Oh Calcutta

Snatches of Calcutta; the Oberoi’s Chauffeur, a Sikh in Sudder St, an explanation of Hijab in the Muslim quarter.

Last night in Asia

Our time was up, our plane was leaving for Darwin that evening, it has been an incredible year full of delights and surprises. Did Asia hold one last tiny surprise for us ? You bet your sweet bootie it did. We had treated ourselves to a few days at a resort in Ubud, very luxurious, […]

Guns and Roses ? No. Gongs and Marigolds. Yes !

For many centuries the Prias and Wanitas of Bali loved nothing more than to stand about in their lovely gardens at home, the Wanitas artfully balancing enormous floral displays on their heads, the Prias enthusiastically banging drums and gongs and generally making a hell of a racket. What could be more fun ? Well, nothing, […]

The Luwak is a very smart enema, evidently.

Always edumacational we present the story of the Luwak, the coffee bean ingesting, fermenting and ultimately expelling furry critter of Indonesia. “After eat he’s boom” ! The Coffee was actually pretty darn good, rich, round and delicious despite the drama of its journey. The Luwak (or Paradoxus) itself, has a pretty intense look about it, […]

Bali Art

Its not exactly my cup of arak though there is something to it. Also, alas, there’s no getting around the fact that the island was absolutely chockers with artist/kiddy fiddlers for many decades. Did they have some sort of network that passed the word around about Bali ? The two first works below are […]

Ubud the Passing Parade and Pets in Pokie

Hopeful 90,000 ? Reasonable 70,000 ? How About 50,000 ? Another sale lost as two tourists mysteriously decide not to invest in wooden interlocked dangling monkeys. Meanwhile, poochies in pokie ? Hounds in the hoosegow ? Dogs in detention ? Puppies in prison ? Dingos in vile durance ? Coyotes in the […]

Rice Paddies and Drag Queens

Ubud Sunrise – Kuta Sunset Cock a Doodle Don’t, or Cop a Doodle Do.

Kuta…the Curate’s Egg

Kuta, Perth’s northernmost suburb, has been a happy playground for Aussies this last half century gone. It started to go off full tilt about the time the Americans landed on the Moon. Now the Jews have crashed onto the Moon and the Chinese are up to something inscrutable on the dark side and still the […]

Balinese Bods, Odds and Sods.

Some sensible and practical advice (based on sound reasoning, close observation and awful rhyming.)

The Ubudese live a life of ease you rarely see their Bali knees Soloans sweet as honey bees but ditto with their Java Knees Folks are playful, kind and squeezy, (Particularly those in Sulawesi). Frank Sumatrans do it their way Orangutans have awful hair days. But my fellow pale faced friends If fearful that your […]