The Macabre & the Massacre

Asia » Indonesia » Sulawesi » Tana Toraja
January 7th 2012

Published: January 10th 2012

NOTE: Not suitable for vegetarians or animal lovers in general... What should you do when it’s the Christmas period; you’re feeling quite homesick and coming of the back of food poisoning? Why, venture into the heart of Sulawesi to a land where the people are completely and utterly obsessed with death of course... We’ve hit the wall! Almost 700 days into our trip, we’ve come to that poi... Read Full Entry

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Amy Foster & Christopher Ashton

Chris and Amy

We are Amy and Chris. After completing our first attempt at a round the world trip in 2012, we are currently fitting in careers around our enduring need to see the world. Our blog is primarily for family and friends, but we are always flattered to learn that others have read (and on occasion even enjoyed) our writing and photographs. With that said... Afoot and light hearted, I take to the open road. Healthy, free, the world before me. The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose...you road I enter upon and look around! I beli... full info

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10th January 2012

GRACIELA
non-member comment

Hi, from Argentina
From which place did you arrive on the area you mention? Those places are in my itinerary but I think it´s very complex and it might take a lot more days than I am planning. Another question: is that the place of the famous long houses? I would like to see some of those. I don´t know if there are long houses in other places in Indinesia. Thank you. Graciela.

11th January 2012

Chris and Amy
Amy Foster & Christopher Ashton

Plan for it to take longer than you expect...
Sulawesi is a nightmare to travel around but always worth it when you get to your destination. We arrived into Tana Toraja from the airport at Makassar (Ujung Padang) after we took a kijang for 8 hours.

10th January 2012

Home and Away
Bob Carlsen

Gross!
If you hadn't felt like ending the trip after getting sick, you certainly should have felt that way after all the slaughter. I hope your next blog is much more pleasant. Where do you plan to visit if you don't end the trip shortly. I'm sure there are some really nice places yet to visit if you can get over the events of this blog.

11th January 2012

Chris and Amy
Amy Foster & Christopher Ashton

Thankfully we continued our trip...
we visited the Togean Islands and finished in Ubud after leaving Toraja. We're actually in Bangkok at the moment waiting for our Burmese visas to come through (and we need to catch up with these posts!). It seems our wanderlust has returned!

11th January 2012

Dancing Dave
David Hooper

FASCINATING
Great story Chris...and the pics show some A-Lister cliff tombs...exotic or what...you lucky guys..!

11th January 2012

Chris and Amy
Amy Foster & Christopher Ashton

Thanks Dave!
They were creepy to say the least but well worth the visit! Sorry to hear about the passing of your Cat! Since we've been away Amy has had her two dogs pass away, both of which we were very close to so we can empathise!

11th January 2012

MichaelnFaye
Michael & Faye Johnson

Great as always...
Great blog guys... We hoped to visit Sulawesi on this trip, but once we got on the road the realities of traveling with the boys made us realise it just wasn't going to happen. Getting round Indo is a pain in the ass, the distances aren't great but it takes forever.... Looking forward to your blog and pics on the Togeans, They\'ll have to stay on the bucket list for now, at least till the boys are old enough to endure hours and hours (and hours) on public transport. :) Mike

11th January 2012

Chris and Amy
Amy Foster & Christopher Ashton

Pain in the ass is an understatement...
I dont think there are adequate adjectives to describe the journeys! If you do go, fly through Makassar and then connect up to Gorontalo. From there you can take a ferry straight down to the Togeans...ah, hindsight! Of course if you want to go to Tana Toraja, i'd go back to Makassar after, then up to Gorontalo...anything but the overland trip we did!

11th January 2012

Susurros somnolientos
J. Lalo Cura

Striking!
Wow, I rarely get surprised by blogs on here, but this one really was an eye-opener! Torajan culture seems fascinating, I wonder how I'd never heard of them before. What struck me in particular was the fact that they bury their children standing up inside trees...that gives tree-hugging a whole new dimension! The wooden puppets are a tad scary, though. I just hope this won't get 'discovered' by too many tourists and put on the banana pancake trail, it would probably deteriorate into a pointless freak show. Great pictures and intriguing writing, gotta check out more of your blogs! :) Cheers, Jens

11th January 2012

Chris and Amy
Amy Foster & Christopher Ashton

We were surprised also
That things like this really do still happen! Rantepao has a bit of a tourist feel, but they were local Indonesian tourists there for Christmas, i'd imagine the rest of the year to be quiet!

11th January 2012

Paul Johnson
non-member comment

Great pictures and an awesome blog. What a waste of cattle,the blog was great to read about other cultures burial ceremonies. The wooden effigies would be scary to walk past on a dark night. makes you wonder if the place is safe to live in after all the blood and guts don\'t spawn dieseases in the ground. looking forward to the next Blog. Enjoy your travels and stay safe.

11th January 2012

Chris and Amy
Amy Foster & Christopher Ashton

The blood and guts dont last long
since the villagers take away the meat and then eat it! Bloody good feast if you ask me! haha

12th January 2012

celestoid
celeste pascual

You guys share the good and the raw. Thanks!
I've been reading/checking in on you guys for a quite bit, and just wanted to say thanks for sharing. Really love all the fantastic photos and enjoying the writing as well. Sending good thoughts!

13th January 2012

Chris and Amy
Amy Foster & Christopher Ashton

Thank you!
Thank you Celeste, for both your lovely comment and for reading! :)

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