TORAJA- A LAND OF UNIQUE CULTURE

Hi, it is me again Tisha. Now, I would like to talk about my second part of my holidays in Makassar. My family and I visited Toraja- a land of unique culture. We hired an MPV from Makassar and the journey took about 8 hours to reach there. Toraja is located in the highlands. The weather there is cool. As we travelled, our eyes feasted on the beautiful sceneries and natural landscapes.

The Torajan people are very unique. The name Toraja means people who live in a highland. Their house is also a very unique house which is called the ‘Tongkonan House’. On every houses, they will build a rice barn. So, after harvesting the paddy, they will keep the rice in their rice barns. Some Torajans are rich. But how do we know? By counting the number of rice barns in the shape of ‘Tongkonan Houses’. Most Torajans will have at least 1 rice barn. The super rich Torajans will have more than 10 rice barns.

Most Torajans are paddy farmers and they use water buffaloes to plough their paddy fields. The Torajans are very skillful in cultivating their narrow stripped rice terraces. 

As such, the scenery of the rice terraces is a sight to behold. The beautiful scenery of Toraja cannot be expressed in words.

The Torajans have a unique culture. I really admire their loyalty and respect towards their dead family members. When a member in the family dies, the family will embalm the body and place it in the southern part of their ‘Tongkonan House’.  During the time before these ceremonies, the dead person is regarded as merely “sick” and is fed and visited everyday. According to a local, family members take turns to sleep with the body for 4 to 7 years until they have saved enough money to bury the dead in the stone grave. After having saved enough money, the deceased’s family will carry out the last rites for the deceased.  If the deceased is rich and of noble birth, then their coffin will be placed high up into tombs chiseled on the rocky mountain slope. According to our guide, workers will take about 2 years to chisel a stone grave big enough for one family to be buried in it. When an ordinary person dies, he or she will be placed (on the ground) in a cave.

We visited a few popular tourist sites. One of the most popular tourist destination is Ke’te’ Kesu’ which is famous for the hanging graves. Ke’te’ Kesu’also houses a row of very ancient Tongkonan houses, rice barns and megaliths set among the rice fields. 

I visited the aristocratic cliffs burial site with hanging graves and tau-tau (wooden effigy of the dead). 

The wooden hanging graves are very old and most of them are dilapidated graves with their scattered bones and skulls.

Another place that we visited is the Lemo Carved Stone Grave in Liang di Pa’. The grave is believed to be the first grave of its kind which belonged to a nobleman called Sangngi Patalo. 

The stone graves have been dug out of the steep cliff, and closed with wooden doors. In front of each graves stand a row of effigies, Tau-tau, of the noblemen whose bodies are buried there.

Another stone grave that we visited is the old grave at Londa which dates back more than two hundred years B.C. It is the largest cave stone grave in Toraja land and some of the graves are 70 metres high from the base lands.

Another burial site that tourists must visit is Lo'ko' Mata. It is probably the largest burial site in North Toraja with numerous tombs chiseled on the   huge rock.

The next place that we visited is Bori’ Kalimbuang. There are one hundred and two megalite stone pillars placed in a special field here. This place is just for a high caste deceased whose funerals ceremonies are categorized as “Sapu Randanan” whereby at least 24 buffaloes are slaughtered.

Another type of grave that I must mention is the Baby Graves in Trees. If a baby dies before teething, it will be buried in a tree. The local superstition is that the next child born will grow as strong as a tree. The tree also acts as the host mother to the deceased.

The land of Toraja is not only about graves but they also have beautiful sceneries and landscapes. 

One such place is Batutumonga which is the most spectacular area situated on the slopes of the Sesean Mountain. From the hill resort, I could see the dramatic panaroma and overview of Rantepao town.

Toraja is a place worth visiting and you have to come here to see and to experience this unique culture yourself. I really had a wonderful and an enjoyable time in Toraja and I have learnt a lot from the people of Toraja.

Bye- bye Toraja!!!!!!!

My holidays in Makassar

Hi, it is me again, Tisha. During my mid-semester holiday this year, I visited  Makassar, Sulawesi, Indonesia. We were there for 10 days from  May 30th 2014 to June 8th 2014, I was so excited because we have never been to this part of Indonesia.
         

Now, let me tell about Makassar a little bit. Makassar is formerly called Ujung Padang. It is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Makassar is also the largest city in Sulawesi island.

          In Makassar, we visited the Trans Studio,  Bantimurung Makassar, Losari Beach(or Pantai Losari in Malay), Fort Rotterdam, Leang-Leang, the harbor in Makassar, Amirul Muk minin Mosque(or Masjid Amirul Mukminin in Malay), Mosque Al-Markaz Al-Islami Makassar (or Masjid Al-Markaz Al-Islami Makassar in Malay),Samalorna Beach(or Pantai Samalorna in Malay) and Lae-Lae Beach(or Pantai Lae-Lae in Malay) Toraja, Baby Grave Tree, and Houses in Toraja (or  “tongkonan” in Malay).
 

         

First of all, I would like to talk about Bantimurung Makassar. Bantimurung Makassar is a national park.It is a place where it has a waterfall and butterflies. It is located at Maros Regency and it is only about 1,5 hours drive from Makassar.

 Many people played at the waterfall. We wanted to go into a cave but we could not make it because it was going to rain, so we turned back. There is also a Buttterfly Park.  I had a fun time there taking photos in the park and  I was very happy being there.

       

Next, I am going to talk about an extroadinary place called “Leang- Leang”. Leang-Leang is like the “Stone Forest” in Kunming. There are a lot of huge and tiny stones. There are also tall stones too. 

