Amelia Winnie's wee-bit pieces

While googling enthusiastically about tourism information on Manado, North Sulawesi, Bunaken always came up first.

But not when I decided to enter the more detailed key words of underwater heaven on the search engine. It turned out that the Lembeh Strait was another “hit”.

The Lembeh Strait is located in Bitung municipality where trading and ports used to be the trademark of this city. Nowadays, Bitung is also known for its marine and undersea appeal for tourists from all over the world.

 

I rented a car with a local Manadonese driver to get to Bitung from Manado, which took about 2.5-hours. Public transportation, such as taxis and buses, are also available to access Bitung, the main gateway to the Lembeh Strait. 

On the way to Bitung, the driver informed that Lembeh was once a historical landmark when West Irian was relinquished from the Dutch in the colonial era. Our fighters announced its Trikora ultimatum (Tri Komando Rakyat, or Three People’s Command) to establish Indonesian sovereignty over Irian Jaya as well to maintain the independence and unity of the nation. Thus, the 100-meter skyscraping Trikora monument was built in the 1970s to commemorate Indonesian fighters in South Lembeh.

For staying at easy-on-the-pocket hotels, choose Bitung. Numerous hotels are built near the port with more reasonably priced rates. Deciding to stroll and explore Bitung when I was there, quite a few Indonesia’s naval vessels were parked nearby. The port town of Bitung is essentially a center for shipbuilding, maintenance and profitable fishing activity. There is also a remarkable 12-meter tall replica of the France’s Eiffel Tower at one of the intersections that lead into the city.

On the following day, I headed to Bitung port by ojek (motorcycle taxi), which only took 5 minutes. The little port in the morning was surprisingly jam-packed and loud, as it was adjoined with the traditional market. After embarking onto the boat that I had previously booked from one of many resorts in Lembeh, the calm sea flabbergasted me.

Hotels and resorts in Lembeh are mushrooming now. However, rates may not be as affordable as accommodations in Bitung. Since the Lembeh Strait is all about underwater allure, most resorts in Lembeh are dive resorts that offer various packages, including fun dives and full accommodation. But these diving resorts are also open for tourists who don’t dive. You can go snorkeling or explore the city landmarks as some resorts provide tour packages.

Since foreign investment has been contributing to developing resorts in Lembeh, you may need to pick resorts wisely, as some of them charge in dollars or pound sterling. Others also manage reasonable prices in Indonesian rupiah.

The boat staff member said while Bunaken has its abundant vibrant reefs with great visibility and pelagic fishes or flocks of sharks, Lembeh offers a silt-bottomed underwater feature for muck diving. Lembeh sparks its reputation as a spectacular dive spot to observe tiny, wonderful sea creatures up-close. No wonder Lembeh Strait has been prominent for macro underwater photography enthusiasts as about 30 dive sites stretch out beneath.

Lembeh is positioned within the epicenter of the world’s 6-million square kilometer Coral Triangle, with a narrow 14 kilometer channel which is about 1 or 2 kilometers wide. Time after time, it has been rated among the top dive locations in the world as it is famed for muck or critter diving — a term that describes the small sea creatures that inhabit the black sand milieu. Above and beyond, experienced and advanced divers are advised to enjoy the “muck Mecca” of Lembeh.

Done with the undersea serenity? Ask your resort to arrange a short trip to Tangkoko National Park. Located a 2-hour drive from Bitung, it is home to the spectral tarsier (Tarsius tarsier) — the 12-centimeter primate that can be seen only in the morning and evening. The Park preserves this little endangered primate, along with other natural wildlife such as Maleo birds, tailless monkeys, Couscous (marsupial family) and crested black macaques.

As the road to the national park is slightly arduous, it is suggested that visitors hire a local tour guide to ensure successful wildlife observation and a safe journey.

 

Published: here

 

Through a few social networking sites, we find millions of ways to communicate with those we know and who we would like to know.

Friends and strangers on the social networking sites seem to be what keeps us surfing in the cyber world. While some people may not accept strangers to be their online friends, Omegle moves to facilitate conversations between strangers.

One night I opened up Omegle.com and prepared the video chat. Because of the different time zones and my natural nocturnal habits, the time was right for chatting with people from the other side of the world.

