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