Hello, everyone! This week, let me take you on the Baliem Valley Festival budget tour – Day 2! 🌿 📸 🤳🏻
If you’ve read the Day 1 blog post, you may wonder what you would do during the three-day festival. As an amateur photographer, three days was just nice for me to cover everything.
On the first day of the Baliem Valley Festival, I reached the festival in the afternoon and had a glimpse of the festival. I took some selfies and tip-based photos of the tribes.
At the end of the festival Day 1, I asked the private driver to stop by a supermarket before returning to the hotel so I could exchange small notes.
This way, I could have 10K and 20K rupiah notes as tips for the next two days.
What should you buy in the supermarket?
Since the weather is hot and you’ll be actively taking photos, I recommend drinking 1 bottle of Pocari Sweat (less sugar) every day to keep you hydrated.
You can also buy local snacks, and remember to buy mosquito repellent! The mosquitos in the guest house were bigger than the normal ones, so I always sprayed my body before I went to bed.
If you bring many cameras and need to charge more than one gadget, you can buy an electric plug with multiple plugs to charge them in your room.
Or, you can buy candies and school supplies as donations for the local children, especially when you visit Tobia Village on Day 4.
So, this is the itinerary for Baliem Valley Festival budget tour – Day 2:
- Go to the Baliem Valley Festival + lunch
- Visit Pasir Putih Akima (Wamena lookout point with white sand)
- Visit a traditional market
- Dinner at a restaurant near the guest house
Also read: “Baliem Valley Festival Budget Tour: Day 1”
Baliem Valley Festival Photography Day 2 – Think What You Want to Focus On
On Day 2, my Baliem Valley Festival budget tour group arrived at the festival arena early morning, around 9:30am. The sky was clear and the weather was nice for photography – perfect!
Since we were the first group that arrived at the festival arena, we could chit-chat and take nice photos with the tribes (aka empty background, because it wasn’t crowded).
Yesterday, my Japanese friend, Shusaku, took many nice portrait photos, focusing on the tribes’ makeup and accessories.
So, for the Baliem Valley Festival Day 2, I decided to take more close-up photos of the makeup and… various koteka designs (d**k gourd/coverage made by plants).
Yes, I’m not shy telling you this! At the Baliem Valley Festival, you’ll see many unique kotekas. From the simple ones like these…
… the eco-friendly koteka which made me wonder if it had to be watered daily…
…the sleek and elegant koteka, adorned with feathers at the tip and matched well with the look…
… to this extravagant koteka! 👀 👀 👀
Oh boy, I could imagine how heavy the koteka above… The whole appearance looked super cool and unique, but how could he run around with that koteka?
Did he grow muscle in that area? 😂 😂 😂
Of course, I had to put a thick skin to take various koteka photos at the Baliem Valley Festival. After all, I only had an 18-55mm lens… So, I couldn’t stand too far and secretly took photos like others did 😛
I didn’t care if people laughed at me for taking many koteka photos. I’d come from far, far away to see their culture and art!
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If the women wore unique b***s accessories, I would take many photos too. It’s just that the male tribes looked more outstanding, hehe!
Elizabeth: “You… Oh my, why do you wear a white t-shirt???”
Me: “Because it’s hot. If I wear black, it will absorb the heat.”
Elizabeth: “If you wear white, the sunlight will be reflected on your face. Plus, you’re wearing a hat. So the sunlight will be reflected on your hat, then bounce down to your face. There goes your sunblock.” 🤦♀️
Me: “Really???” 😨😨😨
Elizabeth: “Also, if you go birdwatching, you must avoid wearing red and white colours because they will drive away the birds.
Once I wore a red jacket during birdwatching. The whole group was angry at me, so I had to take it off. Luckily it was a jacket.” 😄 😄 😄
Aaah, it’s good to have friends with different hobbies – I know lots of interesting things!
Satisfied seeing and taking many koteka photos, I decided to spend the rest of the days watching the performances and competitions.
Each performance was performed by a certain tribe. While the performance was ongoing, there was a spear-throwing competition.
My Brazilian model friends, Camila and Larissa, always looked stylish and photo-shoot-ready at the Baliem Valley Festival. On Day 2, Camila wore a striking red dress which contrasted to the Papuan tribes.
So, Rizky, the Baliem Valley Festival budget tour organiser (who was a photographer), asked her to be his model.
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The Best Photography Spot at The Baliem Valley Festival
The tribal performances at the Baliem Valley Festival usually start around 12pm, so if you arrive at the arena in the morning, you’ll have plenty of time for personal photography.
When you’re done with your personal photos, it’s time to watch the performances! As I mentioned in the previous blog post, the best view is from the VIP tribune.
So, make sure that you get a spot at the VIP tribune for nice Baliem Valley Festival photos!
Some Baliem Valley Festival photography tips:
- Find a place near the VIP tribune for the best Baliem Valley Festival photos and view
- Bring a foldable camping chair because there will be many performances, lasting for hours
- If you don’t have a foldable chair, sit on the VIP tribune’s staircases (it’s free!)