I spent the first 10 seconds staring at a small black window at the upper right of my laptop screen before someone’s (read: a stranger’s) face appeared. When it finally showed up, I spent a couple of minutes interacting with this interesting new acquaintance.

He wore a baseball cap and a gray sweatshirt and tried to start a conversation with me. That was one of the lucky, “normal” video chats I found on Omegle.

As a platform for live video chat, Omegle gives you face-to-face conversations with strangers. It has a few simple rules and ostensibly no limitations for its users. Just like an old-fashioned online chat site, you only need to install or activate your webcam to jump into the Omegle circle.

No need to register to join Omegle, as this video chat website has an instant connection to a random stream of strangers from around the world. If you get bored with what you see or with whom you chat, simply click “disconnect” to end the conversation and “next” to start chatting with another stranger.

Omegle was created by now-20-year-old Leif K Brooks from Brattleboro, Vermont, in 2009. With more than 10,000 accessing the site at any given time, Omegle has become a new way to engage in one-on-one chat with new strangers every time you click “next”. You will not bump into the same stranger twice.

Moreover, if you feel a little bit uncomfortable showing yourself to the stranger you’re chatting with, you’re able to choose the text only chat option instead of video chat. If you choose video chat, do not forget to check your appearance and make sure you’re looking good enough to meet some attractive strangers — or peculiar ones.

Many video chat websites have been growing recently, such as Chat Roulette, IMeetzu, Getting Random and Iddin. Because these kinds of sites have created controversy due to their low levels of security, it is advised that you think carefully before venturing into chatting. 

If you are unlucky, a butt-naked stranger dancing on your screen is your doom. In this case, or maybe a worse one, you are free to either choose to keep watching or skip it.

I must say, talking to a random stranger online is sort of cool, somehow. In fact, we seem to get used to having online conversations with people who have a common tie with us. Sometimes, we know a little about the person from a fan page or forum because that person has a similar background — for instance, we may both be crazy about a rising band or pop star. 

However, my experience with Omegle makes me think that conversations without pretext and staring at a stranger through a webcam have brought a fresh and amusing way to start chats.

Besides possibly getting hit by a bizarre view, I never know with whom I am going to wind up. Omegle is noteworthy for the anonymity it affords users and its stockpile of completely random strangers.

 

Published: here

 

 

 

Known for its remarkable tenun or woven cloth and funeral ceremonies, Tana Toraja — “the Land of Toraja” — is a lot more than meets the eye.

Located in South Sulawesi, this prominent tourist destination in Indonesia is encircled by mountains, cliffs, forests and dotted with coffins as well as buffaloes.

It was an eight- to 10-hour drive from South Sulawesi’s capital city, Makassar. I did not want to close my eyes and fall asleep as the journey to Toraja offers a scenery I might regret missing.

Paddy fields and forests could be seen to the left of the road, and scary yet tremendous gaps to the right. The sky was bright blue and, through large clouds, the sun shone brightly.

Because it is a famous tourist destination, Tana Toraja is packed with visitors all year round, from backpackers to wealthy travelers.

If you want to go to Tana Toraja’s famous spots in Makale, Rantepao and Batutumonga easily, you can rent a car, which costs around Rp 400,000 (US$46) a day (negotiable). You can also take public transportation, such as a minivan (angkot) or bentor — short for becak motor (motorcycle-pedicab) — if you want to tour around the city.

Torajan houses called tongkonan, built using carved-wood panels can be seen throughout Toraja. The word tongkonan comes from the Torajan word tongkon — which means “to sit”. The walls of tongkonan are incised with wood-carving detail and are mainly colored red, black and yellow.

In front of a tongkonan, you can usually see a string of buffalo horns that show how affluent and wealthy the owner is. Four or eight horns indicate average wealth. Any other amount means the tongkonan belongs to a prosperous family.

Nowadays, many Torajans own modern-looking houses, but they still have smaller-sized tongkonan houses, which they use as guest houses.

They are also used to store gabah (unhulled rice) or as the family grave. Indeed, there is something in Toraja you cannot and do not want to overlook: corpses, coffins and graveyards.

Before stepping into these spooky spots, you must visit Batu Tumonga. Located on the slopes of Mount Sesean, a one-hour drive from the center city in Toraja, Batu Tumonga offers a splendid view of Rantepao and Tana Toraja from its peak. Having a cup of robusta or arabica coffee (Torajan exclusive coffee) in a coffee shop there while looking at the views is very enjoyable.

