• 15th Java Jazz Festival Brought Legendary American Rock Band Toto to Indonesia

    The annual Java Jazz Festival, which is held in Jakarta in - traditionally - the first weekend of March, is one of the largest jazz festivals in the world. This year, between 1 and 3 March 2019, it was the festival’s 15th edition and again it was a success. Held at Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran (in Central Jakarta), the 2019 edition of the event attracted some tens of thousands of visitors, daily. The festival offered 11 stages with 100 artists performing.

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  • Life of an Expat in Indonesia: Some Experiences with Indonesian Banks

    If you move to Indonesia for a longer period – either for work or just for living – you will most likely want (or need) to open a bank account at a local bank (or a foreign bank that has a branch in Indonesia). After all, if you continue to use a foreign bank account, then it will involve relatively high bank charges each time you withdraw money from the automated teller machine (ATM) in Indonesia, or when you conduct an international transaction (online banking).

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  • Knowing Indonesia’s National Heroes: Who Was Mohammad Husni Thamrin?

    Those who have ever traveled across Indonesian cities have possibly come across Jalan MH Thamrin (Thamrin Street), a street that is usually located in the center of Indonesian cities. Most famously is the Thamrin Street in Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta. In Jakarta, the street runs from the capital’s iconic Monumen Nasional or Monas (National Monument) to the evenly iconic Bundaran Hotel Indonesia (Hotel Indonesia Roundabout).

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  • Thriving Modest Fashion: Can Indonesia Become the Mecca of Islamic Fashion?

    Indonesia is in a great position to become the world’s leading nation in terms of Islamic fashion. Why? Well, with a population of around 265 million people (with nearly 90 percent adhering to Islam) Indonesia has a (potentially) huge customer base. Secondly, prosperity in Southeast Asia’s largest economy is rising as evidenced by growing per capita income and the expanding middle class. As more and more Indonesians escape poverty and rise in the ranks of the middle class, they have less need to focus solely on basic needs and have (more) money to spend on non-basic needs, such as fashion.

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