Berastagi

Missionaries impaled on Batak spears.

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March 29th 2007
"Hi, my name is Stuart. I am from England." I found myself in front of yet another group of high school kids introducing myself. I had been recruited yet again by a local teacher in order to give her students practice in speaking English with a native speaker. It's one of the few dangers of a visit to Sumatra. It's quite a high risk, because the local tourism industry is almost dead. The ho ... read more

Asia » Indonesia » Sumatra

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The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hos... ... read more