- Although it’s safe, always keep your valuable belongings close to you
- Remember to re-apply your sunblock and drink enough water
This Baliem Valley Festival budget tour didn’t include a VIP tribune seat. The VIP seats were reserved for ministers and real VIPs, not tourists like us.
What kind of performances did the Papua tribes show at the Baliem Valley Festival?
The performances told about disputes among the tribes due to triangle love, land rights, ceremonies for adult males, etc…
Tribes from various districts in Papua performed with their traditional attire, accessories, and makeup. Each tribe has their unique look, so you won’t get bored 😉
During the Baliem Valley Festival, my private drivers and Pesona Indo organiser, Rizky, will sit at the same spot as they did on Day 1.
So, whenever you need a water bottle or want to have lunch, just go to that spot.
During the festival, lunches were served in a box because the focus of this Baliem Valley Festival budget tour was the festival, and everyone had personal interests (esp. photographers).
So, it’s better not to set a lunchtime or go to the restaurant and come back. Plus, there were no restaurants nearby the festival arena.
This way, everyone in the group can enjoy the festival and rest at their own pace.
When I was resting, I chatted with Camila and Larissa and got to know them better. Life was tough in Brazil, the cost of living there was also very high.
“I didn’t want to work just to pay my bills,” said Larissa.
Both of them were smart, they had degrees but decided to be models so they could travel the world. Now there’re happy working and living in Asia. I’m happy for them!
🇮🇩 10% OFF ALL INDONESIA TOURS! 🇮🇩
Click below to WhatsApp chat with the tour operator:
CLARA10
Use CLARA10 when you contact pesonaindo.com and epic.pesonaindo.com
🌏 International tours: Get 15% off when you use CLARA15 and checkout at onelifeadventures.com
Oh btw, if you want to buy souvenirs or handmade accessories, there’s a spot near the VIP tribune. The most unique souvenirs are headbands with real, preserved Birds of Paradise (Cendrawasih) and kotekas.
I don’t recommend buying any accessories adorned with preserved Birds of Paradise because it’s an endangered species. If it’s only the feather, then it’s okay…
But why do the locals hunt this endangered bird?
I’m not sure… maybe because 37 out of 41 Birds of Paradise species are found in Papua and they need money? For tribes who live in the forest and often see the birds, they may think it’s something normal…
1 headband with a preserved Birds of Paradise head and feather was sold for around 3 million rupiahs and above (starting from around RM850 or 194 USD). It’s a large amount of money for the locals.
Please don’t ask me why the government doesn’t discourage the tribes to stop hunting Birds of Paradise. I don’t have the answer…
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Baliem Valley Festival Budget Tour – Visitting Pasir Putih Akima and Traditional Market
At around 3pm, everyone in the group decided to leave the Baliem Valley Festival. Having been there since early morning, we were satisfied with the performances and the photos we took.
On the way to Pasir Putih Akima (Akima White Sand), Sumi and I asked the driver to stop somewhere to buy cigarettes. We planned to give cigarettes as tips to the Papua tribe at the festival tomorrow instead of money.
Yes, you can do that! The Papua tribes accept cigarettes as tips for taking their photos because most of the locals smoke – men and women.
We didn’t spend a lot of time at Pasir Putih Akima since the area was small. It was a lookout point surrounded with super fine white sand.
“Ooh, the sand is very fine! My friend who owns peacocks and other birds would want to bring this sand home for his pets!” said Sumi.
“He always buys high-quality sand from Belitung, then asks people to sift the sand to make it finer. Poultries really love this kind of sand.”
Woow… rich people’s hobby! 👀 👀 👀
You could hike higher to get a better lookout point of Wamena. I didn’t do it because I was quite tired, so I just took some photos, hehe 😊
Next, we went to a traditional market. I often went to a traditional market with my mother and my maid when I was a kid, so I wasn’t too enthusiastic.
However, there was something unique at the Wamena traditional market: the fruits and vegetables were stacked like hills and you could only buy them in bulk, not per piece.
Even if you’re not enthusiastic like me, there are three fruits that you MUST try in Wamena: avocados, passionfruits, and pineapples.
They said Papuan avocados melt in the mouth like butter… I didn’t believe it until I had it! It was the best avocado I’d ever had 😍😍😍
The vegetables there were also very fresh and sweet. Apparently, the fruits and vegetables in Papua were free from pesticides, hence the premium quality. That reminds me of South Africa!
Alright guys, that’s the end of our Baliem Valley Festival budget tour – Day 2. Stay tuned for the Day 3 adventure! ✨✨✨
🇮🇩 10% OFF ALL INDONESIA TOURS! 🇮🇩
Click below to WhatsApp chat with the tour operator:
CLARA10
Use CLARA10 when you contact pesonaindo.com and epic.pesonaindo.com
🌏 International tours: Get 15% off when you use CLARA15 and checkout at onelifeadventures.com
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