Blogs from Cengkareng, Jakarta, Java, Indonesia, Asia - page 2

Well it's been a long time since I last posted anything on this website and for good reasons. It's been a long since odd months since I last left the UK and during this time I've undergone a couple of massive changes. Firstly, I am no longer doing an MSc in Evolutionary Biology and I am now an English Teacher in Jakarta Indonesia. Pretty drastic huh? Jakarta has been described to me as a city which is difficult to love and I can totally see why. It's a massive contridiction in terms of Muslim values and Western institutions, it just doesn't make sense. Yet despite the smog, high buildings, poverty and unpredictable weather, it is a place I can feel myself falling in love with. The tree which grow almost everywhere help you forget that you're ... read more

Having spent a week on the beautiful island of Gili Trawangan we really started to settle into the slow and easy lifestyle. Wake up each morning to the sounds of relentless cockerels and men chanting over loudspeaker from the mosque, then enjoy pancakes and fruit salad for brekkie before taking a walk around the island - we figured since we were beach bumming around we should at least do some exercise! After this a lazy lunch on the beach with a few hours soaking in some rays with the odd dip in the crystal clear sea before eating again and watching a film along the beachfront (we even found one 'cinema' that was literally a huge projector on the beach with sunbeds so you could watch a film under the stars). We had considered doing a ... read more