Bali off the beaten track

Many tourists prefer locations in Bali such as Kuta, Sanur, Nusa Dua or Ubud city centre because they are easy to reach from Ngurah Rai airport. These places can be beautiful, have a strong surf break or scenery but they are so swamped with the type of tourists I prefer not to meet. So this time we visited the less touristy and well-known places like Uluwatu and Padang Padang beach, Mengwi and Batukaru area as well as Munduk and Beratan surroundings.

Uluwatu beach region
Uluwatu and Padang Padang beach and surrounding rocky areas are relatively expensive for local standards and you hardly find any local eateries offering local prices. They mostly cater to Western tourists and expats. However, we still enjoyed the atmosphere in places like Single Fin Bar at Uluwatu Beach or Mango Tree Cafe near Padang Padang Beach.

We stayed at Zona Greens Homestay which had a lovely view over the hill, forest and water. Uluwatu beaches especially Blue Point Beach had a strong surf, we needed some efforts to climb down the rocks but it had a magnificent view over the cliffs, rocks and the surfers in the water. The Uluwatu Temple is located in the forest, overlooking wild cliffs and ocean. Occasionally we could watch a monkey eating a whole bag of chips.

The Kecak performance along with the Ramayana dances at sundown was not necessarily traditional but the fire acrobat comedians still did a great job and interacted with the public. The sunset just added the right atmosphere to the beautiful temple and the breathtaking view of the cliffs and ocean.

Mengwi and Umabian village
Our next trip was the Mengwi area: Our first impression was not great especially after our stay in Uluwatu. However, we quickly changed our minds after entering the resort, saw the tastefully appointed rooms and garden where we received an extremely warm welcome from the staff members. Our hotel Umasari Terraces was located in the middle of the rice terraces where we already had the chance to be part of the village. The staff was extremely professional, genuinely warmhearted, every room was equipped with a flat screen TV, fridge, coffee and tea making facilities and free water. There was a beautifully decorated verandah in front where we were also served breakfast and sundowners.  It was close enough to the town of Mengwi, around 15 min by scooter. We visited the beautiful Pura Taman Ayun Temple, a relatively large HIndu temple surrounded by a beautiful park near a beautiful river. In the morning there was a local farmer's market with local produce, snacks and cakes.

Our homestay host and his family invited us to be part of the Galungan Festival, a religious festival in Bali. We joined them into their family temple. As the neighbours announced that a pig would be slaughtered nearly at our doorstep, I found an excuse not to watch it. I told them that we needed to do some shopping in town. From what I had heard later, the screaming animal needed around 20 minutes to die, in fact it was being bled to death to gain its blood. Occasionally they would widen the wound to let more blood flow and the poor animal even screamed harder.

On Galungan Day we walked through the hilly rice terraces to the family temple, past a small river where ladies took their bath. Our hotel lent us a sarong and sache because otherwise we would be denied entrance to the shrine. It was a serene and holy feel, the type of spiritual atmosphere we found difficult to capture in a blog text

Batukaru area
Our next journey led us to Batukaru temple, one of the major temples in Bali which I would definitely recommend instead of Besakih temple. People from all over Bali and Indonesia came along in beautiful and colourful costumes to worship God and their ancestors . We experienced the first day of Galungan, had the opportunity to watch beautiful ritual dances welcoming the ancestors from the afterlife, performed by young girls of premenstrual age. Women in their period or pregnant, baby who haven't grown teeth were not allowed into the Batukaru temple.

Each temple had its own regulations because other temples had no problems allowing babies or pregnant women. It was a different atmosphere, more worldly than in Umabian village because people came from all over Indonesia in their best  kamen(Balinese sarong), kebaya(traditional blouse) and anteng(sache tied around the kebaya). Apart from the beautiful dances and costumes, we could watch several people who acted as though they were possessed. Local people told us that the gods and the ancestors descended onto the earth and communicated through designated people with their families. The Galungan festivities take place twice a year and symbolises the battle between good and bad. The Gods and ancestors will descend to earth and remain there for fourteen days until Kuningan Day. On this day, they will return to heaven again and there will be modest but impressive temple festivities.

Jatiluwih, Beratan, Candi Kuning market, Munduk
Our driver took us through less frequented small roads where we passed impressive rice terraces and our  first stop was Mirah Agrotourism plantation, beautifully located on top of a hill. We could sample many different types of coffee and chocolate and view the plantation. We saw luwaks in a cage, the cage was relatively big compared to some other plantations but we still decided not to support this inhumane business. The coffee was also the worst and the most expensive compared to what we had in other places like Uluwatu, Batukaru or Munduk.

We needed to pay the amount of idr 15 k  for international and 10 k for local tourists to pass the stretch through Jatiluwih Rice Terraces. It was a huge and wide-spread area of rice terraces surrounded by beautiful mountains. The weather was not nice and suddenly it started to rain. Normally visitors had the chance to do a real hike through the rice fields but we didn't have the opportunity to do this due to the heavy rain

Munduk and surroundings
After visiting the Candi Kuning market and passing the Beratan lake, finally we reached Munduk. Because of the rain, I didn't bother to go through the market which I found too touristy and agressive anyway. I planned to stay in Munduk just for one night and never expected that I ended up staying for 10 days. My first visit was the Tamblingan Lake where we could see 3 temple ruines. The lake itself wasn't worth the entrance fee, it was much more picturesque to view it from the road. But the road between Munduk and Gobleg had a breathtaking view on the lakes and plantations. Later I walked or rode the stretch between Munduk and the two lakes Buyan and Tamblingan in Gobleg at least 4 times. I also visited the giant Banyan tree which fell down during the storm. The giant Banyan roots were open to viewing and we could just imagine how gigantic the tree was.

