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Bali Photos Here

Rinca Photos Here

Enjoy!  -Renee

July 14, 2010 Update

Realizing that we had just over thirty days left on our visa and nearly all of Indonesia to explore, we decided that we’d shift gears and get moving.  Here’s an overview of our island hopping throughout Indonesia…

We left Sulawesi by Pelni passenger ship, bound for the island of Flores.  (Makassar, Sulawesi photos here.)  After 26 hours, we finally docked in Larantuka, Flores, Nusa Tengara, Indonesia.  The ride was a comfortable one, as we had a private cabin with beds and our own bathroom (hot water shower included!).  Very swanky, indeed.  We arrived at night, so we decided to go ahead and hop on a bus and go to Maumere.  Although there wasn’t anything we wanted to see in Maumere, we knew we could catch a bus from there to our desired destination of Moni.  We eventually arrived in Moni, where we found a homestay room for approximately $3.50 (inclusive of breakfast for us both).  We arranged for motorbikes to pick us up at 4:00am and drive us to the entrance of Kelimutu Park to catch the sunrise over the colorful crater lakes.

The alarm went off early and we bundled up before hopping on the backs of the motorbikes.  After a chilly ride up a winding road, we arrived at the gate.  For a small extra fee (about fifty cents), we had the motorbikes take us another three kilometers to the bottom of a staircase.  We said our goodbyes and began walking.   It was a very cloudy morning, but we kept our hopes high.  We climbed to the top and eagerly awaited the sun to appear and warm everything up.  Unfortunately, we didn’t see the sunrise as it was too cloudy.  Fortunately, the clouds cleared long enough that we got a spectacular view of the lakes.  The three lakes of Kelimutu have a reputation for changing colors, and we saw one black lake and two turquoise lakes.  The turquoise lakes actually looked fake, almost as if someone had dropped paint into the crater.  Amazing.  More photos here.

From Moni we shared a car with three other people to Bajawa (the jumping off point for several traditional villages).  We went to visit a traditional village called Bena.  Here we saw thatch houses with straw roofs and an interesting blend of Animism with Catholocism.  The scenery was beautiful and we couldn’t have asked for better weather as we rode on the backs of motorbikes.  Because it was such a nice day we decided to also check out Wawomunga (spelling?), Bajawa’s colored lakes.  After the beauty of Kelimutu we were a bit disappointed.  However, it was still an enjoyable ride through the mountains and a nice walk to view the lakes.  See more Bajawa/Bena photos here.

We left Bajawa and headed to Labuhanbajo.  This was our last stop on the lovely island of Flores.  From here we organized a boat to take us to Rinca (pronounced Rin-cha) for the day.  Rinca is the less popular island of Komodo National Park.  We were on a hunt for the deadly dragon!  We arrived on the island, feeling a bit nervous and excited.  We walked to the park office and paid the entrance fee.  As soon as we left the office, we spotted our first dragon.  It was huge!  Far larger than any monitor lizard we’d seen before.  I immediately understood why they are called dragons.  Walking around the corner toward the kitchen, we were surprised to see several dragons lounging about waiting for the opportunity to eat any scraps tossed out by the kitchen.  Our guide told us that they do not feed the dragons, but the smell from the kitchen draws them near.  We went on a short guided hike around the island, where we spotted another dragon lounging under a tree.  We also saw wild buffalo and several macaques.  After Rinca we had our boat driver take us to a smaller island for some relaxing and snorkeling before heading back to the mainland.

We decided to travel through the island of Sumbawa without stopping (due to lack of time), and we arranged for a ticket straight to Lombok.  This was a very long trek and I’ll spare you the details.  Eventually, we made it to Lombok island and arranged for transportation to Gili Trawangan.  We’d heard great things about the three Gili islands and we were looking forward to a few days on the beach.  We spent two nights on Gili Trawangan, eating Western food and enjoying cocktails.  Staying on the island any longer would’ve ruined our budget, so we moved on pretty quickly.  From Lombok we headed to the famous island of Bali.

After arriving on Bali, we headed straight for the Bukit peninsula in search of beach and surf.  Our guidebook told us that Kuta was great for budget travel so we made that our first stop.  We weren’t impressed by Kuta.  The place is extremely touristy (hundreds of people on the beach) and has the prices to go along with it.  Brad did get the opportunity to surf, however.  Board rental cost a whopping $3 for the entire day.  The waves were very choppy and we had to dodge the rain throughout the day, but now he can say he surfed in Bali. 

From Kuta we organized a private car to take us to Medewi, a famous surf spot on the southwestern coast of Bali.  We had the car take us to two famous Balinese temples along the way.  The first was Tanah Lot, which was perched on the water and very beautiful.  The tide was a bit high, but we waded through the water to rinse our hands and drink from the sacred spring.  We also received a blessing, which involved grains of rice being pressed onto our foreheads and flowers stuck behind our ears.  We weren’t allowed to actually enter the temple, so we just took a few photos and moved on.  

