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The Independence Day long weekend was my first opportunity since I got here to get out of Jakarta and I wasn't about to waste the time. While most of our group headed off to Bali for some sun, footy and partying Al and I chose to go to Sulawesi with 3 of her workmates: Farah, Janhavi and Nita.
We flew into Makassar, on the south-west tip of Sulawesi, a sprawling port town of over 1 million people. Was quite beautiful to fly into, especially with the mountains in the distance. We ate a quick lunch of really delicious ribs there in a tiny warung before jumping in the car to begin what we though was an 8 hour drive to Tana Toraja, an area in central Sulawesi. Turns out that due to newly begun road works the trip was now 10 hours although we had plenty of stunning scenery to distract us as we made our way up the south-west coast. Janhavi and I were in the very back section of our car so we got to fully appreciate every bump, pothole and sharp drop in the road level that Pak Andi (our driver and guide) didn't manage to avoid. Felt like everything in my body had been shaken loose by the time we got there! We stopped along the way at Pare-Pare to watch the sunset over the ocean and it was truly beautiful as you can probably see from the photos. After Pare-Pare we began our long and steep climb into the hills of Tana Toraja at what seemed like an overly brisk pace given the narrowness of the road and the sharp drop on one side. However, arrived safely in Makale, the provincial capital of Tana Toraja, late that night and stumbled off to get some sleep. When we woke up the next morning we discovered that we were in fact sleeping in a Torajan house at our hotel.
The Torajan houses have a very distinctive shape, somewhat similar to those found in Sumatra belonging to the Minangkabau. Their roofs come up sharply at either end although the ends are flatter and wider than those in Sumarta. They are designed this way because previously the Torajans were fisherman who had nowhere else to live other than in their boats, so they would hang their boats in the trees and sleep in them. The rooves and sides of the houses are covered in elaborate carvings and it is possible to stare at them for hours absorbing all the detail.
After a minor delay due to our boot not staying closed (not good when driving up steep mountains) we continued on our way towards Rantepao, another town in Tana Toraja which is where most people stay when visiting. On the way we stopped and saw baby graves in a giant tree. The graves were hundreds of years old as the Torajans no longer place the babies in trees. The belief is that if the baby was placed in the tree, then their spirit would travel up through the tree and onto where they were meant to go.
From there we went off in search of a funeral to attend. This might sound a bit crass and rude but up there the funerals are a major tourist attraction. In Tana Toraja when someone dies it is customary to have 2 funerals for the person who died; one immediately after they die and then another when the family has enough money to give them a proper funeral. In between the two funerals the body is kept in the house and is constantly accompanied by someone from the family. So the funeral we went in search of was one of the second funerals. Pak Andi found out where one was happened and we wound our way long several kilometres of dirt road only to arrive too late for the main part. At the second funeral buffalos are slaughtered as part of a sacrifice and this was the bit we missed. We climbed up to where the funeral was to be greeted by several buffalo heads lying around on the ground with their brains hanging out the back. It was quite disappointing to miss this part of the funeral however the place was full of other tourists who were departing as we were arriving so in some ways we got the better, less-touristy side of the funeral. We had tea and cake with one of the granddaughters of the man who had passed away. She told us he was over 100 years old when he died, but was perfectly healthy. He had gone out looking for firewood and had fallen off a cliff! His wife was also still alive and we got to meet her and she was perfectly coherent and still joking around. We also got to meet a big bunch of kids from the family who were delighted to have many many photos taken with us! Was a really nice experience, and to finish it off, they took us up into the house where the body was kept and showed it to us. He had been dead for 4 months but had been preserved using formalin so he just looked very very brown. Overall was quite an experience and not nearly as weird as you might think.