Unfortunately Munduk and Gobleg were villages and just started to develop tourism. They are nice but when you are not lucky, you will be continuously bothered by people who wanted to sell you overpriced food or souvenirs. Nevertheless, most people were friendly and after I have been there there for some time, people started to loosen up and became very loyal and protective

Waterfalls and plantations
There was a strong GPS signal where ever I walked although I preferred to walk the main road with occasional treks through plantations. Later I found out that the trekking members paid a fee to the plantations but people were friendly enough to let a lone lady trekker pass through their land. Whereever I walked, the heavenly fragrance of the coffee beans and cloves caressed my olfactory senses. I wasn't too impressed by the Munduk Waterfalls because it was full of tourists and I had difficulties to capture a moment without a backpacker on it.

Later I found out that the path leading to the waterfalls had been a dispute between the villages Munduk and Gobleg. Munduk wanted to boost tourism and built steps leading to the waterfalls. Gobleg protested because some local residents had their homes all the way down on these jungle paths. So they broke up the steps and built a small path for scooters. Sharing such a narrow path with fast motor vehicles was not pleasant at all and I felt unsafe, so I wouldn't really recommend the Munduk or Melanting waterfalls at all

My favourite waterfall was the Golden Valley waterfall, around 3 km upwards from Melanting . The way down was slippery, had no bars to hold on but as an experienced bush walker I knew how to hold on to plants without injuring myself. After all, locals who live on this stretch do the same. This waterfall was small but it was a real hidden gem owned by an organic coffee plantation. So you could see coffee plants all over on your way down to the waterfall where you could have a coffee in the organic Cafe. Tip: If you need an umbrella to protect you against rain or sun, you can use a huge tarot leaf. Tarot plants grow everywhere in the area and you don't need to carry an umbrella.

At least they only had coffee from wild living luwaks(civets) and the animals weren't kept in small cages. The next waterfalls was Git Git where you could ride a scooter through the beautiful forested and mountainous landscape. Unfortunately at the entrance there were many little children pushing to sell you overpriced souvenirs. Please ignore them because they really disturb the tourists.

I celebrated Kuningan Day, the last day of the Galungan Festivities with my homestay host. They lent me a real temple attire, I could help in the kitchen and join them praying in the family temple. Maybe initially they didn't plan to involve me in their family plans but finally they decided to invite me to join the family. Apparently they had seen that I have put much efforts in creating the offering plate with fruits, sate, BBQ chicken and flowers. By that time I had enough knowledge of the local culture to smoothly participate in their ceremonies..

I grew accustomed to this place and saying goodbye always hurt a bit. It was quite touching to see my host family and neighbours bringing me to the car to say good bye. On my way back to Denpasar airport, I bought some fruits at Candi Kuning Market and visited Beratan Lake in Bedugul. We stopped for late breakfast in a delicious local eatery somewhere aong the way. I hope I will have the opportunity to explore more places off the beaten tourist track in the future. I seriously consider living in Bali after I have found the place where I would like to live. So for the next trip I will explore the Ubud surroundings and Batur area. The latter is also tourist hell but I hope I will find quieter times outside the main season.

Bali can be really God's Island if you come to the right place at the right time, but if you come to the wrong places at the wrong time, just be prepared to experience what hell would be like.

Luxembourg city and surrounding

I needed to do some business in Luxemburg city and thought I could combine it with a short holiday. The most impressive combination between culture and nature is the Petrusse Valley in the heart of the city. The Petrusse and Bock casemates are historic works worth looking at. When you arrive at Place d'Armes you look down into the valley at a beautiful park with a lot of greenery.

From here we can get straight into the city centre and old town where we can look at old architecture, do some shopping and buy coffee, Belgian chocolates and the famous Belgian speculoos cookie sandwich spread. The grand supermarket Auchan in Kirchberg is located in a huge shopping mall with many cafes and restaurants. Here you can buy all sorts of spirits and wine for nearly half the price you would pay in Germany. Many Germans who live close to the border come here, do some shopping and return to their home on the same day.

Lac Esch sur Sur

This time I used Couchsurfing again and made great friends. I had a couple of days laughing and talking to them. Unfortunately it was midweek and they didn't have time to join me to explore the beauties of the country. On the first day it was raining, I visited a few museums, saw the Palace of the Duke, The Cathedral  and the winding roads in the old town. The Cafes Chocolate House and Oberweiss are the most renowned and not quite cheap cafes. The other cafes are a lot cheaper and not all that bad.

If you travel everyday, you can buy combined tickets for EUR 16,- you can use on all the trains, trams and buses in Luxemburg. So on my first available day I went to Mondorf, a small spa town with a pretty park and thermal sources in beautiful nature. Then I continued to Remich on the Moselle using the same bus service. A one-hour-tour by boat on the Moselle gives you the feeling how  close Europeans live together. The left side belongs to Luxemburg with beautiful Luxemburg vineyards, the right side is the German side with lots of forested areas and camping sites.

In a small country like Luxemburg you can do three different tours to three different places with different nature and ethnic cultures within one day. The average Luxemburgian speaks four languages: Luxemburgian or Letzeburguesch, German, French and English. German, French and Letzeburguesch are the official languages but most people speak Letzeburguesch among each other, French better than German. Some of them speak even six languages.

Me at Place d'Armes looking into Petrusse Valley Park

The north of Luxemburg, the Ardennes bordering very close to Belgium is one of the most beautiful places in Luxemburg. Just the train ride along the Petrusse Valley in Luxemburg city, through the Ardennes to Clervaux is a trip on its own. I walked a steep walk from Clervaux Palace to Clairvaux abbey.

The day was long enough to return to Luxemburg city. Unlike by car, the bus and train lines only operate between Luxemburg city and other towns. So I had to return to Luxemburg central station to catch the bus to Echternach. I enjoyed my time at the Echternach man-made lake, went to a huge supermarket and then arrived at Echternach station in time. Another huge shopping mall was under construction.

