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Unearthing Papua
Baliem Valley and the Dani tribe waited a long time to be discovered. Papuan highland belongs to one the most recently explored New Guinea areas. The tall mountains in west Papua (Irian Jaya) were generally considered as uninhabited. No sooner than 1398 did the pilot Richard Archbold notice that there was something special about the [...]
Bringing back past glories
I must admit, I was a bit taken aback to find that a “cigarette museum” was on the list of places my guide wanted to show me in Surabaya. I’m not a smoker and I don’t like being around it, but the guide assured me I would like the museum so I went along for [...]
World’s Most-Loved Ship
I read in newspaper about Dewaruci’s adventure in Europe recently, I was deeply touched by the fact that Dewaruci ship has became legend not only in Indonesia, but also elsewhere in the world. In Amsterdam, many people were crying when the ship (with young Indonesian navy cadets on-board) leaving Amsterdam port, many event tried to stop [...]
The Bugis Landed There First
Long before European colonialists extended their influence into Australia, the Makasar, the Bajau, and the Bugis built elegant, ocean-going schooners in which they plied the trade routes. Intrepid and doughty, they traveled as far east as the Aru Islands, off New Guinea, where they traded in the skins of birds of paradise and medicinal masoya [...]
The Happy Prosperous Restaurant of the Golden Arch
Crispy McChickenFor all the new readers, you can get the background on why I’m writing about McDonald’s here.McDonald’s Taiwan is the first McDonald’s I’ve experienced since New Zealand to have a completely unique item on the menu: the rice b…
Zai Jian Taiwan
Longshan TempleMy stay here was about a week longer than I expected, but I’m booked to leave here tomorrow and arrive in Okinawa. I’ll be there for three days then I fly to Kagoshima in southern Japan. I got my Japan Rail pass so I’ll be able to …
National Day
The flag of the Republic of ChinaI am a member of Couchsurfing.com. While I have used it to get information, I have never used it to actually stay at someone’s house or to meet someone. The first person I’ve met on from Couchsurfing was Ruby, who a…
Last Thoughts on Taiwan
Street view of Taipei 101I’ve had this sitting in an unfinished draft on my computer for several weeks now. I figure I should get it up and out before I get any farther in Asia. I don’t want to get more than one country behind or I start to forget …
BONDAN & F2B : We can be GLORIOUS in ONE
I was stunned by the video clip of a young people in a group called themselves Bondan & Fade 2 Black, singing a song tittled U.N.I.T.Y attractively. I am no longer young, but seeing them in that video clips , or live on TVs really brought back my beautiful memories of my younger era. It [...]
Indonesians Living In The Sky
Indonesian Province of Papua is the west-half of the largest tropical island in the world, which can be found on a world map above Australia and just below the equator. The indigenous population are tribal people, often known as ‘Papuans’ means “frizzy haired”. They are related to the Australian Aborigines and speak as many as [...]
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