Map of my journey in Indonesia

Here is a – not fantastic but I hope efficient enough! – map of my 4 months in Indonesia, traveling through Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo & islands, Flores (Adonara) and Sulawesi. Click on the map for a better view!

From the Bajau to Bunaken, the end of my journey in Indonesia

I reached Lestari guesthouse on Malenge Island at sunset, where I met again Lise and Guillaume, the French couple, and Laurenne and Marc, another French couple we met in Ampana. Lestari Malenge: turquoise lagoon on one side, cottages on the beach in front of Pulau Papan, the Bajau village on the other side – I couldn’t wait to go to the village but had to wait the following day…

On the way to the Togean Islands

I left the beautiful land of Toraja on a Tuesday morning, ready for about 15 hours of bus (including stops for eating), first step on my way to the Togean Islands. I did not find the road terrible at all, but it was for sure a LONG road, slaloming in the mountains…

Facing death in Tana Toraja

I reached Rantepao, the main town in Tana Toraja, at 5 am a Friday morning, after a night in the most comfortable bus I had traveled with so far in Indonesia. It was dawn and I was still quite tired, but it was interesting to reach a totally new town while it was slowly waking up for a new day…

From the modernity of Makassar to the King of Bugis ceremony

I did not expect to stay that long in Makassar or in the south of Sulawesi. As I was already thinking of coming back to Switzerland by the end of my visa, my original idea was to spend 3-4 days in Makassar and then take a night bus to Tana Toraja, land of a very unique ethnic group. In the end, I spent more than a week in Makassar and 5-6 days on the way to and in Bone, a city 170 km from Makassar.

Bajau village

I’ll write soon about my awesome month in Sulawesi, here is a little preview of my visit to a Bajau (Sea gypsies) village on the remote island of Malenge, Togean Islands.

Flores, Indonesia’s most beautiful island?

Suda tiga bulan di Indonesia (already 3 months in Indonesia) ? What are you looking for ?? That’s what a friend of my couchsurfer asked me a few days ago. Yeah, what am I looking for, indeed ? I have no idea. I am in Makassar, Sulawesi, second biggest city of Indonesia. I’m about to start my fourth month in this country and still have no idea of what I am looking for here. Am I only looking for something ? Or am I just trying to live one day at a time, knowing that any attempt to make some kind of plans is completely useless while traveling ?

Hitchhiking Sumbawa

I was really excited by the idea of hitchhiking across Sumbawa, the big island east of Lombok. So far I’ve really hitchhiked only in Quebec, so hitchhiking in Asia would for sure be quite different. I don’t want to hitchhike alone, so traveling with Chrys was the perfect occasion for a hitchhiking journey.

Tour de Lombok en scooter

La dernière semaine à Bali a été bien riche, notamment grâce à Marcel, le Français rencontré à Padang Bai qui vit depuis 25 ans à Bali. Accompagnée de Marie, une voyageuse française de passage dans le même homestay que moi, j’ai passé pas mal de temps avec lui. Il nous a montré les environs de Padang Bai, nous expliquant un tas de choses sur l’organisation sociale balinaise pendant qu’on traversait de petits villages. Tout est symbolique dans la culture balinaise, rien n’est fait au hasard et chaque détail, notamment architectural, a sa raison d’être et une représentation symbolique importante. Passer quelques jours avec quelqu’un qui a une telle connaissance de Bali était vraiment intéressant.

The magic of Bali

It’s been nearly 3 weeks that I’m in Bali. I was planning to stay something like a week. But whenever you arrive in Bali, you don’t wanna rush, you feel in every body cell that Bali and rush don’t fit together.

Volcan, soufre, jungle, corail, mangrove & mer turquoise…

Tellement de choses se sont passées en une semaine. Une semaine marquée par des environnements plus que variés, des rencontres magnifiques, une séparation incompréhensible, des joies, des peurs, des trajets en bus interminables et un relax plus que total. Entre jungle, lac d’acide sulfurique et paysage montagneux “extraterrestre”, mer turquoise, plage de sable blanc, mangrove et récif coralien, décidément l’Indonésie se paye le luxe de présenter tout type de géographie, dans une beauté exacerbée.

Bromo Mysteries

It has been a journey in itself to get to Mount Bromo, the famous volcano of Java Island. Usually, tourists book tours to get there from all over Java, which bring them almost directly to Bromo by bus. Of course this is an easier and faster – read less headache – way to get to Bromo, but it is usually more expensive and not in the spirit of backpacking & independent traveling. There are so many tours and agencies around here, it is quite rewarding to manage to do the same thing – in a better, less touristic and crowded way – on your own. But this is a long journey for sure.

Time flows differently while traveling

So many things can happen in only 4 days, that’s crazy. Since yesterday I’m sick, fever and turista etc… Yeah. I’m so tired, yesterday I slept for about 12 hours, impossible that I should slept that much otherwise. So many different experiences in 4 days tho.

Be Here Now

Immediately after my first step out of the plane in Yogjakarta I got the feeling that traveling has finally started. I had some great times (and tasty food!) in Singapore with amazing people and I found the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity of this city quite interesting, but in this big clean city without a real soul, jetlagged as I was, I could not really feel the beginning of this journey or be truly excited about it. Yesterday, at sunset, the magic touch of Indonesia operated… I’m here, now, this trip I’ve been planning for the last five months is becoming REAL, I won’t escape, I don’t want to escape. I just wanna be here now. Since the first step out of this plane, I’ve got this exhilarating feeling specific to traveling. The kind of feeling which makes you forget about anything non related to here and now, wiping with a fingers snap all of the pre-traveling anguish. Because let’s face it, we are all feeling comfy at home, safely relying on our well established habits. I jumped in 2014, exit 2013. Traveling is magical. I seriously don’t know anything as exhilarating, powerful and intense as traveling.