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Tana Toraja & BaliTana Toraja & Bali
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A Wedding, A Funeral, and An Anniversary + My 6th Layover in Tokyo Read more
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  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 1

    Prologue

    July 4, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I've always been fascinated by Tana Toraja ever since I first heard about their funerary practices in the 1990s. Back when I took my career break in 2017, I wanted to go to Tana Toraja after Flores, but after traveling overland through Flores, I couldn’t handle the prospect of yet more crazy winding mountain roads. So, I opted to chill in Bali instead.

    Last year, my friends Ryan and Anthony announced they would be getting married in Bali this July, so I decided to check off another bucket list item - Tana Toraja - before heading to Ubud. As an added bonus, my friend Trixie was going to the wedding as well, and so we planned to spend a week exploring Bali.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 1

    Honolulu to Los Angeles

    July 4, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    American Airlines AA162 | HNL/LAX
    First Class (Domestic)
    Airbus A321-200 | N135NN
    ATD/1247 | ATA/2058
    Lounge: Sakura Lounge

    While on final approach for landing at LAX, we were treated to an aerial view of fireworks all over Los Angeles. This was quite a treat!Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 3

    Hong Kong to Jakarta

    July 6, 2019 in Hong Kong ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    Cathay Pacific CX777 | HKG/CGK
    Business Class
    Airbus A350-900 | B-LRO
    ATD/0923 | ATA/1301
    Lounge: The Bridge

    This was my first flight on the A350. I was booked in Premium Economy, but I scored a free upgrade to Business Class.Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 3

    Arrival Into Makassar

    July 6, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    My initial plan was to arrive in Makassar on the evening of July 6th, stay at a hotel near the northern bus terminal, and then bus it to Rantepao (the main travelers’ hub in Toraja) the next morning. While researching how to get from Makassar to Tana Toraja, I could not find any buses scheduled for Sunday morning from the northern terminal. I tried looking at the various travel and bus companies’ sites but I only got conflicting information. As I was on a tight timeline with little room for error (a sad consequence of once again being a gainfully employed adult), I decided to seek help from Dodo Mursalim, a freelance guide who came highly recommended by the Lonely Planet. Dodo responded to my email promptly, and he confirmed my suspicions that there were limited Sunday daytime buses from the northern terminal. He offered to pick me up at the airport, put me up in his homestay, and then send me to the bus company that did run Sunday morning trips, all for a very reasonable price. I gratefully accepted his offer.

    I arrived exhausted at Makassar airport on the evening of July 6. Dodo’s friend Eddie was waiting for me. I gratefully hoisted myself into his car for the ride to Dodo’s homestay. The initial drive on the toll road was very pleasant, but that soon ended once we exited the toll road onto a gridlocked road. This being Indonesia, there were few traffic lights and lots of traffic going in all directions. I have spent enough time in this country to not be fazed. As we approached our destination, I noted the number of mosques in the vicinity and groaned inwardly... this was going to be an early wakeup.

    At his homestay, Dodo greeted me, showed me to a simple room, and bade me good night. Even in my addled state, my mind registered Chinese paraphernalia all over Dodo's house.

    I slept well that night, but, at the expected hour (4.30am), multiple calls to prayer woke me up. Arrggh. It has been a while since I’ve been in a Muslim city. I had a difficult time falling asleep again. At 6.30am, I joined Dodo and Eddie for breakfast downstairs. Breakfast was coffee and bread with chocolate rice - talk about an Indo-Dutch concoction! This breakfast was oddly comforting as it reminded me of breakfasts at various losmen way back when.

    Dodo, not surprisingly, turned out to be quite a character; warm, friendly, full of surprises. He even performed a magic trick. Dodo also explained that he was married to a Chinese woman (she was out of town) which explained the Chinese paraphernalia. I wish she had been around as I’m very interested in learning more about the lives of the Indonesian Chinese.

    Anyone who needs a fixer in Makassar shouldn’t hesitate to seek Dodo out. According to Eddie, Dodo manages to set up just about anything for his guests. Don’t expect luxury if you stay with Dodo. What you can expect, though, is a warm man who will treat you like an old friend. He can be contacted via WhatsApp at +62 812-4129-913.

    Dodo’s website: http://dodopenman.blogspot.com

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 4

    Makassar to Rantepao

    July 7, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    After leaving Dodo’s, Eddie drove me to the Bintang Prima bus station and bade me goodbye. There, I purchased a ticket for the 9am bus. The bus was large and it had recliner seats, which is a huge step upwards compared to most buses in Indonesia. While waiting, I saw the staff tinkering with the rear wheel well and I momentarily fretted about departing late, then I reminded myself: (1) this is Indonesia; and (2) the journey matters as much as the destination. The bus departed a few minutes late. On the manifest, handwritten next to my name was “(Bule)” (translation=Caucasian). Haha. I guess in this context I might as well be a white guy. The only other foreigners at the station were a Dutch couple.

    Remember my saying that the journey matters as much as the destination? At one of the stops on the northern edge of Makassar, a bule boarded the bus and he was directed to sit next to me. He greeted me and I immediately knew he was American. What were the chances of that? Charlie had lived in Indonesia for four years and he had a furniture business in Bali and a coffee business in Toraja. He was on his way to Tana Toraja to take care of his coffee business. He was stoked to have a few hours of conversation in English with someone with a close cultural connection. A fellow expat like me, I could tell his views about pretty much everything had evolved, a natural consequence when your life straddles two worlds and things get complicated. He was excited and nervous about his upcoming trip to the States... I could sympathize with that. He was good company and he made a long journey pass faster.