One of the most picturesque places are Vianden and on this day I forgot my camera. I never thought that the pictures would rest in my mind so a camera wasn't even needed. The bus ride between Ettelbrück train station and Vianden was another trip through breathtaking scenery. Vianden itself was another harmony between nature and architecture. Beautiful weeping willows hanging onto the river, hills, forested hiking trails, a beautiful palace, castle ruines and an ancient bridge were the highlights of this village.

My Couchsurfing hosts Michael and Pipoc

I took a walk in the old town before I climbed up to the castle ruines and the castle itself was beautifully refurbished. Nearly approaching the end of the day, I discovered a hidden campsite on the other side of the river.You could pitch your tent by the water, barbeque the meat you just bought in town and have a relaxing day. It is just very close to the old town. Unfortunately they don't have many supermarkets in both Vianden and Clervaux. So prepare yourself by buying food at Auchan Kirchberg super market before going on a camping trip. It is different from Echternach where the county expected a lot of revenues from nearby cities in Germany.

Last but not least I am so grateful and happy that I could surf Julia and Michael's couch. It was such a nice family who of course spoke several languages and we were so amused that Michael, his brother Bruno and father George spoke German together. My faith in Couchsurfing is now restored, not exactly  in the management and staff members but the interesting people I got to meet and stay with. Of course  we had already made plans for them to visit us next year.

What to do in Mainz in a day

I have been living in Mainz for most of my life now and it has become like my hometown. However, I will always find hidden places that I didn't know much about. As somebody asked what to do during a 5 hours layover in Mainz, originally I have written an article called "5 hours in Mainz". Later I thought it will be too superficial and hectic to see too much of Mainz in 5 hours, so I have directed it at people who spend at least a whole day in Mainz.

 Mainz, the capital city of Rhineland Palatinate is only located half an hour by train from Frankfurt Airport. However, unlike Frankfurt, Mainz is a city geographically small enough to put your arms around. You can gain good memories by visiting for the day, although to really enjoy the city you need to prepare off the internet or stay longer. I would recommend at least one night stay in Mainz. Hotels are expensive but you can look on AirBnB or other websites. There is a nice hostel in Mainz too. A day ticket for Mainz is paramount if you take at least 3 trips. If you have more time, you can use the same ticket to see Wiesbaden, the capital city of Hesse. Wiesbaden is located at the foot of the Taunus Mountain range and used to be a famous spa city for German and American nobilities .

Antique excavations near Fort Malakoff and Lothar Passage mall:
Mainz dates back to more than 2000 years and there are many excavations not yet discovered. Two antique Roman excavations were found by accident as the city started to build shopping malls. The Roman Theatre ruines are just opposite Fort Malakoff at the Bahnhof Süd(train station south).The ruines were so vast and gigantic that they cancelled the whole construction of the mall. The second one was at Lothar Passage shopping malls. The Roman Isis temple ruines were found by accident. Unlike Südbahnhof they went on with the shopping mall from where you can enter a shop with Roman books, wines and other artefacts. Just walk down the steps going down to the Isis temple ruines

Malakoff, Roman Theatre, Rhine walk, Fischtorplatz, Dom, Augustinerstr
From Malakoff shopping mall, you are ready to start your walk past the beautiful small parks, old houses and medieval fortress Reduit while enjoying the other site of the river. There is a Rewe shop in the Malakoff mall to buy your beer and food. Have a beer on the steps by the Rhineside between Fort Malakoff and Hyatt Hotel. This way you can save your money for a pub.

Continue your walk and have a short break at Holzturm(wood tower) and continue walking until you reach Fischtorplatz. The Dom(Cathedral) will be your point of orientation on the left-hand side. Walk past the large Cathedral square(Liebfrauenplatz) towards Höfchen(small court), the center of the city. Here you can find any type of cafe you would enjoy.The real old town Augustiner Str with medieval half-timbered houses and cafes starts after the Höfchen(small court) to the left side.

Spend some time walking the Augustiner Str, the real Mainz old town where you can view many medieval half-timbered houses and the Agustiner church and priest seminary. You will find many places to have a drink but my favourite is the Domgickel, Klingelbeutel. and Weinhaus Blum, located a bit off Augustiner Str. The Altstadt Cafe has nice food and is not extremely expensive. At the end of Augustiner str you can view the Baroque church St Ignaz, their oven-shaped catacombes and more typical Mainz wine holes. Turn left direction Holzturm and you will be back at the Malakoff area where you can enjoy beer gardens in the evening. Takes at least 2 hours and more.

Make sure you have a day ticket for the bus to travel back and forth. This is the website that can help you find your way:
http://www.rmv.de

Dom, Ludwigstr, Mainz opera, Schillerplatz, Gaustr, St Stephan, Kupferberg
Starting from the Dom, you can also walk Ludwigstr towards Schillerplatz where you can walk into Gaustr. and walk up the hill to St Stephan church. The Mainz Balkon on Ludwigstr opposite Mainz opera is a new grill pub restaurant overlooking  most important sights of Mainz.  From Schillerplatz you can walk up the Kupferbergterasse or join a guided tour at the Kupferberg Sektkellerei( sparkling wine manufacturer). From here you can easily walk to St Stephan church.

This church is famous for its Chagall windows which Marc Chagall donated to the archbishopry of Mainz for excellent cooperation with the Jewish community. On a sunny day, the whole church turns blue when the sun shines through these windows. There is also a synagoge in Mainz if you have the time to view it.My favourite breakfast cafe is 'Dicke Lilli Gutes Kind' in the Gaustr. .Takes around 2-3 hours or more

A short summary you can hopefully enjoy within a couple of hours:
1.Fort Malakoff, steps for picnic, stroll along the Rhine side, inner city incl Dom(cathedral), architecture, other cafes, old town Augustiner Str . At least two hours including relaxing breaks.
2.Dom, Ludwigstr, Schillerplatz and St Stephan church. Cafe 'Dicke Lilli Gutes Kind' in the Gaustr., Kupferberterasse and sektkellerei

If you have more time or would like to focus on the Rhineside only, you can start your walk in the Neustadt area, see a less touristy area where mostly locals chill out in the grassy areas. You can start at the "Kaisertor" at the end of the Kaiserstraße which is part of the former fortress built by Napoleon. Here you can see nice grassy areas, flowers, picnic tables which are beautiful but far less refined than the area between fischtorplatz and Malakoff Shopping mall. Walk past the new town or Neustadt where you can still see some of the old houses, past the old town with view on the cathedral(Dom), past Malakoff passage area straight through to the Stadtpark(City park), a beautiful park with a large enough rose garden with marvelous views on the Rhine from high up. Apparently the Neustadt area has been bombed a lot more than the area near Malakoff Shopping Mall and Hyatt Hotel.

