Exotic Indonesia 1993
The first commercial trip Rena and I ever participated in occurred in 1993 when our friend Sally Vogel invited us to go on a trip to Irian Jaya and Sulawesi, both in Indonesia. She had a small travel company called Peruvian Adventures. She was branching out. We joined the trip and to this day think that it was the most exotic trip we have ever experienced.
We visited the Baliem Valley in the highlands of Irian Jaya. This is the Indonesian half of the Island of Papua New Guinea. In 2003 it was renamed West Papua. This is the home of the Doni people. They were essentially a stone age tribe when they were discovered less than 100 years ago when a plane flew over the high plateau where they live.
Historically the Doni men spent most of their time on warfare. However, there was not much killing involved. Perhaps a neighboring tribe stole a pig (or a woman). The men would dress up in their fighting attire consisting of a headdress of feathers, elaborate warpaint, and with not much more than a penis sheath below. They would line up in lines opposite the enemy and throw spears back and forth. Eventually, someone didn’t move quick enough and was hit by a spear and injured. The other side would declare victory and go home. If it rained during the confrontation the battle was postponed so as to not get their feathers wet. A very civilized form of warfare!
Our international flight got us to Jayapura. From there we took a small plane to Wamena, the main town in the Baliem Valley. The area had no roads to the outside world in 1993 and that is still true today. Together with the locals, we experienced a war festival where the locals reenacted the historic fighting and dancing from years past. We were very lucky to see this. War festivals were not common at that time. We also did a short trek in the countryside, and attended a traditional pig roast.
After, we flew to the island of Sulawesi where we spent a week visiting the eastern arm of this strange shaped island. We had great snorkeling, saw a staged horse fight, and met the Sultan who is descended from Genghis Khan. The commercial trip ended at this point. Rena and I spend another 13 days on our own. We trekked to the Bada Valley in Northern Sulawesi were we visited many unexplained monoliths. Then on to the more touristed area of Tana Toraga, which required two overnight bus rides. Here we observed the interesting funeral and burial customs that this area is known for. It is also the place to see huge longhouses.
The itinerary below lists all the places we visited. The photos are annotated with more information.
ITINERARY
DAY - DATE - ACTIVITY - SLEEP
1 - 8/7 - Leave LA
2 - 8/8 - Arr Biak, Jayapura - Defonsore Hotel
3 - 8/9 - Jayapura - Sentani Inn
4 - 8/10 - Fly Wamena - see War Festival - Baliem Palace Hotel
5 - 8/11 - Trek 1 - Polima/Kurima
6 - 8/12 - Trek 2 - Tangma
7 - 8/13 - Trek 3 - Ibiroma
8 - 8/14 - Trek 4 (end) - Flower parade in Wamena - Lauk Losmen Jiwika
9 - 8/15 - See mummy, pig feast, 2nd War Festival - Wamena - Baliem Palace Hotel
10 - 8/16 - Fly to Jayapura - Dafonsora Hotel
11 - 8/17 - Fly Biak, Ujung Pandang (UP) - Victoria Hotel
12 - 8/18 - Fly Kendari - ferry to Baubau - sleep on ferry
13 - 8/19 - Baubau - Sultan’s Palace - Peka Kandekandea - Debora Hotel
14 - 8/20 - Ferry to Raha - Andalas Hotel
15 - 8/21 - Horse Fighting - Ferry to Kendari - sleep on ferry
16 - 8/22 - Hari Island snorkeling - Kendari Beach Hotel
17 - 8/23- Fly to UP - see waterfall - Victoria Hotel
18 - 8/24 - Fly Palo - bus to Pakuli - Stay with Kapala Desa
19 - 8/25 - Bus to Gimpu
20 - 8/26 - Trek 1 (9hr/16 miles) - Moa
21 - 8/27 - Trek 2 ( 8 hr/14 miles) - Tuare
22 - 8/28 - Trek 3 (3 hr/6 miles) - Gintu - Sannur Rest House
23 - 8/29 - Visit monoliths (Oba, Marura, Mesinga, Palinda, Ari Impohl) - Gintu - Sannur Rest House
24 - 8/30 - Visit monoliths (Tinow, Baula) - Gintu - Sannur Rest House
25 - 8/31 - Attend celebration involving the American Ambassador’s visit - Bomba
26 - 9/1 - Visit monolith (Loga) at Bomba, fly to Tentana - night bus to Palopo
27 - 9/2 -Arr Palopo 6:30 AM. Mini bus to Rantepoe (Tana Toraja) - visit burial caves at Londa + Loma - Hotel Indo Grace
28 - 9/3 -Tana Toraga - see Longhouses - night bus to UP
29 - 9/4 - Arrive 4 AM - sleep 4 hr at Ramayana Hotel - tour UP - Hotel Victoria
30 - 9/5 - Fly home via Biak
Read MoreWe visited the Baliem Valley in the highlands of Irian Jaya. This is the Indonesian half of the Island of Papua New Guinea. In 2003 it was renamed West Papua. This is the home of the Doni people. They were essentially a stone age tribe when they were discovered less than 100 years ago when a plane flew over the high plateau where they live.
