First steps on to Java

Years after I left Bali, I often regretted not seeing more of Indonesia—my nearest neighbour at the time. It wasn’t until well over a decade later, I landed in Jakarta with my nine-year-old daughter. Her two older sisters had gone to Canada, so I grabbed this opportunity like an Indian passenger half out of a rail carriage door but clinging on. I intended to explore Java from one end to the other.

Musjid Sultan

Better known as Sultan Mosque, this place of worship seemed to dominate the Arab Quarter of Singapore. Wherever I walked, a minaret or the golden dome arose above the buildings.