Minecrafting for Beginners

“Help me! Help me! I’m being chased by a creeper! Where are you guys?? Oh, nooo…! I’m dead!!” Relax, parents… Your child is in no harm. They’re only playing Minecraft. Yes. Minecraft. A worldwide phenomenon which started a few years ago and have since created a storm amongst the young ones and parents alike. Intrigued by its huge success, we invited our young readers to share their views on Minecraft. Here’s what they have to say.

Readmore

A Sumptuous Resolution

How are your New Year’s resolutions going? Yes, remember them? Well, dear readers, I have kept one resolution so resolutely that even now in the merry month of May I can look myself in the mirror and say, “Keep it going, bro.” My resolution this year was to enjoy more of Jakarta’s sumptuous Sunday brunches. My other resolution was to use the word sumptuous more often, especially in connection with Sunday brunches; sumptuous Sunday brunches.

Readmore

AUSTRIA IN INDONESIA

It is not possible to think of Austria without imagining mountains and high pastures, you may even slip into singing “The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music”. This is the image in many minds.

Then we think of music: Strauss, Hayden and Lizt, the State Opera. Then we move on to the Vienna Coffee Houses, the marvellous architecture, old and new, the art and culture. Austria is so many things.

Austria is a small, landlocked country in Europe but its influence is worldwide. It doesn’t create consumer brands, but essential technology.

It’s a high-tech, balanced, cultural country you will enjoy getting to know. Read on and discover a little more about a fascinating country.

Readmore

Standout Kids’ Clothing

Parents, occasionally (or sometimes frequently) like to dress their kids in unique, stylish clothing, they want to make their little ones stand out in a crowd and enjoy the warm feeling of pride and satisfaction when people compliment them. In this article, you will discover places where you can buy standout apparel that will steal the show. The choice is yours, whether you seek eccentric head-turner items, elegant but expensive little dresses from a renowned French designer, or pocket-friendly, attention-grabbing personalized t-shirts in bold colors complete with humorous or serious quotes (such as, “My Dad says, “You can’t buy love, but you pay heavily for it!”).

Readmore

Jakarta Schools Football League Completes 8th Season of Success

The much coveted Jakarta Schools Football League (JSFA) has just concluded its 8th successful season of kid’s football with some 850 matches played since the kick-off on January 12th. With 3,500 participants drawn from 64 schools, the Jakarta Schools League surely ranks of one of the major schools football events of the world.

Readmore

Learning Art With A Spirit of Exploration

More and more people place their children in art classes nowadays. Unfortunately, many of them do it for the wrong reason: so that their kids can win art competitions. As a result, the artists’ cooperative studios (“sanggar”) offer art classes that give kids a better chance at winning the competitions, by instructing the children to approach art with certain infallible formulas such as the use of bold stroke and bright contrasting colors.

Readmore

GJIS Celebrate Chinese New Year with Their School Family

“A child needs as much guidance as possible from their family to learn and grow, as much as they need from their school,” This year, Global Jaya International School chose the theme of ‘family’ for their Chinese New Year celebrations.

Readmore

Hotel Majapahit Surabaya

I’m an absolute fan of historical/cultural hotels, and for me one of the most genuine restorations done in Asia was the 1993 renovation of the old Lucas Martin Sarkies Hotel in Surabaya. It is really true not only to the style of the original but also the spirit. It is grand, comfortable, imposing but still friendly, stylish and delightful. Many people think the benchmark for the Asian “colonial” hotel is Raffles in Singapore (also a “Sarkies” Hotel) but it has been so extensively altered, modified and adapted that it bears no relation to the original. I know, because I went there many times before its alteration! 

Readmore

Travel Diaries May 2013

Last month I finally got to sit at Sultan Agung’s feet — albeit 400 years too late.
Sultan Agung, the Mataram dynasty’s greatest ruler — who united nearly all of Java and actively resisted Dutch encroachment throughout his reign and twice besieged Batavia — built the royal tombs at Imogiri in 1635. The magnificent complex — once a terraced sanctuary for the worship of ancestor spirits in ancient times — sits on top of a hill at Imogiri, 25 kilometres south of Jogjakarta. The tombs are closed to the public on most days and photography is strictly prohibited inside when the terraces are open; I had fortunately invited an artist friend, Peter Kingston, from Sydney, Australia who captured, exquisitely, the atmosphere of devout tahlilan Muslim prayers (see drawing opposite).

Readmore

HE JOAQUIM ALBERTO DE SOUSA MOREIRA DE LEMOS

HE JOAQUIM ALBERTO DE SOUSA MOREIRA DE LEMOS
AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY OF PORTUGAL TO THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

Readmore