Year: 2026

Not where one bully imposes his will on a weaker person. Not where its an easy task to obliterate and annihilate, not where words are used with hatred and aggression. In this terrible climate of might is right and I will take it if I want it and to hell with all the rest, it…

I am always excited to discover new venues even after having lived in Brisbane now longer than I have lived anywhere else. Vacant Assembly which is on Montague Road in West End is a delightful centre of creativity and arts. Its a large warehouse with functional exhibition spaces, workshops, and much else. Pots of paint…

Instead of shopping in Banda Neira I saw some beautiful postcards and bought them together with the necessary stamps. I had all that I needed to proceed. A shaky memory of addresses and a glue stick. Watch this space – will they ever reach their destinations ? London, Australia and Cyprus. The three corners of…

We started with the Dutch colonialists in the Spice islands so it’s a little strange that we are ending this journey with a visit to an island which still bears the name of the former Dutch capital. Its new name, in smaller print is the one which should surely replace it. The welcome to this…

This is one of the places where it all began. Two German missionaries landed here in 1855 and spread the Gospel to this area of Papua. Their arrival is celebrated with a big festival on the 5th of February every year. We were greeted by a group of highlanders who had come across the water.…

A tiny uninhabited island with white sand and a fringing reef which descends to the deep ocean below. These channels are some 200 metres deep. We spent the day snorkelling here. Beautiful clarity. A kaleidoscope of small fish, orange and black, electric blue and dusky pinks. Flashes of yellow. Two things to note today. An…

This village is situated in Cenderawasih Bay National park on the mainland. There is a road leading to nearest town several hours away. A clinic with some interesting posters for child immunisation, an ambulance and a police station. The houses are more solid and the school building is spanking new. The welcome here had a…

And No it was not us on the menu ! We are in Cenderwasih Bay, a place that has transformed from a hunting area of marine life to community based tourism with the largest fish on earth at its centre. Bagans are fishing stations in the deep ocean. They fish on lift-net platforms. Some of…

We have travelled round from Raja Ampat to West Papua over the Bird’s Head and into the bay. Our destination was Roon island for a snorkel off the coast and a visit to the village nearby. Roon comes from the Indonesian word for ironwood. Yende is one of seven small villages built literally on the…