Makati has its own circadian cycle. The life in the city is lit up by the white collars marching to their offices and dimmed when the office hours is over. Around 400,000 people are estimated dwelling the city. The number is boosted on weekdays to become one million due to the incoming workers from the surrounding Manila. Continue reading The capsule city Makati
Sunda Kelapa Port is still functioning as it had been since seven hundred years ago. It now accommodates only the wooden Phinisi ships, due to the relocation of the main harbor to Tanjung Priok, which was built in 19th century to keep up with the Suez Canal-induced maritime trade increase. Continue reading The old port
Centralistic government of the past and its marked downfall in 1999 has given rise to a system overhaul that offers autonomy rights across the vast archipelago of Indonesia. Years later, some said in apprehension that we may not be ready yet for such dramatic changes. Continue reading Westward desolation
While visiting Yogyakarta, a prominent cultural city in Indonesia, Candi Ratu Baka offers an alternative ancient site besides the already a global name Candi Prambanan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, two kilometers apart. Continue reading Highlander’s palace of Central Java
With the total area of 60 square kilometers, Hoi An has plenty distinct Chinese architecture with low tile-roofed houses and narrow streets, some of the first built ones remained almost intact. Continue reading A tale of the past
Chinese chess is particularly attention-grabbing in Hoi An. Two old men in their old-fashioned pajamas sitting face to face on the sidewalk played in silence. Passersby would stop to watch them. Some even stayed until the game is over. Continue reading The old man in pajamas and a bowl of magic
There are cases when highways are laid out at the expense of existing frail connections of particular areas. Prof. Dr. Ir. Sedyatmo toll road which connects Jakarta and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, for instance, separated the vast and living space in Cengkareng. The solution was building crossing bridges available to transport people and goods on motorcycles. Continue reading What lies beneath the highway
The morning sea view from the highest deck of Italian mega ship Costa Atlantica cruising the Strait of Malacca graced the cover of the fourth international edition of think archipelago magazine, November 2014. Continue reading Morning cruise in the Strait of Malacca
Costa Atlantica picked Singapore as the port of origin in one of its cruise line maiden journeys in Southeast Asia. In the late evening that does not differ much in temperature than in daylight, it set sail to two cities along the Strait of Malacca—the city of Malacca and Penang—and ended its journey in Phuket Island. Continue reading Night at the cruise ship
Cinema la strada was the cover story of the fourth edition of think archipelago magazine, released in November 2013. It depicted the daily accounts of many activities by the people who make ends meet in Jatinegara, one of the earliest markets in Jakarta built more than a century ago. Cinema la strada photoessay was deliberately taken at dusk to present a different perspective. Continue reading Cinema la strada
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