We also climbed up a mountain to see hand prints of cavemen who lived there for thousands of years. The cave was pitch dark, so we had to use a torchlight. 

In addition, we also saw a cave painting of a wild pig. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!         

 As we were leaving Leang Leang, we saw a group of young university students who were attending an “English Camp”. They were very happy to meet us and get an opportunity to speak in English. My parents, being English teachers, advised them to speak more and read more books of all types. Some students also asked for my email and facebook and some students even said that they liked me and they even liked my nose TOO!!!!! Isn’t that funny?? All too soon, it was time to go. We left Leang Leang in high spirits.

         Next stop was Trans Studio, a very high class shopping mall. There is also a Theme Park. There were many shoe shops and boutique. My mummy and her friends bought so many Reebok shoes because it was on sale.    

    We also visited a mosque. It is called Mosque Al-Markaz Al-Islami Makassar. It is the biggest mosque compared to the other mosque. It is also a beautiful and a huge mosque.

       

Another place of interest that we visited is “The Fort Rotterdam”. Fort Rotterdam is a historical artifact of the greatness of the past kingdom of  South Sulawesi- The Kingdom of Gowa. 

Inside the fort, one can see some interesting buildings, an arts centre and the “La Galigo” museum.  

Makassar is indeed an interesting place to visit and  also a seafood paradise.

RIP MH17

This is a very sad year for my country, Malaysia. Losing MH370 in March was painful and to lose a second plane - MH17 is shocking and devastating to all Malaysians and the world. I am very sad that so many innocent lives have been taken away from their families. I would like to convey my deepest condolences to the families of MH17. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR MH 370

Hi everyone. It is me again, Tisha. I am very sad because my country Malaysia has lost an aeroplane on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on the 8th of March 2014. 

This flight is MH370 and there are 239 passengers and crew. Many countries are involved in the search and rescue operation. Today is the 4th day and they are still missing.

Please pray for their save return.

DOWN MEMORY LANE

My Bali Holiday And My Balinese Brother

Hi everyone. It is me again, Tisha. Now I am going to tell you about my holiday in Bali. The first time I visited Bali was in 2010 and the second time was last year, 2013.

Bali, “THE LAND OF THE GODS”, is a beautiful and amazing island. It is the smallest province of Indonesia. It is located at the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunder Islands between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. The capital of Bali is Denpasar.

I have many sweet memories about Bali. I was 7 years old when I first visited Bali with my family and friends. I went there for 9 days and had a wonderful time. 

We were very lucky to meet a wonderful and honest driver cum tour guide who later became our friend. His name is Eka Sarta also known as Putu. I call him Putu Gogo. Gogo means “brother” in Chinese. Putu Gogo has become our close friend because he is kind and friendly.

      

    This time we visited Putu Gogo’s place that is Negara, West Bali. It is 86 km from Denpasar, the capital of Bali. He lives in a village called Desa Yehmpang. The journey took more than 4 hours. As we travelled along the coastal road, we saw paddy fields growing at the fringe of the Indian Ocean. What a BEAUTIFUL SIGHT!!!!!!!!

      

    Putu Gogo’s house is on top of the hill surrounded by paddy fields. He has even built a temple in his house compound. 

He has an extended family. He lives with his parents, grandparents and his uncle and aunt. His family is very friendly.  His father, Pak Made, mother, Ibu Iro, uncle, Pak Keropok, and aunt, Ibu Tu.

His shy grandfather, Kakek Ner, and lovely grandmother, Nenek Ner.

Putu's  beautiful girlfriend, Dewi who is working in Padma Hotel, a 5-star  hotel in Bali

His cousins, Adek Kadek aka ‘Smiling Face’, Ngurah and Jepang ( looks like a japanese boy) welcomed us and made us feel at home.  

        

 We had a fantastic Balinese lunch prepared by Putu Gogo’s mother, Ibu Iro. She cooked for us coconut Balinese salad, gado-gado ( vegetables) with peanut sauce, babi kecap( stewed pork with soy sauce), fried tempe ( fermented soya beans), pork sausage, boiled kampung eggs ( village chicken eggs), ubi ketela soup ( sweet potato leaves soup), and fruits. 

As a finale, we were served fresh and sweet homegrown coconut water. What a feast!!!! 

All of us enjoyed this fantastic food and we had a good time there with Putu Gogo’s family. 

We feel honoured to be invited to Putu Gogo’s house. I guess not every tourist will get a chance to be invited to a Balinese home.

           

       

I would like to say something about Putu Gogo. He’s one of the best tour van driver. Besides this, he is a very reliable and responsible person. He takes care of his tourists and he loves children just like me.

 On my first trip to Bali, Putu Gogo took care of me when my mummy and her friends went shopping from morning until night. I can say that Putu Gogo is a very patient person because he had to wait for many hours without complaning for my mummy and her friends to finish their shopping.

 I like Putu Gogo because he takes us to many beautiful places for sightseeing and also to taste many yummy and delicious local Balinese food such as fish satay (skewed grilled fish), babi guling (roast pork), pork chop, dirty duck (actually the duck is marinated with local spices and fried) and others.

          If anyone of you who are reading my blog is interested in visiting Bali and needs a good and friendly tour van driver, you can contact my Balinese brother, Putu at his email ekatheblackjack@yahoo.co.id <ekatheblackjack@yahoo.co.id>;

                                     EAT PRAY LOVE

HAPPY VISITING BALI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                                                              

P/s : I will write more about the places that I  have visited in Bali in my next blog.