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23 October 2009
The sun rises very early in Makassar, not quite as bad as in Manado but it is still very bright at five something. We had decided on an early start to beat the heat. Out the door at 0800, it wasn’t too hot yet. But within minutes we were drenched from the humidity. We went […]
22 October 2009
We took the bus back down to Makassar today. It was meant to be 8 hours but it took 9h40 … allowing for one flat tyre, comfort stops and picking up passengers. This is the end of my Tana Toraja adventure. It is one of the most interesting trips I’ve ever done. Normally everything of […]
21 October 2009
Pasar Bolu The market in Bolu (near Rantepao) isn’t a weekly affair … but occurs every six days. We were lucky to catch it despite our short stay of only three full days. In summary, people bring their buffaloes and pigs here so other people can come make their purchases: The buffalo section is essentially […]
20 October 2009
Above: The newly prepared grave took over 2 years to carve out manually. Cliff graves at Suaya We started the day visiting Suaya which had a cliff-face filled with effigies similar to yesterday’s at Lemo. We learnt that the ones here are original whereas those at Lemo had been replaced after being pillaged. Text continues […]
20 October 2009
Above: Cryptic signs showing the availability of dog meat. Driving through the towns and countryside our guide and pointed out shops which sold dog meat. These are indicated rather discreetly by way of cryptic signs and codes, eg. “Ada” (meaning “Have” or “Available”) or red plastic bag hanging on a stick. I found the level […]
19 October 2009
Background Tana Toraja (or Toraja Land) is famous for the traditional burial ceremonies amongst its Christian population. When people die, they’re preserved (formerly using balsam but now with formalin) then kept at home for up to a few years while funds are accumulated for an elaborate ceremony or while relatives are brought together for the […]
18 October 2009
Above: Very spacious seating but the air-con wasn’t working properly. After a leisurely morning we departed Makassar on a bus journey to Rantepao. The scheduled departure was 1300 and the supposed journey time 8 hours. After a small delay due to air-con failure and a few other mechanical problems we arrived 11h15 later … at […]
17 October 2009
Above: Photos found on internet showing Lionair crew playing with the crash axe. Today we flew Lionair (not Ryanair) from the somewhat Christian city of Manado to the more Muslim city of Makassar (or Ujung Pandang) arriving at the beautiful new Sultan Hasanuddin airport. Now for some amusing facts, factoids or urban myths about Lionair: […]
16 October 2009
After our two dives today, we transferred to Novotel Grand Kawanua on the mainland. Kim’s work gets a large discount on its corporate plan … a beautiful room in a new gorgeous hotel with a big pool was NZD45 (about EUR22). It didn’t take long before we were in the rain shower washing off two […]
16 October 2009
Above: Going back through the mangroves after our dive. Today, we had two dives at Sachiko II which was another beautiful wall dive, much like yesterday with plenty of variety. Second dive was the House Reef. Even after Sipadan, I was excited to see turtles and barracudas. Sadly it was too early in our diving […]