An update from our travels, which may or may not be supplemented by pictures depending on the highly variable internet connections available around here.

Here is presently Pare Pare on the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi. We managed to catch the Pelni ship Awu from Maumere on Flores to Makassar on Sulawesi without too much difficulty. We found the ferry to be fairly ship shape, traveling as we were in flashpacker first class, including a cabin to ourselves with hot running water and everything. Hence we were able to take our first proper shower since leaving Australia and even got a decent night’s sleep on the 26 hour crossing. Makassar was a bustling city, full of life and all the Asian craziness that somehow manages to exist in one place. The city is rich in history as one of the foremost ports in the region and spice mongering Europeans have been stopping by for years. Fort Rotterdam, actually built by a local prince but handed over to the Dutch, still stands proudly on the waterfront and we found Saturday night on the Esplanade to be a lively affair (once we found a bar, that is). The city is famous for the bugis schooners, a type of wooden boat with a huge soaring prow and billowing sails. They still ply their way around the region, apparently, though the harbour where they stand in port is sadly a litter strewn dump with only kids splashing in the disgustingly filthy water to cause amusement (and disease, no doubt). Makassar also hosts an orchid house with no orchids, only a collection of shells gathered in the early 1970’s. Interestingly enough.

We then bussed up to the Tana Toraja, a region of central Sulawesi famed for its traditional villages, boat shaped houses and funerals. It is a mountainous, volcanic area with deep valleys and gushing rivers and we spent a few days trekking around the little villages that spread out all over the hillsides. It is something of a morbid place in many ways, so concerned are the local folk by death. They have enormous funeral ceremonies necessitating the slaughter of an appropriate number of buffalo and the building of as many houses as possible. Impressively you might think, most people have two funerals, one immediately after their death and another once enough dosh has been raised to give them a proper send off. They might keep the body for two or three years whilst funds are collected. This gives rise to a funeral season around September and October, though various funerals take place all the time. This fad has become pretty touristy, though we found there were plenty of nice simple villages to visit and places to see simply by wandering off into the hills. Along the way we were able to see many cave graves that scatter the cliff faces, with bones and skulls peeking out from various alcoves and grottos. Antique hunters used to come plundering the coffins of the rich, so the Torajans started hiding their dead in remote rocky graves and the tradition stuck. We also managed to climb Gunung Sesean, a nearby 2000m volcano and get thoroughly soaked by the consistently torrential afternoon rains. It was all a lot of fun.

We now head to Balikpapan on Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, via another gruelingly long all day and night ferry.

We have also just celebrated our six month traveling anniversary. It has been a whirlwind of a fantastic time thus far. We have been fortunate to avoid any particular disasters to date, suffering neither serious illness, injury, loss or theft. We have also been fortunate to do and see a lot of fab stuff. Particular highlights would include the highlands of Fiji, completing the Dusky Track in New Zealand, dust storms of Broken Hill and the madness of East Timor, especially sunrise from Mount Ramelau. We have an awful lot to look forward to yet of course, with the rest of South East Asia, China and Russia to conquer. We hope that our good fortune continues to hold.

Now we need to go and find a pedalo to fall off. Cheers.