    The bus made a lunch stop at Pare Pare. The restaurant where we stopped offered a simple meal of rice, fried fish, and satay. I looked around helplessly for utensils, and then I saw Charlie and the locals starting to eat with their hands. Eating with my hands is a skill I never mastered, but I shrugged and did my best.

    Before departing Makassar, I took one motion sickness pill. Up until lunch, the road had been flat, but I knew we would soon turn inland and go up some winding roads. Out of an abundance of caution, I took a second pill after lunch. Bad mistake. By 3pm, I was zoning, and trying valiantly to stay awake to enjoy the brilliant scenery and Charlie's company.

    The bus rolled into Rantepao - the tourist center of Tana Toraja - around 8pm, a full 11 hours after departing Makassar. I was exhausted but I was cognizant enough to spot a sign for Pia’s Poppies, my hotel for the next three nights. It turned out to be a cute place, and an amazing bargain for the price I paid.

    Other bloggers on this site had all reported that there were guides waiting for them when they arrived. I didn’t encounter any, but maybe that was because I disembarked from the bus before the usual stop in town where tourists disembark. So, while eating dinner at Pia's Poppies, I WhatsApped Dodo, and wow what a miracle worker this guy is. Within a few minutes, a guide named Ritha came looking for me and we negotiated a two day itinerary for a reasonable fee.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…

    Charlie's Furniture Business: https://www.charliekodatt.com/
    Charlie's Coffee Business: https://www.alukcoffee.com/    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 5

    Lemo

    July 8, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    As Ritha was already committed to a different client for the first day, she asked her associate Anto to take me around. Our itinerary today took us on a circuit south of Rantepao. After a good breakfast, I met Anto, climbed onto the back of his motorbike, and off we went. Anto turned out to be a fun and engaging guy.

    Our first stop today was the village of Lemo. At this village, we explored some limestone cliffs where the dead are buried in holes dug into the stone. At the front of the dug out holes were tau tau, which are wooden effigies of the dead. Anto explained that the tau tau with upturned hands are seeking blessings for their descendants, while hands that are turned sideways signal protection for descendants. It was odd to see bottles of water and packets of cigarettes at the graves. Anto explained that these were offerings.

    At this village, there were also a few preserved traditional houses called tongkonan. These were old school tongkonan, as evidenced by their bamboo (as opposed to be more aluminum) roofs, and vegetation growing from the roofs.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 5

    Tampang Allo

    July 8, 2019 in Indonesia

    Our second stop was Tampang Allo, which had a cave with “hanging graves”. Hanging graves are coffins that are placed on platforms inside caves. This isn’t practiced anymore. The graves we saw were in various stages of decay, and bones and skulls were visible.

    Our next stop, also in the same village, was probably the saddest of all. Infants who die before their teeth come out are still considered pure, so they are buried inside a tree. A hole is carved into the sacred tree, and the baby’s corpse is brought out there in the middle of the night so it does not find its way back easily to its mother. This particular tree is selected because it has white sap that resembles mother’s milk. The baby is buried in the tree and then it becomes part of the tree.

    Along the way, Anto provided me with various snippets of information on Torajan culture. Key highlights included:

    1. Spaces for the dead and spaces for the living are kept strictly separated. Nothing from the deceased persons’ spaces may be brought into the living persons’ spaces. I saw a papaya tree next to some graves, and I asked if the fruit could be consumed. Anto replied to the affirmative, but they had to be consumed at the grave area. The people who chisel tombs cannot wear the same clothes when they leave the tombs to go home.

    2. The west is associated with the dead and the east with the living. Funerals typically don’t start before noon because the sun is in the west after noon.

    3. People now tend to bury their dead in little concrete houses.

    4. The cliff graves must be chiseled by hand. Lots of scuff marks were visible in those graves.

    5. Torajan society is stratified and rituals vary by social class.

    6. The Torajans are very much connected with their past and their lineage. They visit their deceased in their graves, and every few years they take them out, change their clothes, and perform other acts of care.

    7. Traditions aren’t typically written down; they’re passed down by word of mouth. This, of course, leads to confusion.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 5

    The Funeral

    July 8, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Note: I have broken out the funeral into multiple entries to get around the 20 photo and two video limit per footprint. Also, the geographic location of the funeral depicted on this footprint may not be accurate.

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    Our next stop was the one I had been anticipating the most: there was a big funeral going on that day! Anto first drove us to a funeral that looked pretty modest. He quickly ascertained that we were at the wrong funeral, and we made our way to the correct one. This was a sizable funeral for two siblings - one male and one female - of noble birth. The man had been dead for over a year, his sister for a few months.

    I was first introduced to a representative of the family and I handed him a white envelope containing a note that Anto wrote introducing myself, along with a cash offering. I wanted to at least ask him the names of the deceased, but my Indonesian failed me at that moment.

    The foreigners were then led to a platform and provided with lunch. We ate with our fingers. Lunch was rice, a pork dish, and anchovies tossed with shaved coconut and chilies. It was a really good meal.

    My YouTube video of the funeral highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBXUIJC97CQ&amp…;
    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

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