Indonesia – Flung

When They Build It, But No One Comes

Sarah Stodola — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 18:16:07 +0000

On our second day on Nias, the Bali-sized island off the western coast of Sumatra, in Indonesia, my boyfriend and I took a long walk down the shore toward the spot where the bay meets the ocean, and then beyond it, just to see what we’d find. We’d chosen Nias for a few days of vacation after some time spent working in Singapore initially because it seemed like a convenient option, geographically speaking. It wasn’t. What might have been an […]

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In Search of a Decent Cup of Coffee in Sumatra

Sarah Stodola — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 19:26:47 +0000

Before I started researching a trip there last summer, the only thing I knew about Sumatra was that it produced a lot of coffee, or so I assumed after a thousand visits to third-wave coffee shops back home in Brooklyn and also Starbucks. As I poked around the internet, I learned that this Indonesian island just across the Straight of Malacca from Singapore is also a place of staggering beauty. This fact, plus its proximity to Singapore, where my fella […]

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The Swimming Holes that Were Worth the Trek

Sarah Stodola — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 20:08:29 +0000

There are pursuits in life that work better in the abstract. I’m thinking here of things like “sleeping under the stars” and “IKEA hacks.” The things that seem like a great idea until you try them. Hold that thought while I tell you that I am easily taken by the notion of a good swimming hole. There’s a primal satisfaction to be derived from best ones—full as they are of cool freshwater in places more typically full of heat and saltwater. […]

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Write, Love, Leave: A Romance of Survival

Diane Lee — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 11:20:04 +0000

We were the same age, she and I, but for a year. I’m 52. She told me she was 51. I had passed her warung, a hundred meters or so from the family compound just outside of Ubud where I was staying, looking for somewhere to eat. She had waved to me, calling out a cheery hello as I strolled past, and I was struck by how like a restaurant her warung looked. It was small, but stylish. Decorated with […]

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