Blogs from Tana Toraja, Sulawesi, Indonesia, Asia - page 3

After arranging for the bus to collect us from the hostel sometime between eight and nine, waking up at 7:55 wasn't the best start. But I managed to have time to get ready and have my last breakfast at Wisma Maria - homemade bread with homemade jam and smoothie - so good. The bus finally arrived to pick Hylke, Joszi and myself up just after nine and it looked alot more comfortable than the one we arrived on! Joszi forgot her mp3 player so after telling the driver she had left her passport he returned to the hostel. The bus gradually filled up with men, rice, rice and more men and after we asked them not to smoke it was a not very eventful 13hr trip to Tentena. The roads are in such a bad condition ... read more

Wow Indonesian people are so friendly! The first two days in Rantepao Meena and myself hired a scooter and set out to explore the outskirts of Rantepao. Firstly we headed south and visited Ke'te Kesu, a small village of traditional style houses, hanging graves, cave graves, rice paddies, collections of bones in open coffins with skulls placed to watch to goings and comings. It is a great example of how the Torajan people treat the dead like the living and shows their traditions have been the same for thousands of year. We then followed the road back towards Rantepao through rice paddies and amazing scenery to Karassik. Karassik is another town that has traditional houses and a great view over Rantepao. For lunch it was Mee Goreng, amazing. After trying to find out some information about ... read more

As you travel from Tentena to Rentapao you will notice a shift from Muslim to Christianity with some villages displaying a large Crucifix in their front yard as well as the symbolic Crucifix lining the streets. I wondered as I was sitting in the bus watching the crosses fly past one after another like a flicker in a film, how & why is religion so intoxicating & consuming to some? Why does religion have to mean fanaticism & absolutism? In 2005 there was unrest in Palu, Poso, Tentena and surrounding districts between the Muslims & Christians which, resulted in a hideous bomb attack in Palu on Christmas day killing 8 people coupled with a bomb attack in Tentena killing 22 people. Such occurrences attract negative press within our western media leaving us, westerners little understanding of ... read more

After so much time snorkelling and lazing around on white sand beaches we were ready for a change. We took a bus heading northwards to an area in the South of Sulawesi called Tana Toraja. The area is high in the mountains with even higher mountains surrounding it. The temperature was a pleasant 26/28 degrees C - much cooler than the 40 degrees in Makassar. The nights are cool enough to sleep without a fan or air-con. This area is known for it's strange customs and funeral ceremonies. We booked ourselves into a pleasant little guest house with mountain views, then joined up with four other travellers and hired a car plus driver/ guide for two days to see the area and learn about their strange customs. On the first day we visited a traditional village, ... read more

See text in English below 5 diciembre 2009 Era el último día que estábamos en Tana Toraja. Pensaba pasar el día tranquilo sin hacer nada especial antes de tomar un autobús nocturno que nos dejaba en el mismo aeropuerto de Makassar. Después de los intensos funerales tenía más ganas de hacer nada que de hacer algo. Si acaso por la tarde iría con un ocek a la cueva de Londa, que Astro no nos había enseñado porque tiene claustrofobia. Pero a media mañana nos llamó Astro y nos dijo que había una boda, y que podíamos ir si queríamos. Así que fuimos para allá. Yo no estaba muy convencido, pero Manon parecía encantada. Cuando llegamos ya se habían casado, ya habían salido de la iglesia, entrado en la casa paterna para cambiarse de ropa y vuelto ... read more