Culture

Our next Manual Excursion brought our feet to the newly revitalised Lapangan Banteng where history and recreation are merged into a friendly public square backdropped against one of Jakarta's historical monuments.

In his studio in Menteng, photographer Chris Bunjamin shares about being exiled to Canada by his parents, how God rescued him through photography and the competition in Jakarta.

Doing the simplest of endeavours can stretch the utmost impact to save the environment. Take for one, the metal straw from Cleanomic to replace your plastic ones. Manual Pick is a series where we highlight items we love and desire that range from remarkably banal to mucho fancy.

Friendly price tags and deliciousness aside, we unravel how street food has evolved in Jakarta over the years, from legendary establishments to the modern rendition of classic street food, and find what truly makes it one of the gems of the city.

Amid her busy agenda of teaching ballet to underprivileged Indonesian kids, we talked to renowned Australian-Javanese ballet dancer Juliet Burnett on the epiphany she had when learning Javanese dance and how it drove her to leave her stellar career in Down Under.

To welcome the month of our national independence, "Indonesia Semangat Dunia" presents historical artworks by Indonesian maestros who coloured our history at the National Gallery of Indonesia, all the way brought in from the presidential palace.