Opinion
Can’t be Bothered to go to Work? Here’s why.
I don’t know about you but I honestly believe that governments are elected – and paid – to look after their citizens, exercising their judgment as to the right path of course, but basically looking at the essential elements in the lives of their people and saying: “right we’ve got to fix this or make

Celebrating Imlek, Embracing Identity
It’s not that many years ago that anything even vaguely Chinese was absolutely forbidden in Indonesia, even though for literally hundreds of years there has been a strong presence of ethnic Chinese people here. There was no visible Chinese language anywhere public or published, and certainly celebrations were not allowed in public places. Even the

Rebound and Revival, but no Rethink or Redesign.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but life in Jakarta has rebounded to pre-covid levels, and perhaps more. Cafes and restaurants are busy, with the tables quite often full of laptops and notepads, as people take their negotiations to their favourite coffee shops. And there are more and more of them: PIM III is bursting

Unpacking the Controversial New Criminal Code
This is a rather more serious article than we normally publish but since it is focused on correcting (we trust) the waves of misinformation spreading around the implementation of the new Criminal Code, we thought it would be useful to read some background information that purports to clarify. We hope it does, and it is

Gift, Hampers and a Taste of Swiss Diversity
We at NOW! Jakarta have been the very lucky recipient of a lot of gifts and hampers from our partner hotels and restaurants over the last few weeks, for which we are very grateful. And we have to say the standard of preparation and presentation seems to be higher than ever before. Notable for their

Is Travel ‘Necessary’ Amidst Increasing Climate Change?
One hundred and fifty years ago, in the late 1870’s there were no cars, few trains and definitely no airplanes. People travelled locally by coach and horse, or on horseback, or by that much forgotten method: walking. Can you imagine a world that essentially lived within its village, town or city limits, only venturing forth

Getting to Know Your Neighbours
There used to be a really popular Australian TV program called “Neighbours” which followed the lives of a particular set of (beautiful, dramatic, emotional, successful and the opposite) people who knew each other very well and lived in each others’ pockets, well, beds too as I recall! But perhaps you don’t know that here in Indonesia there

Getting to Know Your Neighbours
There used to be a really popular Australian TV program called “Neighbours” which followed the lives of a particular set of (beautiful, dramatic, emotional, successful and the opposite) people who knew each other very well and lived in each others’ pockets, well, beds too as I recall! But perhaps you don’t know that here in Indonesia there

Is Jakarta a ‘Smart City’?
The European Smart City working group, comprised of researchers from Vienna and Delft, has systematically operationalized the smart city concept along six themes: smart governance, smart people, smart economy, smart mobility, smart environment, and smart living. It may be hard to see when looking at it from above through the smog, on the streets with

More Good Ideas We Need To Adopt And Adapt!
Last month I wrote an extensive piece on the great ideas coming out of tiny Palau: The Palau Pledge and the “Ol’au Palau”program which is described as: “The first tourism initiative that unlocks new experiences and places through sustainable action.” In this article I urged the Indonesia tourism authorities, either national in the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy

Mother Earth’s Balancing Act: A Frivolous Tale of Serious Proportions
I don’t know where I first saw this but it is a really fun way of looking at the sad state we have got ourselves into as a planet. I would love to credit someone for this great little story, but I can’t remember where I got it! I might even have written it myself! Mother

It Won’t Happen To Us!
“Are we nearing the end of the pandemic? I certainly hope so, but are we prepared for the next crisis? I can pretty much guarantee that when the masks come off and the social distancing stops, the whole country will relax and say ‘whew’ and forget the whole thing”. “But with my background in insurance

Redesigning Indonesia’s Tourist Villages: Necessary or Not?
A tourist village or rural tourism is a way to improve the tourism sector as well as to apply a sustainability community-based tourism development. It is also an effort to conserve both the environment and nature as well as the people’s culture and empower the potential of local culture and local wisdom values that tend