photo: Yudha Pebew
BEKABULUH is Labodalih Sembiring, a freelance features reporter for English-language publications (published feature articles listed here and here); a writer of fictions in English and Indonesian; an amateur photographer; a translator with Ganggang Biru Language Consulting; a Creative Writing teacher at Gadjah Mada University; and a gardener at his rooftop. Yes, he can’t stay still. Some elders believe it’s because mommy kept a pet monkey when she had him. He is also a man who loves the Indonesian archipelago: its peoples, cultures, and nature. Go to this page for ways to contact him.
Actually, this blog takes its name from a Batak Karonese woven cloth for male: uis beka buluh. You can see Labodalih wearing one in the photos above and below.
Out and about in Tobelo, North Halmahera. Photo: Astrid Reza.
Halo Labodalih! I just read through your powerful, moving story on revisiting Dili and I want to say that you have a real gift of writing. This blog deserves a lot of attention and I hope that one of these days your posts will be Freshly Pressed.
Saya dari Hong Kong, but my best friend is an Indonesian travel blogger who also writes in English (at harindabama.com) – we’ve done joint trips to Laos and China and in the next few years we’re hoping to do a two-month journey across the breadth of Nusantara. In the meantime we’re planning a short jaunt to Bromo this October and another to Taiwan next April.
All the best on your future adventures – I’ll be following them from now on.
Hi, James. Thank you so much for all your compliments and well wishes. I only recently thought about taking blogging seriously, as a friend of mine who’s also a travel blogger said that I should put every travel I have done in the past few years into writing. Good thing I also like to take photos. One thing I’m always kinda embarassed of admitting is that I’ve never been to Bromo. Most of my fellow travelers have. Who knows, I might join you this October if that’s okay with you and your friend
All the best to you on whatever it is you love doing (I’m only about to check out your blog).
Turned out that I already followed you. I just didn’t know you were the owner of notesplusultra. A really colorful blog. Well written and really cool photos!
Your writing made my day! One awesome blog you have here, Labodalih! And off course, cool pictures too
Thank you. I appreciate it.
Nice work man… really like your writing style.
Thanks, man!
Suka banget blog ini. Tetep semangat jalan and sharing, kawan…
Salam kenal
Thank you for the appreciation, Halim. You too, keep those posts coming
ai don’t know mas say apa mas
but my english nggak begitu jos
monggo digugel-translet
btw CVne keren… wes tak gugle translate mas hehe..
matur suwun, mase
Lae, reading your blog is such an enjoyment that I actually want to have a try at writing again. Even though I am older than you, I would love to attend your creative writing class if it’s going to help me to be at least half an engaging writer as you are. Please keep up the good work!
Hi there, lae. Thank you for your one-of-a-kind compliment. It’s more than I could ask for that someone got infected by my love for discovering the immense beauty of writing. You are welcome to join my Creative Writing class every Thursday (that’s today) at UGM’s Faculty of Cultural Sciences in classroom F306. Cheers!
Hi Mas Labodalih, just want to say what a fantastic blog this is! It’s not easy to find a well-written English-language blog about Indonesia and when I found this, I thought, “Finally!”
All the best and I’m following your blog from now on.
Hi Mas Labodalih, just want to say I’ve really enjoyed this blog! It’s not easy to find a well-written English-language blog that is well-presented about Indonesia. Well done on this and keep up the great work.
All the best.
Hi, Sasha. Thank you for your compliments. At this point, I think the information on this blog is still far from enough. But I’ll try my best to fill it up with interesting things about Indonesia. If you want, you can contribute by giving inputs, or even write for this blog. Thank you for the follow