Conversations with a female vampire ghost – Part V
“Meester. You called me. I am Farida. I am here for you.” Dewi huddles in a corner, then squats on…
Conversations with a female vampire spirit – Part IV
He's warned it's difficult and dangerous to meet a vampire ghost. But our intrepid narrator insists on trying to conjure…
Conversations with a female vampire spirit – Part III
We all know that vampires and ghosts don't exist. Or maybe they do? Better to know what to expect from…
Encounter with a female vampire ghost – Part II
Meet a "pontianak" -- the classic female vampire ghost of a woman who died in childbirth, and sucks blood of…
Encounter with a female vampire spirit – Part I
Ghost tales form an important horror film genre in Indonesia and Malaysia. But what happens when a female vampire spirit wants…
Unruly Indonesia gets more predictable
Two decades after it threw off an authoritarian regime, Indonesia is a rare democracy in a region dominated by autocratic…
Images of Myanmar: Wild, conflicted, dreamy
I went to Myanmar on a whim, and it was the best decision I could ever have made.
Not the Aung San Suu Kyi I used to know
I used to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi when she was fighting repression in Myanmar. Now she won't condemn…
Lessons from Malaysia: Persistence and patience
Autocrat or nation-builder? Malaysia's Mahathir still stirs mixed feelings in me even as he stuns the world by regaining power…
Malaysia miracle as Mahathir, Anwar reunite
Malaysia has stunned the world with a political upheaval that has reunited two old foes and which bucks a trend…