When I first arrived in Jakarta I was completely unprepared. I knew Jakarta was an enormous city, but I had no idea just how difficult it would be to navigate the ins and outs of this city. And being a woman made living and traveling around Jakarta especially intimidating. I might live here with my boyfriend but…
I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and I think I did this whole moving abroad thing totally wrong. Well, maybe not totally wrong but I’ve made mistakes…a lot of mistakes. I’m the first to admit that I wasn’t entirely prepared to move abroad. Yes, I had 10 years of travel under my belt. Yes, I’d…
(UPDATE: As of May 2019, tourism is booming on Nusa Penida. I just want all of you travelers out there to know that the off-the-beaten-path destination described here has changed a lot since my visit. That being said, I still love Nusa Penida and definitely recommend visiting. Happy travels!) I’ve said this before but I’m…
I can’t say that Bali is my favorite destination in the world, but it’s slowly growing on me. I’ve been lucky enough to visit the island five times over the past 18 months and during each trip I have managed to find a new facet of Bali that makes me love this little tropical island more and more….
I’ve been traveling the world on and off for 10 years, but before I moved to Jakarta I’d never actually lived outside of California before. Clearly living abroad is way different than traveling. Having the chance to live in Jakarta has enabled me to fully immerse myself in the culture and get up close and personal with…
UPDATE (May 7, 2017): I’ve been hearing from some readers that Pasar Santa has all but shut down. Because I no longer live in Jakarta, I’m not exactly sure what the status of Pasar Santa’s businesses is. It looks like some are still open, but it sounds like a lot of them have been forced to…
Before I moved to Jakarta, I was really worried that being a vegetarian in Indonesia was going to be really frustrating. I had already spent two months traveling the length of Java and Bali, subsisting on a steady diet of nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice), which got really old, really fast. Back then it appeared that the concept…
When I first found out I’d be moving to Indonesia all I could think about was how much traveling I’d be doing here. I had grand plans to visit as many of Indonesia’s otherworldly destinations as humanly possible. Fast forward nine months and I’ve done a pathetically small amount of traveling within Indonesia. Because I have…
There are many things that keep luring me back to Southeast Asia. The food, the temples and the culture all play significant roles but, for me, the beaches are a huge part of the draw. It’s true that Southeast Asia is home to some of the world’s best beaches (and best islands!). But contrary to what…
I’ve never been an apartment person. I lived in a studio apartment once, during my college days at UC Santa Cruz. The walls were so wafer thin and I remember being able to hear the girl next door binge watching episodes of Sex and the City. I can distinctly remember the theme song penetrating the walls. Ever…