You can still see a lot in 6 hours but you have to rush and this is not pleasant at all.There is the famous hustling and bustling Mainz farmer's market on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday


Mainz official website:
www.mainz.de

What to do in Mainz in a day

Somebody asked me what to do when they only have 5 hours lay-over in Mainz, the city which is now dear to my heart because I have lived here longer than in any other place. Originally the title of this blog entry was "5 hours in Mainz".

Mainz, the capital city of Rhineland Palatinate is only located half an hour by train from Frankfurt Airport. However, unlike Frankfurt, Mainz is a city geographically small enough to put your arms around. You can gain good memories by visiting for the day, although to really enjoy the city you need to prepare off the internet or stay longer. I would recommend at least one night stay in Mainz. Hotels are expensive but you can look on AirBnB or other websites. There is a nice hostel in Mainz too. A day ticket for Mainz is paramount if you take at least 3 trips. If you have more time, you can use the same ticket to see Wiesbaden, the capital city of Hesse. Wiesbaden is located at the foot of the Taunus Mountain range and used to be a famous spa city for German and American nobilities .

Antique excavations near Fort Malakoff and Lothar Passage mall:
Mainz dates back to more than 2000 years and there are many excavations not yet discovered. Two antique Roman excavations were found by accident as the city started to build shopping malls. The Roman Theatre ruines are just opposite Fort Malakoff at the Bahnhof Süd(train station south).The ruines were so vast and gigantic that they cancelled the whole construction of the mall. The second one was at Lothar Passage shopping malls. The Roman Isis temple ruines were found by accident. Unlike Südbahnhof they went on with the shopping mall from where you can enter a shop with Roman books, wines and other artefacts. Just walk down the steps going down to the Isis temple ruines

Malakoff, Roman Theatre, Rhine walk, Fischtorplatz, Dom, Augustinerstr
From Malakoff shopping mall, you are ready to start your walk past the beautiful small parks, old houses and medieval fortress Reduit while enjoying the other site of the river. There is a Rewe shop in the Malakoff mall to buy your beer and food. Have a beer on the steps by the Rhineside between Fort Malakoff and Hyatt Hotel. This way you can save your money for a pub.

Continue your walk and have a short break at Holzturm(wood tower) and continue walking until you reach Fischtorplatz. The Dom(Cathedral) will be your point of orientation on the left-hand side. Walk past the large Cathedral square(Liebfrauenplatz) towards Höfchen(small court), the center of the city. Here you can find any type of cafe you would enjoy.The real old town Augustiner Str with medieval half-timbered houses and cafes starts after the Höfchen(small court) to the left side.

Spend some time walking the Augustiner Str, the real Mainz old town where you can view many medieval half-timbered houses and the Agustiner church and priest seminary. You will find many places to have a drink but my favourite is the Domgickel, Klingelbeutel. and Weinhaus Blum, located a bit off Augustiner Str. The Altstadt Cafe has nice food and is not extremely expensive. At the end of Augustiner str you can view the Baroque church St Ignaz, their oven-shaped catacombes and more typical Mainz wine holes. Turn left direction Holzturm and you will be back at the Malakoff area where you can enjoy beer gardens in the evening. Takes at least 2 hours and more.

Make sure you have a day ticket for the bus to travel back and forth. This is the website that can help you find your way:
http://www.rmv.de

Dom, Ludwigstr, Mainz opera, Schillerplatz, Gaustr, St Stephan, Kupferberg
Starting from the Dom, you can also walk Ludwigstr towards Schillerplatz where you can walk into Gaustr. and walk up the hill to St Stephan church. The Mainz Balkon on Ludwigstr opposite Mainz opera is a new grill pub restaurant overlooking  most important sights of Mainz.  From Schillerplatz you can walk up the Kupferbergterasse or join a guided tour at the Kupferberg Sektkellerei( sparkling wine manufacturer). From here you can easily walk to St Stephan church.

This church is famous for its Chagall windows which Marc Chagall donated to the archbishopry of Mainz for excellent cooperation with the Jewish community. On a sunny day, the whole church turns blue when the sun shines through these windows. There is also a synagoge in Mainz if you have the time to view it.My favourite breakfast cafe is 'Dicke Lilli Gutes Kind' in the Gaustr. .Takes around 2-3 hours or more

A short summary you can hopefully enjoy within a couple of hours:
1.Fort Malakoff, steps for picnic, stroll along the Rhine side, inner city incl Dom(cathedral), architecture, other cafes, old town Augustiner Str . At least two hours including relaxing breaks.
2.Dom, Ludwigstr, Schillerplatz and St Stephan church. Cafe 'Dicke Lilli Gutes Kind' in the Gaustr., Kupferberterasse and sektkellerei

If you have more time or would like to focus on the Rhineside only, you can start your walk at Frauenlobplatz in the Neustadt area and walk past the old town with view on the cathedral(Dom), past Malakoff passage area straight through to the Stadtpark(City park), a beautiful park with a large enough rose garden with marvelous views on the Rhine from high up

You can still see a lot in 6 hours but you have to rush and this is not pleasant at all.There is the famous hustling and bustling Mainz farmer's market on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday


