Stephanie Brookes Blog

As published on Indonesia Expat · Bali’s Trash Solution in Action · When it comes to getting a handle on recycling and plastic waste in Bali, then look no further than the Plastic Exchange Program that has been operating in Bali since May 2020. · It is a real inspiration for loca ...

Bali's Sustainable Tourism · Bali opened to domestic tourism on July 31. Supporting sustainable tourism is a way to give back to local communities in Bali and also, it puts you in touch with the local Balinese culture. · Want to get close to the culture? Visit a traditional honey ...

Published Garland Magazine (17 July, 2020) · Stephanie Brookes writes about Pejeng Kangin, a resilient weaving village in Bali outside Ubud, Indonesia, that offers a “pay forward” scheme to buy works that help them survive the lockdown · The weavers of Bali are dusting off their ...

The weavers of Bali are dusting off their looms in a small traditional village just outside Ubud. In Pejeng Kangin, a long-forgotten artisan craft is coming back. · This is just one of three recent village initiatives. It all started when David Metcalf, a local expat originally f ...

What's on your bucket list for 2021? Once a traveller always a traveller, right? · When the world resumes and airlines start flying again, put Aceh on your list. · If you like adventurous, remote travel then exploring Indonesia is your mecca - low key travel, many undiscovered pl ...

Anniina Sandberg shares her experience of living in a Tanzanian Maasai family compound with the goats and an occasional scorpion. · A fearless woman, who is prepared to leave the comforts of home, and move to a small village in Tanzania is a woman worth getting to know. Anniina S ...

The humble rice field is a gateway to Balinese culture and spirituality. · Since the 9th century, a sophisticated system of irrigation channels or “subak” has distributed water across the island. In 2012, UNESCO gave the well-deserved world heritage status to this Balinese subak ...

Blitar is a quiet, friendly town in East Java. From mystical lakes with god-fish legends to the stunning Bung Karno Museum honouring the founder of Indonesia, it is full of history and intrigue, as well as colourful characters. · At the entrance to the Bung Karno Museum and Libra ...

Walking towards a long line of tall traditional · pinisi · boats in the historic Paotere Harbour in Makassar, I caught whiffs of freshly cut timber. · I watched strong, sinewy sailors navigating gangplanks with great agility, balancing neat stacks of wood on their shoulders. Dust ...

Life in a Boma - Tanzania · When you get curious about other cultures, what are the best ways to explore them? Some of us book a flight, keen for a first-hand experience. Others turn to study, maybe anthropology or indigenous studies at university. Some, like Anniina Sandberg, an ...

The early morning light touches the rice fields with the stunning back drop of the spiritual mountain of BaliI stood near the rim of Kintamani volcano, taking in the sweeping views of Mount Batur and its expansive crater lake shimmering in the early morning light. Ahead of me lay ...

North Lombok · combines a stunning coastline and beautiful terraced rice fields under the shadow of Mt. Rinjani, with plenty of wild spaces where you can get lost amongst nature. · The road heading north out of Senggigi town hugs the ocean and winds its way around the coastline, ...

Sitting on a woven mat, I listened as a Dayak Simpang elder explained, “Our history and our story are told through the old songs.” · I was in Ketapang Regency, around four hours from Pontianak, the gateway city to West Kalimantan. I sat captivated as he continued, “We moved a lon ...

The remote Kei Islands are known to have some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, with untouched sand so powdery white that the locals refer to it as flour. This remote island chain sits in the far east of the Maluku province, close to Papua. · The Fate of a King · I clambered ...

The Togean Islands form an archipelago of 56 islands strung across the Gulf of Tomini in Central Sulawesi. · This string of beautiful islands has perfect, white, sandy beaches and cottage style wooden bungalow accommodation. In the Togeans you feel a million miles away from other ...

Pulau Weh is a remote little paradise with a laid-back vibe. It offers magical beaches and abundant marine life, including vibrant, colourful corals, only 45 minutes by fast boat from the gateway city of Banda Aceh, North Sumatra. · As I relax in the comfortable hammock on the ba ...

Seram Island in Maluku Province of Indonesia is steeped in tradition. Deep in its mountains and along its coast, several indigenous tribes still hunt with long wooden spears and adhere to their old ways of life. The largest island in the Maluku archipelago, Seram is known affecti ...

Seram Island in Maluku Province of Indonesia is steeped in tradition. Deep in its mountains and along its coast, several indigenous tribes still hunt with long wooden spears and adhere to their old ways of life. The largest island in the Maluku archipelago, Seram is known affecti ...

It was love at first sight when I first set eyes on the Hotel Majapahit, Surabaya in East Java. This glorious colonial hotel has been catering to luxury-end guests since it opened its doors in 1910. Stories about the hotel abound. World acclaimed novelists, playwrights and actors ...

Within one day of arriving in Ketambe Village in Gunung Leuser National Park, I had spotted three gibbons, five Thomas’ leaf monkeys, and three Sumatran orangutans. · You have to get up early to catch the wildlife; by 5.30am my forest lodge was a hive of activity. People were pac ...