Cross-Cultural Couples: Edward and Chi

By: Diana van Oort

Our family of mixed couples is growing bigger and bigger. The Latitudes Cross-Cultural Couples series is a testament to the intermingling of cultures that makes this world a more interesting and colorful place. Are you a mixed couple and would you like to be featured on Latitudes? Do you have an extraordinary tale of love that surpasses cultural boundaries and geographical borders? Then e-mail us at info@latitudes.nu!

This time we meet El Salvadorian Edward and Vietnamese who live in Saigon, Vietnam. During the interview the couple constantly comment on and complete each other’s sentences. They seem very much in tune with one another, like they have known each other for decades, but still maintain their own characters and quirks. After studying together in Switzerland, they now run a restaurant. It’s a nice place with good food. This is their story.

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 ABC OF BANDUNG: Aroma Coffee, Batagor & Ciwalk!

By: Andri Suryo

Get ready to explore one of Indonesia’s most bustling cities: Bandung! Bandung is the capital city of west Java, the Indonesian answer to Paris or as we like to call it ‘Parijs Van Java!’

Bandung is not the most tourist friendly city out there, as public transport is hard to figure out and information and facilities are haphazard to say the least. Yet, there is plenty to explore. If you're in Bandung for just a day, nothing beats these fundamental principles of Bandung, THE ABC OF BANDUNG!

The Raid: Redemption

By: Andrew Trigg, first published on Jakarta Expat

The Raid: Redemption is an Indonesian film like no other. It’s a wildly exciting adrenaline rush of a punch fest that recently reached number 11 at the U.S. box office, a phenomenal achievement for an Indonesian film. It has electrified Indonesian audiences and injected new energy into the national film scene, standing head and shoulders above a recent slew of well made, internationally acclaimed releases. Sony Classics has snapped up the rights and an American remake is already in the works.

So what is the secret of The Raid’s remarkable success?

Not Just Another Ugly Duckling Story

By: Labodalih Sembiring

To all young girls out there, imagine yourself constantly likened to Olive, the cartoon fictional character Popeye’s love interest, because you are taller than any of your friends and they think you are too lanky. And imagine having to hear a derogatory term thrown your way each day because your mother is Chinese and you inherit her strong jaws and slanted eyes. You are beautiful. But many seem to disagree, including yourself.

Headshot: a Buddhist Crime-Noir?

By: Ari Ernesto Purnama

A Review of Headshot (Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, 2011) at CinemAsia Film Festival, De Balie 4-8 April, Amsterdam

Last Saturday at the CinemAsia film festival (De Balie, Amsterdam) was the premiere of Headshot, the latest film made by the internationally reputed Thai filmmaker Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. Ever since the trailer came out, I have anticipated the day of watching this first attempt at crime drama by Ratanaruang firsthand. So, here is my take on the film.

Headshot, an Action Flick Made Difficult?

Headshot entails the story of a cop turned a hitman turned a Buddhist monk turned a hitman again, but this is not all. There’s so much more to it than one could expect from a crime thriller. Tul, a plain clothed police officer in a big city somewhere in Thailand is framed by a crooked politician, because he refuses to compromise by not giving up the case that involves a high ranking government official. From there the turbulent rollercoaster ride of chase and run begins.

Childhood Memories Preserved in Pandes

By: Labodalih Sembiring

In the 80s, in towns and cities across Indonesia, the most modern toys a kid could find were arcade game machines and battery-powered, remote-controlled robots, cars, or planes. It was a daily sight, however, that outside their schools during a break, these children would gather around vendors selling plastic robots, cars, and planes, as well as marbles and trading cards.

In the rural areas, most kids were content playing with cars made out of banana trees, bamboos, or tins, or wayang figures cut out of cardboard paper. Today, with Playstation rentals opening even in small villages, simple, handmade toys are a rarity. But not in Pandes Hamlet, Panggungharjo Village, Sewon Subdistrict, Bantul, just south of Yogyakarta City.

Filipino Magic: Illusionist Kent Oliver Estrada

By: Jesse Boga

Illusionist and proud Davaoeño Kent Oliver Estrada has a lot of tricks even if he’s not wearing sleeves. In fact, shape shifting may be one of his fortes.

Here’s why: before he journeyed into the world of magic, he grew up in Davao City, Philippines and spent his high school days in Holy Cross of Davao. He studied radiology technology in Davao Doctor’s College and passed the board. He was then a radiology technologist in the day, and an aspiring magician in his spare time, practicing close up magic and constantly drawing inspiration from the card tricks he learned from his uncle in his childhood.

The Magic of the Mobile Phone

By: Sita van Bemmelen

There is no doubt about it: the mobile phone has conquered the world. Even in remote and poor villages on the island of Bali, people have succumbed to its magic. The first group of buyers in the 1990s consisted of the wealthy, when the mobile phone was still expensive. But in the last couple of years, the young have come under the spell of the modern device. Teenagers came first, but today children of pre-school and primary school age walk around with a ‘hp’, short for hand phone, as well.

The seven-year-old son of my domestic help has a hp as well as his older sister. It is not a fancy one, equipped with the latest applications, but at least they can pride themselves in owning one and therefore do not have to feel inferior to their classmates. For their parents, the expense has been considerable. With a joint income of around 200 dollar a month, twenty dollars for a mobile phone was a financial sacrifice.

Run, Scott, Run!

By Angela Richardson, first published in Jakarta Expat

1,250 kilometres in 25 days, from Bali to Jakarta, running through the sweltering 32 degree Equatorial heat and 75% humidity, dodging trans-Java buses, trucks and breathing in masses of carbon monoxide – does this sound like your worst nightmare? Just in case it didn’t compute the first time, that’s an average of 50 km a day, every day for 25 days, which is the equivalent of 30 back-to-back marathons. Are your legs starting to feel like jelly yet? Surely only a super human could accomplish such a feat.

Enter Scott Thompson. A blue-eyed Scotsman with a huge mission to accomplish this New Year. “I was looking for something extreme, larger than anything I’d ever done before,” Scott tells me. “I did the Sahara Ultra Marathon which was 250 km through the Sahara desert and thought about maybe trying the Yukon Arctic Ultra Marathon. I called several hotels in Jakarta to ask if they have freezers with available space to put a treadmill inside, but the response wasn’t so great...” Then the hundred dollar bet for a Bali to Jakarta run was presented to Scott in the office and from there his mind has been set.