On the way to Batu Tumonga, graves could be spotted everywhere. Interestingly, they didn’t look creepy — but culturally appealing.

The next stop was the baby grave called passiliran in Kambira. The passiliran is only intended for babies who do not have teeth — they were considered sacred. Deceased babies are buried inside a hole in a tarra tree, as it is believed to place them back in their mothers’ wombs. Tarra has white sap symbolizing a mother’s milk. Approximately 80 to 300 centimeters in diameter, the hole is wrapped with enau leaves (solitary palm sugar) after the baby is in. There are 15 holes in the tarra now.

Social status, again, plays a role here. The higher the baby is placed inside the hole, the higher the social status of the family. By paying an entry fee of Rp 5,000, tourists can see and take photographs of the baby graves.

Twenty minutes from the baby grave, meet Londa — a natural cave, the burial ground for Tana Toraja ancestors. Located in Sandan Uai village in Sanggalangi subdistrict, 7 kilometers from Makale, it costs
Rp 5,000 to enter the site.

Here, visitors must follow community rules — one of which is we are not allowed to move or take away the human bones. Among the tombs, you can see tau-tau — wooden effigies representing the deceased — placed on the top of Londa cave.

When you look toward Londa’s entrance, there are erong — Torajan coffins that stick out of the cliff side — filled with human bones from hundreds of years ago. Similar to the baby grave, the higher one’s social status is, the higher the dead is placed on the cliff.

Then, explore the 1,000-meter depth of Londa cave by foot and witness this coffin-filled cave with sesajen (offerings to the spirit) and items belonging to the deceased alongside.

Be careful, the ground and rocks inside are slippery and wet. Witness the infamous tale from Londa inside the cave revolving around a couple of skulls claimed to be Toraja’s Romeo and Juliet. They were deeply in love, but both families’ refusal to welcome their commitment brought catastrophe: suicide.

Toraja people place importance on buffalos. Not only do buffalo horns present social status, Torajans also sacrifice as many buffaloes as possible at a family member’s funeral. The number of animals sacrificed — buffaloes or pigs — equates to the power of the dead and their family’s.

Tedong — as Toraja people call the water buffalo — are given time to bathe in mud. Albino buffalo are given special treatment. There’s one in Londa, named Tedong Bonga. The guide says Tedong Bonga is worth more than Rp 200 million.

Another enthralling spot is Ke’te Kesu, the most picturesque village in Tana Toraja. It has a shipshape row of tongkonan and the hanging erong coffins.

Ke’te Kesu has many tau-tau on its cliffs, photos of predecessors, and wooden-carving crafts and souvenir shops selling Torajan handicrafts such as tenun woven cloths, T-shirts, ethnic jewelry and even traditional South Sulawesi costumes.

It is believed to be the oldest graveyard in Tana Toraja. To fully experience Ke’te Kesu, you need to walk upstairs with the precipice on your right.

Many skulls and other bones are on the ground. Walking past flimsy, old coffins, you can sense the mystical atmosphere around.

The last and hottest place to visit is Sa’dan To’barana. This is a special place to see the making of pattanun, Torajan tenun woven cloth.
You can also purchase cloth here. Sa’dan To’barana is a one-hour drive from Rantepao.

It is a traditional village in north Toraja where the pattanun fabric is originally made. Pattanun consists of a mixture of colorful tenun woven fabric and is sold at a reasonable price. You can have an authentic pattanun from Rp 100,000 to more than Rp 1 million.

You can also experience weaving with the traditional machine to make tenun woven cloth. One tenun woven cloth is 3.5 meters in size and takes two weeks to make.

Tasting Tana Toraja’s cuisine is also a must. Try pa’piong, beef/pork/fish mixed with vegetables such as utan bulunangko or jackfruit inside bamboo then roasted over a fire.

Do not forget to taste jipang Toraja, made from glutinous black sticky rice with brown sugar.

Tori cookies are also yummy and use similar ingredients to jipang but in a different form. Tori is made by adding sesame seeds and rice flour.

This superb city of graves and marvelous natural views invites those who visit the Land of Toraja to come back again.

 

Published: Here