Mainz official website:
www.mainz.de

Journey into the land of the dead

There is no culture in the world that celebrates funerals more lavishly than weddings except of Toraja Land in the northern part of South Sulawesi. We have been fortunate that we could attend the funeral ceremony of a rich and respected man. The richer their families are, the bigger and more lavish the celebration. But let us start with our first day in Torajaland. Our guides Yakub Kakke and Rante spoke good English and were very knowledgable in what they present. Our drive from Makassar was long and strenuous, we contacted the owner of Pison Hotel where we stayed for the whole time we were in Rantepao. He immediately engaged his driver to pick us up. The drive was interesting and there was a lot to see. Our airline Sriwijaya Air had a couple of massive delays and we were not able to see the mountainuous part of Torajaland during the car ride.Here is some information about Torajaland or Tana Toraja


Our car was broken into at the parking lot of Hotel Bukit Kenari Indah, Pare-pare.
We stopped in Pare Pare, a nice town by the sea but a horrible tourist city. Everything was expensive and of lower quality than what we had between Luwuk and Ampana. They brought us to a restaurant and hotel, Bukit Indah Kenari. The hotel and restaurant was nice but the food was so-so at best and relatively expensive for Indonesian standards. As we wanted to get into the car, we noticed that somebody has broken the window and stole our driver's two bags. Luckily the drivers brought their money with them and the thief could be happy with dirty smelly clothes. We brought our bags with us but the thief didn't try to steal our backpacks. It took hardly a quarter of an hour before there was a large crowd gathering at our car, everybody showed compassion, had something to advise and the police came very quickly.The owner of Pison Hotel demanded Hotel Bukit Kenari Indah to pay the damage as it was their fault. A hotel should employ security guards especially when it is so dark. Hotel Bukit Kenari Indah refused to pay the damage and apparently not prepared to take over responsibility. It was very negligent to not employ security guards and I need to write this because they should have employed security guards. We arrived late night at Hotel Pison Rantepao.


14 November 2014
We were dead-tired as we arrived at Hotel Pison and slept in until midday. Then we followed our guide Rante to see a water buffalo fight which was part of the death rite celebrations. After this we tried mie bakso kerbau or noodle soup with water buffalo meatballs. They served us fresh duck eggs and pisang ijo(green banana) for the first time. Then our trip continued to Kete K'esu where we could see a burial site and many traditional Toraja houses. It was raining as we arrived at the hotel and therefore we had some food at the hotel. Death rite celebrations last a couple of days and is a very expensive event.

15 November 2014
Our guide Yakub Kakke took us into the southern part of Toraja, to Londa, Lemo, we watched the baby graves and many megalithic stones. At Londa we needed to follow an extra guide who guided us with a lamp through the caves. Here we could see many coffins and clay statues called Tau Tau.It was impressive and we could hardly find words to see a different cultural world along with beautiful landscape. We also saw graves near Makkale and had typical Toraja food like Papiong(fish, chicken or pork) roasted in bamboo in a typical warung(Indonesian streetfood stall). On every tour we could see the Tongkonan or Torajan tradition house which is the center of social interaction between the nobilities. Also Torajans believe that death is not a sudden abrupt event but a gradual process towards Puya, the land of the souls or afterlife.Many coffins have the shape of a ship because it is said that they would be transported to Puya by ship. The buffalo slaughtering has a unique meaning: The soul of the deceased person will ride the soul of the buffalo on their way to Puya. Only those families who had sacrified at least 24 buffaloes will be given a Tau Tau or statue near their grave. One buffalo cost IDR 1 billion which is roughly about EUR 80.000,-

16 November 2014
Today Rante took us into the northern part of Toraja, into the mountains with breathtaking views and man-made stone graves. While in the south, natural limestone caves could serve as a resting place for the dead, in the north they were cut into the stone with chisel and hammer. We saw beautiful Lokomata and Batu Tumonga. AFter this we visited a market where I bought a black Torajan sarong and greyish scarf for the funeral celebration tomorrow. The dress code to attend such funeral celebration is black or dark, shoulders and knees covered.

Funeral celebration 17 November
We were expected to donate a package of cigarettes although this is not a requirement. There were virtually thousands of people gathering while some were Western tourists. Yakob could find a good spot for us to sit and we could watch the many people dancing and chanting. Unfortunately it was not the main slaughtering day where virtually 15-24 bufalloes can be sacrified. There was only one water buffalo sacrifice on that day. The butcher did a good job with his machete and before you realise the buffalo was dead. I think the buffaloes were drugged while the pigs were not. I felt very sorry for the pigs because very few people know that they were sensitive and social animals. I saw the pigs virtually shivering awaiting their turn to be slaughtered while they could watch the others being slaughtered. We had lunch like pork satay and fish papiong along with some sweet snacks

Trip to Central Sulawesi

Central Sulawesi is not yet frequented by mass tourism and we thought it was a beautiful and challenging place to travel. We decided to fly because we only had 15 days for our Sulawesi trip and flights were not more expensive than a chartered car.  Advice for Central and South Sulawesi travellers who don't have all the time of the world: Fly as much as possible instead of driving. It is a lot less stressful, hardly more expensive if at all. It is definitely worth the effort to fly back from Luwuk to Makassar first before heading to Torajaland by car. Luwuk itself is worth staying at least one night. The religious tension in the Poso area encouraged us even more to fly and skip Lake Poso.

Our first flight was from Jakarta to Luwuk via Makassar.  Before arriving in Luwuk we contacted Mr. Edy Lamy at our hotel Marina Cottages in Ampana. He arranged a car to pick us up at Luwuk airport to drive us directly to our hotel in Ampana. After a couple of days on the Togean islands, we drove back from Ampana to Luwuk. It was a beautiful scenic drive along coastal area, forest and over many hills. A stop in Pagimana gave us the opportunity to taste freshly caught chargrilled fish for a more than reasonable price. We never regret to have done this drive twice and stayed at the wonderful hotel Aston Luwuk for one night. From there flight to Makassar. Through Hotel Pison, our hotel in Rantepao, we had booked a car from Makassar to Rantepao, Torajaland.