We then went to Mengwi, which had very impressive landscaping and several pagodas.  The architecture on Bali is extremely different from anything we’ve seen on the other islands, so it was really interesting to get a close-up view of the Hindu temples.

We arrived in Medewi to find great surf, but no beach.  Brad decided that he didn’t feel like surfing, so after one night here (and time running out), we headed to Java.  All this pretty much brings us up to date.  I’m typing this in our homestay room in Cemero Lawang, a small village very near Gunung Bromo.  Tomorrow morning we’ll wake up very early and hike to the top of Bromo to catch the sunrise over three volcanoes.  I’ll take photos for the next post!

-Renee

Curiosity Killed the Cat

After arriving on the oddly shaped island of Sulawesi, Indonesia Brad and I immediately headed to the bus terminal of Makassar to set out for Rantepao, located in the middle of the Tana Toraja area.  Visiting the region of Tana Toraja was the main reason we’d decided to come to Sulawesi.  Having read about the Torajans’ obsession with death, we were eager to see for ourselves what really went on at a Torajan funeral.

                

We rode eight hours in a cramped car with a puking baby and four smokers, but the scenery was beautiful.  The last three hours of the ride took us up winding mountain roads with amazing views and the nearer we came to Tana Toraja, the more my excitement grew.  Upon entering the region, I immediately saw the traditional houses the Torajans are famed for.  The roof slopes up on either end, resembling the horns of a buffalo.  Many of the homes also have several rice barns nearby with the same style of roof.  Seeing the several of the roofs grouped together makes for an impressive sight.

We were dropped off at Pia’s Poppies Hotel where we ditched our bags and sought out some food.  After talking to some of the other tourists staying there, we discovered that there was a funeral beginning the following day.  We couldn’t believe our luck!  Tour guides approached us and offered to take us, but the price seemed too high.  We decided to try our luck in the morning.

                

Over breakfast, I mentioned to Brad that I couldn’t believe we hadn’t been approached by a guide yet.  Another tourist chimed in that she was shocked as well.  I asked the young couple next to us if they had made arrangements already, hoping we could cut the cost by sharing.  They said that they had booked a car, but they’d be more than willing to share in order to save money.  After haggling a bit with the guide and driver, we finally settled on a price.  We finished breakfast and headed out for a day of exploring death. 

                

Our first stop was Lemo.  Although we’d seen photos and read several articles about the area, we were still overwhelmed.  The limestone rock face towers approximately 60 feet high, and has dozens of burial caves, some over 300 years old, carved into it.  The first thing you notice when you see the rock face is that you are being watched.  Balconies have been carved out in front of the burial caves for the upper class.  Protective tau tau, or wooden effigies, are placed on these balconies to ward off thieves and evil spirits as well as to accept gifts from family members and pass on blessings.  The tau tau are quite a sight, as they are all intricately carved and even dressed in real clothes.  They emit a feeling of eeriness, as if saying “Don’t even think about messing with my bones.”  Walking around the rock face, we saw bones on the ground with a bag hung next to them.  After asking our guide why the bones were on the ground, he explained that each cave houses an entire family.  They are neatly arranged in a circle.  When there is no more room, the oldest skeleton and its belongings are removed, hence the skull and bagful of rotting clothes.

                

A close-up of the tau tau at Lemo.

The day continued to get stranger as we headed from here to a funeral.  We drove as far as possible, but thanks to the heavy rain the night before, we had to ditch our mini-SUV and hoof it through the mud for about a kilometer.  Upon arrival at the funeral ceremony, the first thing I noticed was all of the animals that had been brought for sacrifice.  You couldn’t take more than four steps without having to step over a tied-up pig.  And, watch out for that buffalo that’s backing up because he isn’t watching out for you! 

                

We sat down in a covered room specially constructed to house the funeral guests.  We passed on a carton of cigarettes that we brought as a gift to the family.  The carton was opened and cigarettes were passed around among the guests.  We were given tea or coffee as well as some traditional Torajan cake.  The children around us were busily licking ice cream cones.  It all felt very welcoming and merry.  Then, our guide told us the buffalo sacrifice would soon be taking place.  After the sacrifice of the first buffalo, the spirit would finally be released from the body and move on to the afterlife.  Brad leapt to his feet with the camera as I deliberated whether I wanted to watch an animal be sacrificed or not.  After a few minutes, I decided that when at a Torajan funeral it’s best to get the full experience.

