Category: Indonesia
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Underwater shots from Indonesia
Last year (October 2016) I was lucky enough to do a wonderful wildlife cruise in Indonesia, from Bali to Flores, on a small ship called MV Mermaid I (1). These ships are usually used as dive boats, but this trip was devoted to looking out for dolphins, whales and birds – which I described in my…
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Travelling with a Mermaid
I recently had the pleasure of cruising from Bali to Flores – via the Komodo National Park – aboard the very well-appointed little ship, Mermaid I (1). This liveaboard dive vessel is usually chartered by divers to explore the water of Komodo and Raja Ampat in Indonesia, but our trip had a different mission: we…
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Wandering after Wallace: Gede-Pangrango National Park
I have to confess at the outset that, unlike Alfred Russel Wallace, I did not manage to reach the top of this imposing mountain! Although the upper section of the mountain was closed and off-limits in August 2015 – something to do with a national holiday – I could have got higher if my knees…
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Wandering after Wallace: Cibodas Botanical Gardens
Alfred Russel Wallace – the great Victorian naturalist and co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection – described his journeys in West Java in 1861 in his book The Malay Archipelago (1). He travelled from the capital Jakarta, down to the town of Bogor, where he stopped off to look at the Botanical Gardens planted by the Dutch…
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Wandering after Wallace: Bogor Botanical Gardens
Alfred Russel Wallace – co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection – spent three and a half months in Java, from 18th July to 31st Oct 1861 (1). After collecting birds and insects in East Java, he took a steamer from Surabaya to Jakarta, where he stayed about a week. Jakarta did not seem to make…
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Javan faces
I recently traveled to Java (Indonesia) to do some bird watching. I surprised by how friendly the people were. Wherever I went – outside of the capital – people, especially children, were eager to speak to me and have their photo taken. Students liked to ask my name and where I came from. In the…
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Tomohon traditional market
I love visiting traditional markets in the tropics, both to enjoy looking at – and occasionally purchasing – local produce, but also as a an opportunity to take photographs. I am primarily interested in taking photographs which are interesting in terms of colours, as well as (hopefully) in terms of content. I like blocks…
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Boat launch
When I was staying on Bunaken Island, in North Sulawesi, I saw and photographed the launch of a new dive boat. The boat had been build using traditional methods, just above the beach just below Bunaken Island Resort where I was staying. The boat was to be launched using manpower alone, and so people (men!)…
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Pasar Jengki
Jengki market in Manado, North Sulawesi (Indonesia) is a traditional fish and vegetable market located next to the port in this city of about half a million people. It is not the cleanest of sites, with piles of rubbish and rotting vegetable remains, but the people were very friendly, and the produce itself looked…
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