Misconnection between Jakarta-Luwuk by Sriwijaya Air
Mishap on our flight before reaching Luwuk was adventurous enough As we arrived in Makassar by Sriwijaya Air, the staff told us that the flight would be soon and our names would be called out. We waited and waited, our names have not been called. As I asked again, it turned out that the departure was already 5 am. Our flight from Jakarta was 5 am and there was no way that we could have caught our flight to Luwuk. Apparently there was a misplanning. An employee from Sriwijaya Air arrived and offered us a hotel in Makassar to catch the flight next morning. The hotel was horrible and run down but the owners were  nice and caring. We rented a car, went to Losari Beach, Makassar, I tried a grilled banana which was typical for the area. The next day we flew to Luwuk. This time Sriwijaya Air confirmed the flight change and delay in time........ several times.

Luwuk - Ampana
Angela contacted Mr. Edy from Marina Cottages Resort whom I had contacted before from Germany. We arranged for a chartered car from Luwuk to Ampana which was all-inclusive like petrol, driver, driver's accommodation and food.
Next tip: If you negotiate a price regarding chartered cars in Indonesia, always ask for an all-inclusive price. Otherwise they will add costs for the driver, petrol, driver's accommodation and food which we have little control over. At least ask for an estimation of those additional expensies. We paid IDR 850.000, the owner was the driver and he had a co-driver with him. Luwuk airport is just a very small one which could hardly be called airport, very crowded with people. So we were very happy as our driver Tiar was already expecting us.

He showed us Bukit Keles or Keles Hill, one of Luwuk's landmarks where at  night you can see the view of the whole Luwuk Bay. The road between Luwuk and Ampana was much better than we expected too. It has just been repaired and we saw road construction all over. The forest as well as the streets were very clean. It was a beautiful stretch with views of sea, forest and mountains of different altitudes.We could also feel that the temperatures became cooler the higher we drove into the mountains.  There were short stretches on the road which were stony and under construction. We were also lucky that it was still dry monsoon.

We had a late lunch break in Pagimana at the restaurant Umroh. The location was not the best but we chose a sunu fish, a delicious rather expensive fish. Anyway, we paid IDR 30.000 or 2 EUR for a set of char-grilled fish, vegetables and rice. The whole trip lasted around 7 hrs including the 2-hour lunch break. As we arrived at Marina Cottages by the sea in Ampana, Mr. Edy was already waiting for us and we were shown into our cottage. A simple, basic but clean cottage by the water. We still sat by the sea in the evening and had a chat with Mr. Edy. Marina Cottages REsort in Ampana is definitely to be preferred over Hotel Oasis. The next morning we had a short walk on the beach before heading to the harbour to embark on the ferry.We met a Polish couple at our hotel Marina Cottages who were offered a speedboat ride to the Togeans by some private operators. As the sea became rougher, the boat operator suddenly decided not to go. At first they refused to return the money but finally after some arguments with the couple they decided  to give the money back.
Tip: Always go by public ferry from Ampana to the Togians, if possible the government-owned Tuna Tomini. I have read it already in many blogs but this time we experienced it first-hand. The private vessels Puspita Sari and Lumbalumba also operate between Ampana and Togeans, they are less comfortable but you will ride the boat with many Indonesian people. NEVER EVER take a private speedboat, no matter how much they promise you that you will save time. You will, but it is very safe and worth the effort to take the ferry with Indonesian people.

The car and speedboat mafia is lurking for victims in Ampana. Just put your guard up and only contact hotels for rental cars. Don't let these Mafia people pressure you because they notice that you don't have anough time

Ampana - Togean Islands
The taxi took us from Marina cottages to Ampana Harbour which is about 4 km distance for IDR 30.000,- or EUR 2,-. On our way to the harbour, the taxi driver showed us the construction site of the new airport in Ampana. The runway was at least as long as the street between Marina Cottages and Ampana Harbour. So next year, when the airport in Ampana is ready it will be easier to travel to the Togeans. This will probably mean the end of the secluded location of the Togeans and the beginning of tourist hell.

At the moment, ferry services cater to the needs of the local island residents and not to the traveler. Local islanders need to travel to transport their fuel and water from the mainland. Travelers are not the market and therefore boat schedules leave much to be desired. For this reason, the ferry ride can be an interesting loca experience for the adventurous traveler.

The government-owned car-ferry Tuna Tomini operates from Gorontalo to Wakai, the main island on the Togeans via Ampana. For the schedule you need to check regularly on the internet or contact Ampana Cottages Beach Resort Mr. Edy or one of the resorts on the Togean Islands. Probably the ferry will not operate when the sea is too rough.. I strongly prefer the government-owned Tuna Tomini to Puspita Sari because it is technically more advanced, more convenient with a more reliable schedule and more reasonable prices

We bought tickets for business class 2 which meant economy class plus private matress to lie down. Many people only book economy and then look for a free matress and nobody ever said anything. The ride was more comfortable than we thought. There was a large flat-screen TV showing horror movies like Saw(ouch). The trip took us about 5 hours. As I started to get bored and had a look at the wheelhouse. They showed me the wheelhouse, it was quite large and up-to-date technology. The captain and first officer were graduates of the marine academy. They took over the wheel  every time when the ferry left or entered a harbour.

After our arrival in Wakai, the main island on the Togeans, the manager of Kadidiri Paradise Resort was already expecting us and we were once again fortunate to be able to ride the bigger boat. It was a beautiful trip along the beautiful islands and the crystal clear sea revelaling itself in different colours. Kadidiri Island was the closest to Wakai and the ride wasn't very long. We were the only guests and that also made the ride very comfortable for us.