Historically the Doni men spent most of their time on warfare. However, there was not much killing involved. Perhaps a neighboring tribe stole a pig (or a woman). The men would dress up in their fighting attire consisting of a headdress of feathers, elaborate warpaint, and with not much more than a penis sheath below. They would line up in lines opposite the enemy and throw spears back and forth. Eventually, someone didn’t move quick enough and was hit by a spear and injured. The other side would declare victory and go home. If it rained during the confrontation the battle was postponed so as to not get their feathers wet. A very civilized form of warfare!
Our international flight got us to Jayapura. From there we took a small plane to Wamena, the main town in the Baliem Valley. The area had no roads to the outside world in 1993 and that is still true today. Together with the locals, we experienced a war festival where the locals reenacted the historic fighting and dancing from years past. We were very lucky to see this. War festivals were not common at that time. We also did a short trek in the countryside, and attended a traditional pig roast.
After, we flew to the island of Sulawesi where we spent a week visiting the eastern arm of this strange shaped island. We had great snorkeling, saw a staged horse fight, and met the Sultan who is descended from Genghis Khan. The commercial trip ended at this point. Rena and I spend another 13 days on our own. We trekked to the Bada Valley in Northern Sulawesi were we visited many unexplained monoliths. Then on to the more touristed area of Tana Toraga, which required two overnight bus rides. Here we observed the interesting funeral and burial customs that this area is known for. It is also the place to see huge longhouses.
The itinerary below lists all the places we visited. The photos are annotated with more information.
ITINERARY
DAY - DATE - ACTIVITY - SLEEP
1 - 8/7 - Leave LA
2 - 8/8 - Arr Biak, Jayapura - Defonsore Hotel
3 - 8/9 - Jayapura - Sentani Inn
4 - 8/10 - Fly Wamena - see War Festival - Baliem Palace Hotel
5 - 8/11 - Trek 1 - Polima/Kurima
6 - 8/12 - Trek 2 - Tangma
7 - 8/13 - Trek 3 - Ibiroma
8 - 8/14 - Trek 4 (end) - Flower parade in Wamena - Lauk Losmen Jiwika
9 - 8/15 - See mummy, pig feast, 2nd War Festival - Wamena - Baliem Palace Hotel
10 - 8/16 - Fly to Jayapura - Dafonsora Hotel
11 - 8/17 - Fly Biak, Ujung Pandang (UP) - Victoria Hotel
12 - 8/18 - Fly Kendari - ferry to Baubau - sleep on ferry
13 - 8/19 - Baubau - Sultan’s Palace - Peka Kandekandea - Debora Hotel
14 - 8/20 - Ferry to Raha - Andalas Hotel
15 - 8/21 - Horse Fighting - Ferry to Kendari - sleep on ferry
16 - 8/22 - Hari Island snorkeling - Kendari Beach Hotel
17 - 8/23- Fly to UP - see waterfall - Victoria Hotel
18 - 8/24 - Fly Palo - bus to Pakuli - Stay with Kapala Desa
19 - 8/25 - Bus to Gimpu
20 - 8/26 - Trek 1 (9hr/16 miles) - Moa
21 - 8/27 - Trek 2 ( 8 hr/14 miles) - Tuare
22 - 8/28 - Trek 3 (3 hr/6 miles) - Gintu - Sannur Rest House
23 - 8/29 - Visit monoliths (Oba, Marura, Mesinga, Palinda, Ari Impohl) - Gintu - Sannur Rest House
24 - 8/30 - Visit monoliths (Tinow, Baula) - Gintu - Sannur Rest House
25 - 8/31 - Attend celebration involving the American Ambassador’s visit - Bomba
26 - 9/1 - Visit monolith (Loga) at Bomba, fly to Tentana - night bus to Palopo
27 - 9/2 -Arr Palopo 6:30 AM. Mini bus to Rantepoe (Tana Toraja) - visit burial caves at Londa + Loma - Hotel Indo Grace
28 - 9/3 -Tana Toraga - see Longhouses - night bus to UP
29 - 9/4 - Arrive 4 AM - sleep 4 hr at Ramayana Hotel - tour UP - Hotel Victoria
30 - 9/5 - Fly home via Biak
