Bali

October 11, 2016

Head for the Hills, Gabblers

HECTOR’S DIARY His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Bali Oct. 12, 2016 WELL, the Diary is ready for the feast. This will not be in Hotel California style. We’re not much into steely knives and we certainly don’t want to kill the beast. Not that what we’re talking about is a Continue reading

Australia, Bali, Books, Festivals, Indonesia, Road Toll

Elizabeth Travers, Geoffrey Gold, Jack Daniels, Lionel Shriver, Neu! Reekie!, Paul Grigson, Sami Shah, Solemen Indonesia, Tim Hodge, Un’s Restaurant, UWRF 2016
September 27, 2016

A Dog’s Life

HECTOR’S DIARY His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Bali Sep. 28, 2016 THE criminal epidemic of dog-snatching and random killing that afflicts Bali shows no sign of ending; nor is there any indication that the authorities will do anything other than continue to silently applaud the cull and ignore the rest. Such Continue reading

Animal Welfare, Bali, Environment, Indonesian Law

Alcohol laws, Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali DIVAS, Christina Iskandar, Dangerous Menus, Diana Shearin, Dog-snatching, Hometown Sydney, Joko Widodo, Made Wijaya, Mara Wolford, OMNIA Dayclub, Sake No Hana
September 13, 2016

No Nooky Nonsense, Please

HECTOR’S DIARY His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Bali Sep. 14, 2016 THE view that the state should legislate morality and sexual conduct is hardly novel. Those who think they know better are ubiquitous. They appear in all societies, proselytising a prescriptive view of how their fellow citizens should behave. This Continue reading

Australia, Bali, Indonesia, Indonesian Law, Ubud

Adultery, Catherine Stewart, Constitutional Court, Garden Drum, Indonesian studies, jade richardson, Latika Bourke, Le Moulin Creperie, Made Wijaya, New Colombo Plan, Rio Helmi, Writing Courses
August 30, 2016

Shibboleths Revealed

HECTOR’S DIARY His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Bali, Aug. 31. 2016 Expatria, the spreading collection of dots that peppers the map of Bali like kibbutzim, as if it were the beginnings of an overbearing expropriation, had an unpleasant frisson of ferment recently over the tragic death of a policeman in an Continue reading

Australia, Bali, Books, Expatria, Festivals, Fine Dining, Indonesia, Ubud, Writing

Appeals, Bali, Biblical floods, Candi Dasa, jade richardson, Janet DeNeefe, Jo Hocking, Ku De Ta, Made Wijaya, Murder charges, Perth, Quinoa, The Ark, UWRF 2016, Vincent’s, Wayan Sudarsa
August 16, 2016

They’re a Scream

HECTOR’S DIARY His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Bali Aug. 17, 2016 If the acquisitive cartel of private interests and public officials that really runs Bali wants to turn the island into Disneyland, it must be conceded (through gritted teeth) that they can. The electoral check on such excess is even Continue reading

Animal Welfare, Bali, Economic Development, Environment

Bali Update, Bangli, Batur Geo Park, Benoa Bay, Buleleng, Darwin, Dewa Suardipa, Dolphins, Edvard Munche, Elizabeth Henzell, Fairfax newspapers, Independence Day, Jack Daniels, Jewel Topsfield, Joe Kennedy, Kempinski, Kupang, North Bali Airport, Ritz-Carlton, Saltwater crocodiles, Villa Kitty
August 1, 2016

Something’s Missing

HECTOR’S DIARY His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Bali, Aug. 3, 2016 Young Australians and alcohol have a habit of not mixing very well. It’s a part of the national kaleidoscope that fractures the preferred public image of the land down under and reveals the reality of Australia today. It’s not only Continue reading

Animal Welfare, Art, Australia, Bali, Indonesia, Ubud

Alcohol, Aussie louts, Australian Council on Healthcare Standards International, BIMC Hospital Nusa Dua, Elizabeth Henzell, Indus restaurant, Janet DeNeefe, Jetstar, Lyn Dargan, Marta Valbuena, Michael Johnsey, Odd gallery, Robert Eliot, Villa Kitty
July 20, 2016

Blots on the Landscape

HECTOR’S DIARY His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Bali, Jul. 20, 2016 Where to start? We’ll leave aside (for the moment) certain segments of the bar scene where duty of care, which shouldn’t be an entirely foreign concept, is spelt WTF, and winks and nods at malfeasant bad behaviour, if Continue reading

Art, Australia, Bali, Books, Environment, Festivals, Food, General Interest, History, Indonesia, Indonesian Law, Ubud

Adrian Vickers, Australia, Bali, Bar riskers, Dog racing, Made Wijaya, Marian Carroll, NSW Premier Mike Baird, Sand extraction, Sophie Digby, Tim Hannigan, Ubud
July 5, 2016

The Sisyphus Factor

HECTOR’S DIARY His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Bali, July 6, 2016 The retreat of the resources sector is apparently hitting the accommodation and pembantu sectors in Jakarta, as well as business generally. For a country such as Indonesia, just as for Australia, depressed demand and sinking prices for commodities hit Continue reading

Bali, Bureaucracy, Business, Charity, Fine Dining, Food, General Interest, Indonesia, Wine

Alexsander Martins Paim, Arief Wicaksono, Brexit, Casillero del Diablo, Marian Carroll, Mike O’Leary, ROLE Foundation, Samantha Coomber, Vin+, Waterman’s Week 2016
June 21, 2016

Gaia Waives the Rules

Hector’s Bali Diary His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences June 22, 2016 This seemed to be the consensus among the worriers, at least, those who observe ephemeral climatic events as a message from someone or other (and of course, themselves) about the dangers of human environmental iniquity. But climate is cyclical Continue reading

Animal Welfare, Art, Australia, Bali, Charity, Economic Development, Environment, Social Development, Ubud

Australian election, Australian Sex Party, Bali Arts Festival, BAWA, Garuda, Governor Made Mangku Pastika, Mercy Corps, Miss Mermaid Bali, President Joko Widodo, Ric Shreves, Ross Fitzgerald, Surf2Save, The Melting Pot, Tolak Reklamasi, Tommy Michael Costa Rica, Tomy Winata, Ubud, visas on arrival, Waterman’s Week 2016
June 7, 2016

Go For It

Hector’s Bali Diary His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences June 8, 2016 It’s always fun to read Alistair Speirs’ little homilies in NOW! Bali. They seem to carry a reminder of Episcopalian morality, which isn’t strange, really, given that Speirs is from Edinburgh, the Sassenach capital of Scotland. My Auntie Lizzie Continue reading

Animal Welfare, Australia, Bali, Charity, General Interest, Public Administration, Sexual Health, Social Development, Tourism

Alistair Speirs, Australian tourism, Bali Children Foundation, Bali DIVAS, Bali NOW!, Bali Update, Bank Indonesia, Carlotta, Chinese tourism, Christina Iskander, Coca-Cola Amatil, Cocoon Beach Club, Condoms, East Bali Poverty Project, Hotel Dynasty, IKEA, Jocelyn Johinke, Polly Petrie, Quicksilver, Sydney, Timor-Leste

About Me

Former journalist now confined by age and indolence to blogging about this and that, now from Western Australia, previously from Indonesia (that’s the 8 degrees in the title) and before that, Queensland. I don’t do a newsletter so ignore that prompt below.