Kadidiri Paradise Resort
It was low season and we got the bungalows Honeymoon Suite and VIP Suite for as much as EUR 30/25 a night including 3 authentic local meals, free-flowing Indonesian tea and coffee..You don't need to be an excellent swimmer because on the Togians marine life already start not too far from the coast. What I found unique about these two bungalows was that they were located in the water on stilts with a ladder going straight into the water from the sundeck for snorkeling. I found the water around the bungalows a bit dirty with plastik bags, bottles and who-knows-what, so for snorkeling I preferred the ladder from the private jetty. Every morning I was woken up by the fishes splashing in the water. I could spend hours observing marine life such as corals, several types of butterfly and parrot fishes. In the evening I enjoyed the sunset from my room which by chance was also called 'Sunset'.


There was a British  filmcrew making a documentary of the childhoold, adulthood and present life of the 80 y/o old fisherman from the islands. The Bajo ethnic group have been sea nomads for their whole life. They showed us their footage very often and we could gain some insight into filming in such a remote area. One of the filmcrew had lived in Indonesia for 9 years and acted as interpreter. I could also watch many shootings from my room, among others the fisherman with his old boat followed by a camera drone.

We did some island-hopping among others Malenge Island which has a nice snorkeling beach called Sera Beach, the Malenge Village, Hotel California Reef, jellyfish lake. The food in the resort was very good and I admired the cooks Nano and Elin.  We couldn't find anything more authentic local and yet it had some Western inspiration. The only downside was that a bottle of drinking water, not even the famous brand Aqua, was more expensive than a gallon elsewhere. While I can understand that shipping them can be expensive, the price of IDR 15.000 per bottle of not even the best quality water was a total rip-off. They knew that water was essential on those islands and thought they could take advantage of us. Overall the whole resort had a vibe of young white long-term backpackers. You will like it when you are into that sort of thing but it was not quite for me.

Fortunately we brought plenty of water from Ampana. The ride back was less organised and I found it upsetting. They took us in a small boat where we had to walk a plank, the Puspita Sari privately owned ferry was a shabby small vessel  filled to the brim. The resort brought us too late to Wakai and the ferry was already crowded with people from the islands who go on their regular tour to Ampana to buy petrol for their generators, water for their tanks and for drinking. The vessel was full of gallons. It was quite shocking to see the huge gap between tourists living in abundance and island sea gypsies who lived totally below the usual Indonesian standard. They had to buy petrol for their electricity generators and fresh water for daily needs and drinking. Apparently the government has listened to the many pleas and hope that next year they will install a fresh-water equipment on the islands. Anyway, the government is also expecting much from tourism and this means that everything will turn into tourist hell in the coming years. I am glad that we went there this year

A trip from Mainz to the Verdon Gorges

Dinner at our host's place with dog Smiley and the 3 cats

The kitchen at our host's place

Kite surfers on the beach near Giens

Lac de St. Croix

Camping du Fondue fortress near Giens

The mouth of the Gorges du Verdon

Gorges du Verdon

Dijon

The first stage of our trip: Mainz-Aix-des-Bains Sunday 10 August
Our holidays were approved on a very short notice. So my daughter Angela and me had to organise the trip last minute. Angela has been to the area before and she showed me an amazing part of France by driving through the area. We started in Mainz past Saarbrücken, Metz in direction Aix-les Bains. Apart from the French language along with pay stations for the use of the highway, it was clear that the European Union members have moved very closely together in terms of culture. Everything is now so familiar when you cross the border apart of the language. As we decided to get off the highway and buy petrol in a small town, we realised that it was Sunday. Petrol stations in small towns were closed and we needed to use our credit card to buy petrol.  I have never used my credit card very often and I didn't know the password. The first culture shock in our neighbouring country but luckily a nice young man helped us out with his credit card.

We decided to have an overnight break in Aix-des-Bains, stayed at Ibis Styles Hotel in the spa and hospital area of the city. They gave us one of the worst rooms with view on the car park, a common practice in the hotel business, but we were too tired to dispute for a better room. In the evening we had dinner at the lake, observed fireworks and thought that the harbour was quite big for such a small town. Just after waking up the next morning I took a walk around the garden, viewed the spa and Thalassa hospital. The sky was grey and I could only catch a glimpse of the 'Dent du chat' or 'The cat's tooth', a 1200 m high hill with the shape of a cat's tooth which is a popular area for hiking.

The second stage: Aix-des-Bains until St. Maximin La SteBaume Monday 11 August
We still had a long drive in front of us and chose the Route Napoleon instead of the highway to enjoy the scenic part of the area. August is the main holiday season in France: All the campsites were fully booked until the end of September, reasonably  priced licensed BNBs politely declined our request, even AirBnB rooms in good locations were booked out for the next two weeks. I started to become completely desperate and tried to contact a CS host in Moustiers Ste Marie.  He responded very positively. I was surprised because I actually expected to be ignored. He said that he couldn't host us on the same day but if we could wait a couple of days, he would be very happy to host us. Filled with gratitude, we thanked him but apologised as our holiday was limited. Finally Angela could find a host on AirBnB and instantly booked two rooms for us in St. Maximin La Ste Baume. It was about 30 km from the Verdon area though a scenic drive by car with unique sights along the way. Frankly we didn't expect much from this small town and I was prepared for the worst: Sharing the bathroom/toilet and kitchen with 8 people was not our idea of a relaxing holiday but we didn't have much of a choice. We had a pleasant surprise as we arrived: The majestic Ste Baume hill and gigantic view of the Ste Victoire massive mountain range greeted us as though they had been waiting for ages. The cathedral of Ste Mary Magdalene immediately caught our attention as we entered St. Maximin la Sainte Baume