Pak Andi took us in Rantepao then for lunch and then it was off to explore some more Torajan houses at Ke'te Kesu and also see more graves. We walked up this path next to a cliff which was covered in coffins and bones - hence the pictures of the skulls. We also got to see an entire cave of tau-taus. They are wooden effigies which are made when someone dies and placed where their grave or coffin is. It was really really freaky looking into a cave of tau-taus to have them all staring back at you, I was waiting for one of them to blink.
After some shopping there we then decided to head up to Batutumonga to take in the sunset. Was a stunning drive up a very very steep hill but totally worth it for the view at the end. We sat and drank Torajan coffee (simply amazing - enough to make me drink coffee again!) while watching the light and the clouds change around us. That night we had dinner in Rantepao and tried to local specialty - pai'pon. It is your choice of meat stuffed in a bamboo shoot with herbs and spices and cooked over a fire for hours (you have to order it at lunch if you want it for dinner). We had chicken and pig and I cannot even begin to describe how delicious it was but if any of you ever come to Sulawesi you must try it!
The next day Farah and Nita had to return to Makassar to fly home so Al, Janhavi and I stayed and explored Rantepao a bit more. We went out to the local markets and braved the livestock market where we very nearly bought a buffalo. You could buy an entire buffalo for about $7! Was ridiculous although what we would have done with it afterwards was always going to be a problem. There were just buffalos and people and buffalo s*** everywhere! Quite chaotic but one of the few places where as a bule (white person) you didn't get hassled because nobody was expecting us to buy anything for a change :) We also checked out the pigs and it turns out they are much more expensive (about $120). We also explored the rest of the markets and managed to create a major traffic jam when a bunch of people decided they wanted photos with us in the middle a major thoroughfare haha! The rest of the afternoon we shopped and then went for a bit of a walk out of town on one side where we met some adorable children who pretty much went crazy once they discovered I had gula (sugar) in my bag. Also loved having their photo taken which was nice. We had a lovely sunset Bintang overlooking some rice fields on the southern edge of town and a really nice dinner at our hotel before getting on the bus for the 10 hour trip back to Makassar. As with my previous experience of overnight buses here they really are very comfortable (much better than the car) however the decision to play loud Christian music with thumping bass the whole way was questionable at best and infuriating at worst.
Arrived in Makassar about 6am and went searching for somewhere to crash for a couple of hours. After some much needed sleep and a shower we set off to try and find some Independence Day celebrations only to discover they all finished up very early! In particular we wanted to see some greasy-pole action - not nearly as dirty as it sounds! They get giant poles and put presents at the top of them and then grease up the pole and people have to try and climb up them to get to the presents. We saw some people doing it in one of the small towns on the way to Tana Toraja but unfortunately didn't get to see any back in Makassar. Instead we discovered a little gem of a warung that not only served great coffee but also had an incredible collection of books - mostly on economics and development models from the 1950s but also books on American politics and foreign policy, language books and many many copies of the Quran. The lady who ran it was very interesting and told us all about her life and brought out very old photographs to show us. She also dressed me up in traditional clothing - very beautiful but highly impractical as far as I could tell. After a couple of hours we decided we couldn't spend all day there so we wandered down towards the waterfront to try and find a renowned place for lunch called Lae-Lae. Found it and then proceeded to have the most amazing lunch there! Fresh schnappers, prawns and squid cooked fresh on the bbq and then served with vegetables and various sides such as shredded mango and tomatos and of course sambal (chilli!!). Stuffed ourselves full of food and then walked it off along the waters edge and up to a beautiful hotel that is set over the water for a quick Bintang before heading back to the hotel (in 3 becaks! Felt very indulgent having one each but the drivers must have decided that we were far too big to fit into less!
So then it was time to go home :( and back to Jakarta. Very sad to leave but was a truly wonderful weekend away and hopefully just the beginning of my many travels around Indonesia. We are all heading down the coast in a couple of weeks for a quick getaway which will be lovely and currently also exploring ways to get out of Jakarta for the week of Idul Fitri (the end of Ramadhan, the Muslim fasting month). Stay tuned for more updates and enjoy the photos!
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