Blogs from Sulawesi, Indonesia, Asia - page 31

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Asia » Indonesia » Sulawesi February 16th 2007

Sulawesi is one of the main inslands in Indonesia. It has a peculiar, spider-like shape and stretches across the equator; therefore having a hot, wet climate. We had been warned by various sources about ongoing tensions in central Sulawesi between Christians and Muslims. This trouble reached a climax in 2005, when three christian schoolgirls were tragically beheaded. Fortunately, we had no intentions of touring in this part of the island, and the rest of Sulawesi promised to be a warm and welcoming destination for adventurous travellers. Heading for the interesting village culture of Tana Toraja, we flew from Bali to Makassar, where we could then make our way to Rantepao. Makassar is a fairly typical Indonesian city, most noted for its seafood. Historically, this city was an key port for Chinese and Indian traders, but it ... read more
Funny sign
Our tiny aircraft to Rantepao
Baggage Claim

Asia » Indonesia » Sulawesi January 14th 2007

Stranded in Sulawesi with his visa running out little Philly finds a sponser so he can extend his visa for a month in order not to get arrested. He travels to Tana Toraja 200 km north with some friends in the middle of a storm and has four trees blow into the road. The locals furiously hack away at them with their tiny pick axes they had recently aquired from Christmas crackers to clear a path in the road. He arrives in Tana Toraja and rents a motor bike for four days enjoying the sites. He meets a fellow Englishman and embarks on his next mission, to hitchhike 300 miles down to the South East side of the giant island of Sulawesi. The only thing is that there are no roads connecting the South, where they ... read more
Kendari Police Station
Stuntman or idiot?... I say idiot!!
The Machine

Asia » Indonesia » Sulawesi » Makassar January 10th 2007

leaving tana toraja with a fello english man, we both had our eyes set on a cheap and cheerful travel plan. 8 hours on a cramped bus seat took us to malili, in the north of south east sulawesi. we had our sights of traveling south but with every map we could find having a 100km section showing no roads and no way through we decided to chance it. fed up of buses and arguing about prices we tested our ability to hitch hike the 300km plus route to kolaka. with just about every form of transport available we made it, the invisible map roads took the form of logging routes and pot holed dirt tracks. we could only hitch from village to village- changing transport often and mixing the infrequent passing vehicle with stretches of ... read more
on the road
hitch hiking
hitch hiking in safety

Asia » Indonesia » Sulawesi » Makassar January 3rd 2007

seeing much of the local area by motor bike and only having day visits to certain areas, i began to want something that lasted a bit longer. i came across some good information about where i could hike. after shopping for some emergency supplies to last 5 days i left the shop with 1 bottle of water and a packet of the cheapest biscuits, which later turned out to have a split down the under side of the packaging so turned soft and absorbed the jungles damp humidity. trying to find a bus or bemo to my chosen village 15 km away was hard and being sent in the wrong direction every time i asked i decided to take the route in stages, asking to get dropped at road junctions to where i could find more ... read more
tana toraja family kid
tau tau
traditional house

Asia » Indonesia » Sulawesi » Makassar January 1st 2007

new years was spent visiting a few churches, the gospel type of singing attracted my attention but the noise from roaring motor bike and cars attracted it more. at midnight i wondered into town a short walk from my hostel, the streets were dead and no one around. i followed the noise and turned a few corners, to where i found the midnight club, rantepaos street racers. the streets were now packed and like any street race the pavements and curbside have to be filled by stupid people who want to get 'too' close- so i took my seat and jumped and dodged the speeding, out of control bikers watching them handbrake turn their 125cc scooters was quite impressive but the falls and pile-ups really got the crowds excited- getting hurt was just part of the ... read more

Asia » Indonesia » Sulawesi » Makassar December 23rd 2006

leaving dili behind and returning to indonesia filled me with excitement, but it seemed i wouldn't make it as i planned, my dili bus to the border was late leaving and continued to plod along, 1 hour later something to do with the accelerator broke and 30 mins on, still nothing, another bus bus passed and our already over crowded bus pilled into another over crowed bus, with no space to breath, let alone sit i was pleased we were moving, 2 hours later the tyre blew on the second bus and a couple of fag breaks and a casual wheel change, we set of again. i had no watch but i knew time was against us and knew how important it was for me to make the border crossing in time. some how we made ... read more
tana toraja
xmas eve
cave graves

Asia » Indonesia » Sulawesi » Makassar June 6th 2006

MAKASSAR......ANKUNFT IM HAFEN DER LEGENDÄREN SEEFAHRER.....HEIMAT DER BUGIS.... mit der billigfluglinie lion-air gings von bali / denpasar in richtung norden. der spektakuläre flug über den vulkan gunung agung mit seinen über 3000 metern dauerte knapp eineinhalb stunden und brachte uns auf eine insel, die sich von bali oder auch lombok wesentlich unterscheidet. SULAWESI.... in der vergangenheit ein gefürchtetes wort weil damals (bis heute?) die bugis, die besten navigatoren und seefahrer, als piraten und brutale plünderer in der region bis nach china und indien ihr unwesen trieben! ihr schiffsbau ist legendär und sie durchkreuzen bis heute mit ihren gewaltigen holzschiffen die ozeane. die bugis leben im süden der insel, die hauptstadt ist makassar. wir bleiben ein paar tage in der boomenden stadt mit der tollen promenade am strand, dem alten paotere-hafen mit viel geschichte und... read more
Sulawesi...Sengkang
Sulawesi...Makassar
Sulawesi....Makassar

Asia » Indonesia » Sulawesi » Menado February 4th 2006

In a nutshell... Laid-back city a stone's throw from one of the world's most beautiful dive sites and impressive dormant volcanoes. Living quarters... This was my second trip to Barracuda Resort which consists of a cluster of bungalows in a rustic village atmosphere. The resort has no beach, but has a long jetty jutting through a small mangrove swamp. View's not fantastic but sunset on the balcony makes for a relaxing time. The common area - lobby/ dive shop/ dining area/ etc - is in need of some renovations. Otherwise, the rooms are quite spacious and comfortable. Staff here are cheerful and friendly and perhaps coz there were only 3 of us, they made us feel really at home:) Under the sea... The diving in Manado offers plenty of choices. Just off the jetty of Barracuda's ... read more
Diving Buddies
Let's go diving!

Asia » Indonesia » Sulawesi May 23rd 2003

Manado of North Sulawesi province of Indonesia...mountainous, quiet, God-fearing...... read more
Manado
Mount Mahawu
Mount Mahawu




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