Story by STEPHANIE BROOKES Photos by DAVID METCALF I stood with my blowpipe at the ready. “Gather strength from your core and aim high,” Agus advised. “We are excited to have an Australian team enter the competition and best of luck to you”, he added with

Story by Stephanie Brookes Photos by David Metcalf There is only one way to meet the Wana tribe. You must walk into their rugged territory. Arrangements should be made in advance because the Wana are wanderers and their territory is vast. They pack up and move

Life in Bali revolves around ceremonies, and one of the major highlights is Nyepi, the Day of Silence. The three to five day period leading up to Nyepi Day is one of the most exciting, colourful and festive times on the island. However, from the stroke

I started my trek in the Sabangau National Park, Central Kalimantan under a veil of darkness.  The earthy smell of the peat bog forest rose sharply to greet me as I held my torch steady so as not to trip and fall into the organic black

Jakarta is a modern fast paced city offering the visitor a host of attractions It’s a huge modern city with a towering skyline and a patchwork of small back lanes where life continues as it has done for hundreds of years.  Jakarta has a fascinating mix

Tangkahan is a remote village in Northern Sumatra where you have the opportunity to sleep in the jungle with the ‘big five’ of Indonesia – the Sumatran elephant, the Sumatran tiger, the Sumatran rhinoceros, the Sumatran orangutan, and the clouded leopard. There were only two ways to access my bed

I witnessed my first cockfight in Bali, in a small village just outside Ubud. I stumbled upon it by chance when I was running, with a local sports club, on a Saturday afternoon. Our route took us through a temple complex in the middle of the

Each month, our intrepid duo Stephanie Brookes, Writer and David Metcalf, Photographer set off to explore some of the lesser-known enclaves of Indonesia and bring back tales of hidden heritage and culture. Over the last 12 months, NOW! Jakarta magazine has covered unique festivals and celebrations

Stephanie Brookes delves deeply into her yoga practice while falling in love with Bhutan, a spiritual Buddhist nation widely known as ‘the land of happiness’.   EXPERIENCE  MOVING SLOWLY AROUND, around the giant prayer wheel at the Memorial Chorten in Thimphu, I was aware I was spinning

The Spice Islands are wrapped in an aromatic history of cloves, mace and nutmeg, Kings and Sultans, spice wars, and the rise and fall of invading armies. As I travelled through the Spice Island chain, I saw massive groves of cloves and nutmegs clinging to the