                

We watched as buffalo were pranced up and down, listening to the hoots and hollers of the boys and men that were leading them.  The funeral emcee was jabbering away in Bahasa Indonesia and the crowd was getting excited.  Pigs were squealing in the background when suddenly a group of about ten women began to pound bamboo poles into wood, creating the perfect soundtrack for a sacrifice.  ‘Which buffalo would it be?’ we wondered, ‘How would it happen; a slit to the throat, perhaps?’  Unexpectedly, an albino buffalo was brought down a hill from behind the house.  “It’s the crazy buffalo,” our guide told me.  I couldn’t really see what was going on as I was on the wrong side of the house and then, just like that *snap*, it was all over (for the buffalo).  We’d missed it.  The procession began shortly after the sacrifice.  The body of the deceased (which had been placed in a beautifully painted coffin that looks like a miniature Torajan house) was carried and then hoisted up a bamboo ladder to the top of a tower.  Here it would remain here for the next four days (the length of a traditional Torajan funeral) before it was lowered back down and taken to its final resting place.  There, the coffin would be placed nearby and simply left to rot away as it is taboo to reuse any of the bamboo that was used during a funeral.

                

We felt we’d seen enough of the funeral, so we headed back to the car and went for a quick lunch.  I had tomato soup, yum!  We then went to Kambira for a further exploration of death.  Here we followed a staircase down to a sacred tree.  This tree is the final resting place for babies that are less than ten months old.  The locals believe that the soul is still pure at this age because the baby has not developed teeth and therefore cannot speak any evil.  After dying, the baby’s body is entombed in the living tree.  The tree must be living as it is believed that the spirit of the growing tree will help the spirit of the young baby to continue to grow.  Our guide told us that with the spread of Christianity, the people of Kambira no longer practice this.  The last time a baby was housed in the tree was more than 30 years ago. 

We had one more destination to go, and it was the one I was most excited about seeing, the village of Londa.  We walked down a path which awarded us with a great view of the cave graves we were preparing to investigate.  We arranged for a local guide to meet us at the cave’s entrance with a gas lantern so we could go inside the cave and see the numerous coffins that waited.  As we got closer to the cave, we noticed that there were quite a few of coffins outside as well.  Tau tau lined up above the entrance to the cave and peered down at us as we stood amazed at the sights before us.  We were greeted not only by the tau tau, but also by several skulls resting upon coffins and rocks.  All of this, and we hadn’t even entered the cave!  

Our guide lit his lantern and motioned for us to follow him inside.  Coffins lined the walls and rested precariously on edges.  Empty eye sockets gazed from every crevice and corner.  We walked in further, stepping on rocks as wells as the remnants of bones.  Suddenly, the cave seemed to end.  Before we had the chance to turn around, our guide motioned toward a hole.  “Okay?” he asked.  We shrugged and looked at one another apprehensively, as the hole was very small and would require crawling on all fours to enter.  We nodded in uncertainty and I replied meekly, “Okay.”  I removed my backpack, realizing that I would have to push it along in front of myself as I crawled.  After crawling uncomfortably for about ten minutes, we reached the end of the tunnel.  As I stood up and looked around, my breath was taken away.  I felt as though I’d crawled through to a different world, one that resembled set of a Hollywood action movie (maybe a new Indiana Jones, or possibly even Tomb Raider).  Skulls lined every edge and shelf of the cave.  Rotting coffins were scattered around, some of them left open exposing the tattered clothes that barely covered what remained.  Leg and arm bones decorated the floor.  Eerie?  Yes.  Exciting?  Yes!

In the end, Tana Toraja was all we expected and more.  After spending an entire day on death, we opted to relax and enjoy the scenery for a while.  We spent our remaining days in the area strolling through neighboring villages, drinking tuak (palm wine) with the locals while we waited out the rain, and enjoying great views of rice terraces from our homestay in the northern region.  It is a truly beautiful area, full of friendly and welcoming people.  We felt we could’ve stayed for longer, but with our visa clock running (only 60 days in Indonesia, and at a high price), we opted to move on.  Besides, we had the lovely Togian Islands to look forward to….

Click here to see more Tana Toraja photos!

-Renee

                

Photo Links

Here is the link to some photos taken in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia.
Sarawak

And, here is a link to photos from the state of Sabah, Malaysia.
Sabah

Enjoy!

-Renee

Potos!!

Sorry for the lack of photos from our trip.  The connection speed is what you would expect from a far flung spot on the map, and with the large size of some of my files, it just isn't possible.  Hopefully soon!

-Brad-

A spirited debate!

This is the first in what will be a regular series of posts on the strange alcoholic beverages that Renee and I encounter on our travels and bouts of drinking that might provide some entertainment for the few reading.  Before I get into the first of these encounters, I’d like to write a little in the way of explanation.