Our lovely host family in St. Maximin La Sainte Baume
The house was quite far out in the sticks but because we had a car we didn't find it overly inconvenient. Our host Christophe gave us a warm welcome, showed us around the house and garden and showed us our rooms. His wife and children were already away on holidays. A brief look at the house, kitchen and garden, we instantly gained the impression that this family was eco-friendly and health-orientated. The house was well-organised, in the kitchen we could find about every type of food processor.The crockery, pots and pans were very typical to the Provence culture. We could imagine ourselves in a provincial household in the Provence, the only thing which stood out were the dishwasher and the Nespresso machine. There was no microwave. On a wall shelf, they had a large variety of spices and herbs just inviting to cook the best and healthiest dish. Spices were international, among others Asian . On the first night Christophe had dinner together with us. We cooked fish and he made a mouth-watering Ratatouille from vegetables grown in his own garden. On AirBnB we didn't quite expect to spend time and have meals with our hosts the way we did very often with Couchsurfers. We only expected a room because that was what we booked. Christophe was only home after work and away for the weekend. Anyway, he was trusting enough to give us full reign over the whole house and huge garden. The two rooms were very reasonably priced and well-equipped.


Is a GPS helpful?
It certainly is, especially when you are looking for a certain address in an unfamiliar location. But the GPS will  always try to find the shortest possible way. It is also a computer that works based on calculations, so it would probably say ' Please drive into the round-about and take the 4th exit'. A real person would have just told you 'Please drive around the whole round-about and turn into the last exit'. Many people have lost their natural sense for orientation because they blindly follow the GPS. We decided to take the scenic Route Napoleon instead of the highway and switched off the GPS. Instead we relied on the map, one is driving and the other one is reading. People have to be critical and realise that a GPS is just another computer and we still need to rely on our own sense of direction....

Getting around St. Maximin and a day on the beach: Tuesday-Thursday 12-14 August
On our first day we needed a rest from the trip and enjoyed their beautiful garden. We also bought some food at the Aldi and Hyper U supermarket.The next day we visited the old town of St. Maximin and viewed the cathedral which was famous for the biggest French historic organ. The tourist office was located in the Royal Court building where they gave us individual information for the independent traveller. In the afternoon we drove to Tourves, visited the Gorges du Caramy before we continued our scenic trip to the coastal area. We observed kite surfers and enjoyed the beautiful view of the sea fortress in La Tour Fondue near Giens. The carpark was expensive but it included sightseeing in the fortress. Once arrived in Giens, we had a lovely but expensive fish dinner in a restaurant with a gorgeous view on the water. The next day Angela's French colleague invited us to join them in Aix-en-Provence, walked through the city and had lunch in a local restaurant. We had beautiful Anchoiade, a typical dish from the Provence consisting of a salted sardine sauce and vegetables. They showed us the view on the gigantic St. Victoire and drove us to his parent's beautiful place near our village. Another unforgettable day.

Grand Canyon du Verdon Friday and Saturday 15 and 16 August
The folllowing 2 days were just the highlight of our trip and the word 'pretty awesome' was just not enough to describe the scenery that once inspired the paintings of Paul Cezanne. Lake Quinson was very beautiful but less frequented than Lake Verdon. We hired a canoe to explore the lake further. The wind was very strong, the lake was quiet at times and suddenly we found ourselves paddling against heavy stream. We needed to be very alert to the sudden change of the stream and paddling rhythm, to relax was nearly impossible. After two hours of hard work canoeing against different types of streams, we arrived at the boat quay exhausted. Anyway, we could enjoy the breathtaking scenery and have a challenging exercise at the same time. We spent two consecutive days in the Verdon area, the drive through the Grand Canyon in Verdon was something we couldn't forget in our whole life.

I have seen many national parks in the U.S. and Australia, this looked very familiar to us. And yet it was different and in fact the Verdon grand canyon is the second large grand canyon in Europe. The many tourists were a bit irritating but somehow it was a different kind of tourist than those lying around on the beaches of the Cote d'Azur like Cannes, St. Tropez or Nice. The Verdon Canyon is famous for its challenging hikes and most people had robust hiking shoes on. Apart from this breathtaking scenery we had the opportunity to enjoy several types of foods the Provence was famous for.On our way home, we had a lovely 4-course- dinner in Sillans. Unfortunately it was too dark to walk to the Cascades du Sillans(waterfall). We also drove past Barjols, a small town famous for its many fountains.

Last night in France: Dijon Sunday-Monday 17-18 August
The last station of our travels was the city of Dijon where we stayed for the night before heading home to Mainz. Dijon is Mainz' twin city. As I visited for the first time, many historic buildings were not yet completely refurbished so the city only left a so so impression on me. I was quite pleasantly surprised as I strolled through the old town and saw the historic buildings after the renovation. Mainz doesn't have as many historic buildings, such as the colourful Dom(Cathedral), Notre Dame du Dijon, Palace, many smaller buildings and half-timber houses. The atmosphere with the many students reminds a lot of Mainz.....

What we have learned from our trip
The whole trip has been very eye-opening thus far. We have been to France many times but every trip reveals a subtle cultural difference. Thanks to our host and Angela's colleague, we could experience the Provence from a very different perspective. The area is horrenduously expensive, even the so-called restaurants populaire(mostly restaurant serving every day dishes for the average person) have skyrocketing prices on their menue . But we thought the culinary specialties were so unique that we took the chance to indulge ourselves in French gourmet and popular meals . Unlike in Germany, if you order a coffee they'll give you a short black if you don't specify it. So if you want milk coffee, you have to explicitly say cafe au lait. The Frenchman in front of us said 'pain au chocolat'  when he bought a chocolate-filled croissant. Of course he was one of the many French travellers who were not a local to the area. Later I heard that people in the region would understand you but definitely know that you were not a local. The local expression for a chocolate-filled croissant is 'chocolatine' and next time we will behave like the French when in France.  In the future we will also try hard not to buy petrol on Sundays and if we have no choice at all, we'll have to carry our credit card pinword. France's roads are not sign-posted as well as in Germany, so apart from a GPS, be prepared to carry a roadmap along with special maps from local tourist offices