The Journal

Editor’s Note: For readers unfamiliar with traditional Indonesian bathrooms, many homes and guesthouses once featured a bak mandi—a large water storage container used for bathing...

Editor’s Note: This article reflects one expatriate’s humorous observations of Jakarta during an earlier period of Indonesia’s development. While some scenes and experiences described have...

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Aida Greenbury and was originally published in The Jakarta Post in the early 2000s. It reflects the author’s...

Editor’s Note: Humor often provides a window into how we think about ourselves, and this light-hearted essay explores society’s obsession with youth, beauty, and growing...

Editor’s Note: This article is a humorous personal story written by Adrian Parke and reflects his own experiences and observations. Anyone living outside their own...

Editor’s Note: This article was originally written during the late 1990s/early 2000s, when Jakarta’s traffic conditions, policing practices, and road culture were significantly different from...

Do you know that drunk drivers in San Salvador can be punished by death before a firing squad? Anyway, when I was little, probably six...

Editor’s Note: This humorous essay by Aida Greenbury was originally written in the early 2000s and first published in The Jakarta Post. While some references...

Editor’s Note: This article reflects the author’s personal observations and opinions at the time it was written. References to gender roles, social class, and expatriate...

Editor’s Note: This humorous story by Ida Greenbury reflects her personal experiences flying within Indonesia more than two decades ago. Since then, Indonesia’s aviation industry...

Editor’s Note: This article is a personal story and opinion piece written by Mark W. Medley. It reflects the author’s observations and experiences of Jakarta’s...

Editor’s Note: Anyone who has ever learned a new language knows that mistakes are an inevitable part of the process. The good news is that...

Editor’s Note: This story reflects the personal experiences and opinions of the author. Belief in ghosts, spirits, and the supernatural remains an important part of...

I think homo sapiens are mostly composed of tiny molecules called greed. Greed seems to be the motivation behind the effort exerted by mankind to...

Have you ever heard comments or read reviews written by oh-so-mighty food critics about the cuisine in traditional Indonesian eating establishments, known as warung? Aside...

Editor’s Note: This article was first published in The Jakarta Post and reflects Aida Greenbury’s personal travel experiences and observations from many years ago. Since...

Living in this depressing, almost mental society exacerbated by daily pollution contributed by hoards of rust- infested buses nowadays is a huge challenge. That thick...

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece was first published in The Jakarta Post during a period when public debate about language, national identity and the increasing...

Editor’s Note: This humorous essay by Aida Greenbury reflects one woman’s observations and experiences with pregnancy in Indonesia at the time it was written. Some...