As you may or may not know, we have no fixed time period for our travels.  We have a certain amount of money that we are willing to part with and once it is gone, we’ll be headed back home.  We’ve established a budget of $32 a day, which is more than sufficient to travel with minimal comforts.  However, anywhere that we can cut costs to come in under our daily budget means a longer trip.  With the low cost of living in the countries we are planning to visit, saving a few dollars a day could add weeks to our trip in no time.    


As such we have not been drinking much during our travels.  Not only is sobriety easier on our collective purse, but it is also more conducive to early mornings and long bumpy bus rides without my head in a bag.  Nevertheless I consider it my duty to try what spirits the world has to offer for you dear reader,  if not  to satisfy my own curiosity.  Luckily, with a bit of persuasion I can usually get Renee to partake as well.

Which brings us to Tawau, a sweltering, rat infested hole on the east coast of Malaysian Borneo.   Unfortunately this small city was not representative of the many wonderful places that we had previously visited in our month long journey through the area.  The city had little to offer us outside of…it had absolutely nothing to offer us.  What was worse was that due to holidays, we were trapped there for five days as we awaited the opportunity to get our Indonesian visa.  With little to do besides teach ourselves new card games, I thought it would be a perfect time to find some arrack and spend the night drinking and playing Gin.

I left Renee in the hotel one morning as she was unwilling to brave the heat, and set off to take some pictures.  As a secondary goal I decided to check every grocery store that I passed for arrack.  Tawau is in the state of Sabah which is mostly Muslim.  While traveling in a society centered around Islamic law has been interesting, availability of alcohol is not one of its strong suits.   After several fruitless attempts, I entered a grimy grocery store with an ancient Chinese proprietor that looked as if he could sell me a Gremlin if I was in need.

After sifting through a shelf full of dusty bottles, I found the bottle for me.  Golden Hammer!  Some go for more pastoral, folksy names in their liquors.  Not me!  The name said “Drinking me will be akin to being bludgeoned by a tool made of precious metals!”   Literally smashed?  Only time would tell.  Arbor Mist indeed!

Victorious, I headed back to the Hotel Soon Yi where we had been holed up for the past three days.  Unfortunately, Renee did not share my enthusiasm for shiny blunt objects.  “It smells too sweet.”  Arrack is usually distilled from palms or sugarcane.  It is usually served as an aperitif abroad, but as far as I can tell here in Malaysia, it is served whenever time needs to be passed.  With no refrigeration available, I gave the bottle a position of honor on my pillow, directly in the path of the A/C (also a rarity) and left it to chill for a few hours.

After a delicious dinner at Curry House, it was time to get down to business.  As the time drew near, Renee’s protests grew louder and more frequent.  She was out of practice and needed some coaxing.  After lamenting the fact that I would have to drink alone, she caved and we broke out the cards for a game Gin.

The ratio of our first drink was 1 part arrack 3 parts water.  I had mistakenly identified our arrack as arak, a drink distilled from anise that’s popular in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and this was the recommended way to drink the latter.  On first sip I thought it was a tasty beverage, but Renee thought it was much too sweet.  I think she had prepared herself not to like it, but only she knows for sure.  We both agreed that it tasted a lot like brandy, which we’re not crazy about.  On our second drink we both felt better about the taste and so we upped our proportions for the third.  This was Renee’s breaking point and she opted out of further drinking.  Determined to do the research I continued on for three more drinks.  Afterward I stumbled out to take some pictures and meet some locals, a bit anticlimactic I know, but at that point in our stay any stimulus was welcome.

                Arrack was not really my type of drink but within that qualification it wasn’t so bad.  Renee wasn’t feeling it.  It scored as follows.

Brad                                                                                       Renee

Cost-$5 for a liter-8 points                                        8 points

Taste-6 points too sweet for me                             4.2 points-much too sweet

Effectiveness-45% 7.5 not bad                                not available due to lack of commitment                 

 Misc.Bonus-10 points for packaging.  Violent!   3 points for a high alcohol content

                Stay tuned for our review of arak’s cheaper, sluttier cousin!

-Brad-

Quick Update

Hello everyone! 

Just wanted to write a quick note to say we are in Indonesia, safe and sound.  We are on the island of Sulawesi, in the town of Rantepao which is in the middle of the Tana Toraja area.  We've had a great time exploring Tana Toraja, and have quite a few interesting stories to share with everyone when we have more time.

On Saturday we will be taking a 13 hour bus ride to the town of Poso.  From there we will catch a bus to Ampana, and from there we will take a boat out to the Togean Islands.  The reputation of the islands precedes them, and several people have named them as their favorite place in Indonesia.  We're looking forward to losing track of time while laying on the beach.  (Don't worry, I've packed plenty of sunscreen!)

We are having an amazing time, and every day is a new adventure.  Sorry we haven't been able to upload many photos, but the internet connections are very slow so it's quite difficult.  We're still working on it!

Until another wi-fi locale,
Renee