This is the final part in a series about Toraja, view other parts: Part I, Part II, Part III A baby has no teeth and without teeth, it cannot speak. Being unable to speak and thus unable to spread falsehood, … Continue reading →

This is part III in a series about Toraja, view other parts: Part I, Part II, Part IV A lot of time in the life of a Torajan is spent dealing with death. Their elaborate funeral rites and the high … Continue reading →

This is part II in a series about Toraja, view other parts: Part I, Part III, Part IV While you will see many buffalo lazing about when you travel through Tana Toraja, you will never see them working. While farmers … Continue reading →

This is part I in a series about Toraja, view other parts: Part II, Part III, Part IV The Bugis people, mainly focussed around the south of south Sulawesi, call them ‘to riaja’ in their language: the people of the … Continue reading →

X is gay but then he is also not gay. Because in Indonesia, nobody is gay. He has a sort of girlfriend, which is just for show. He has two friends that are gay and a third that’s still undecided. … Continue reading →

Santi cooks at Salassa, a homestay in Bira that she operates together with her husband Eric. She tells me she’s originally from Makassar, one of the major port cities in south Sulawesi. Moving to Bira, a sleepy little town with … Continue reading →

Near the small town of Bira is another small town known as Tanah Biru. Both towns are the homes of the Konjo people, a group belonging to the Bugis, natives to the south of Sulawesi. They are estimated to have … Continue reading →

“I’m originally from Makassar been travel back and forth to bira, as soon as you arrive, take taxi to terminal sungguminasa, from there take SUV or panther it cost around 65.000 idr/person or you can bargain to 55.000, Makassar to … Continue reading →

The first time we got passed by the people from a banjar on their motorcycles, waving their flags, I had the impression it was a sort of local motorcycle gang. But then why would a motorcycle gang escort a truck … Continue reading →

Wayan makes kites. A lot of kites. He’s been making kites since he was a kid. He says his father knew how to make him but it’s unclear whether he learned from him. His English isn’t that good for which … Continue reading →

Like his father, and his father’s father, Kacek makes art out of coconuts. He spends his days, with family members like his brothers and cousins, carving intricate depictions of various shape and size into the hard coconut shells using simple … Continue reading →

In one of Ubud’s main road’s side streets I notice a small shop called Asu Art Attack. With it’s brightly painted exterior and greetings in different languages on the building it stands out from the other plain buildings. It reminds … Continue reading →

Where Amed is a sleepy stretch of towns connected via small roads and strings of simple, local warungs, Ubud is something else. It is an at times rather absurd mix of the locals and their rituals, the new age crowd … Continue reading →

Budakeling is a town in the east of Bali, somewhere along the road between Amlapura and Amed. The town owes it’s name to the Buda sect which founded it’s first monastery on Bali here. I am told it’s a mix … Continue reading →

Unlike the younger kids using simple lines and hooks, Gede uses an actual fishing rod with a plastic lure. He’s fishing for squid but hasn’t caught any so far. Much like the younger kids fishing method, he too casts the … Continue reading →

“I have great, strong cock,” a young man tells me. I tell him I’d love to see it and take some pictures. He leads me to his house where chickens roam freely through the yard. The cocks don’t, they are … Continue reading →

This then is where each day starts and where each day the dream repeats itself. While fathers are out fishing on their boats, the young kids try to catch their own from the shore with a simple line and hook … Continue reading →