Bali would have looked like 20 years ago. Although hardly comparable in culture and heritage, Lombok could indeed rival its neighbor’s beauty. But it didn’t have the crowds. As I found out on this trip, it’s quite a different story now.

Timor Leste: a Country Colonized and Neglected

By: Ed Caffin

This year, South East Asia’s youngest state celebrated its tenth anniversary. The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste was colonized for centuries, gained independence and was occupied again, only to (re)claim its sovereignty at the start of the century. The road to independence was paved by hardship and struggle. And for many years, the West turned a blind eye.

Although East Timor was a Portuguese colony for centuries, only a few ports and cities, like Dili, were effectively controlled by the Portuguese. There was minimal investment in healthcare, infrastructure and education. There were weak ties with the other half of the island, Indonesian West Timor.

When revolution ended fascist rule in Portugal in 1974, all Portuguese colonies immediately gained independence. But, right after independence was declared, East Timor was occupied again. Suharto-ruled Indonesia invaded the eastern half of Timor Island aiming to incorporate it as the 27th province of the republic. Timorese resistance was met with violent force.

Yoga in Bali: Where to go?

By: Ed Caffin

Ohm… Bali has something for everyone. As a holiday destination the island offers all you wish for: beaches, good weather and an endless variety of restaurants and activities. Whether you want to shop, surf or party till you drop, Bali has it all. Among the millions of holiday-makers, the island attracts an ever growing number of yoga practitioners. Especially since the bestseller book and subsequent blockbuster movie Eat, Pray, Love, going on a meditation and yoga retreat on Bali seems the thing to do. But where to go?

It’s safe to say that Bali has grown into Asia’s center for yoga. This is partly due to fact that the practice of yoga is part of Balinese Hindu religion. Balinese style yoga classes, focusing mainly on spiritual energy, can be found all over the island, but most centers adopt a more physically oriented western style of Hatha or Ashtanga yoga. Good studio’s can be found all over the island, most of them however are situated in the Kuta-Denpasar area and around Ubud.

Bali sets the stage for ASEAN

By: Ed Caffin

From November 19-21, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will have it’s 19th summit. In several meetings on Bali, the ten memberstates and 5 gueststates discuss the regions economic and cultural issues. As the chair of ASEAN in 2011, Indonesia also hosted a summit last May in Jakarta. Now, for the third time in ASEAN-history, Bali sets the stage for a giant logistic operation.

It isn’t easy to organize a summit with 15 heads of state. Especially not when the president of the United States is one of them. Logistic material required for president Obama’s vist only, required no less than 40 U.S. government flights (!) arriving on Ngurah Rai international airport this week. With the arrival of these planes and these of other heads of state, delays of commercial flights are expected.