Hi, everyone! This week, let me take you on the Baliem Valley Festival budget tour – Day 3. Although it’s the final festival day, it’s not the last day of the tour. We still have 1 more day to go (Day 4) 😉
If you read my Day 1 and Day 2 posts, maybe you’re thinking about what else to see on Day 3 as I’ve shown you many photos. Actually, I felt the same when the group departed in the morning!
I felt that I’d seen enough, but since it was the festival’s last day, I hoped I would see something interesting. And yes, I did!
Plus, I felt so lucky to join the Baliem Valley Festival budget tour this year because I met Sandiaga Uno (Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy)! 🇮🇩
Day 3 was also special because… SUMI COOKED BREAKFAST FOR US! Apparently, the vegetables that she bought at the traditional market were for our breakfast.
She managed to get the guesthouse’s owner’s approval to borrow the kitchen and cook for us.
SUMI, YOU’RE THE BEST!!! 😍😍😍
Actually, for our Baliem Valley Festival budget tour, the package only included a simple breakfast: fried rice, rice crackers, sliced breads, some jams, sliced cheeses, coffee, and tea. That’s all.
As I mentioned in the Day 1 blog post, the food costs in Papua were high due to the remote location. Even stuff like milk, rice, and eggs had to be transported by airplane to Wamena.
But… the breakfast prepared by Putri Dani Hotel on that day was premium. There were chicken, vegetables, bananas… What happened?
Oh, there were other groups (Westerners and Koreans) who stayed with us… I guess they paid a premium price hence the guest house prepared a premium breakfast. We’re lucky! 😁
So, on Day 3, we had so much food to eat for breakfast😋😋😋
Yumi collected the uneaten sambal from yesterday’s lunch boxes and mixed it with vegetables when she fried the eggs. The carrots? They were so sweet~
Besides delicious breakfast, we saw a hundreds-year-old mummy in the morning before we went to the Baliem Valley Festival.
I enjoyed morning drives to the destination, with the wind on my face and lush greens in front of me. It was a digital detox moment for me 🌿☀️🚗
So, here’s the itinerary of the Baliem Valley Festival budget tour – Day 3:
- Breakfast
- See a mummy (private session)
- Visit the Baliem Valley Festival + lunch (last day)
- Dinner
Also read: “Baliem Valley Festival Budget Tour: Day 1”
Also read: “Baliem Valley Festival Budget Tour – Day 2”
Baliem Valley Festival Tour Day 3 – Witnessing a Mummy of the Dani Tribe
Yes, there were mummies in Papua! The mummies there weren’t ordinary people, they were tribal chiefs, important people who were highly respected.
We rented the tiny village for a few hours so no other visitors could enter when we were there. The best part? We could take unlimited photos of the mummy and tribe here without tipping!
While waiting for the mummy to be displayed, we took photos of the local children and tribe. Among the children, I found Natalia and her little brother, Yusuf, very adorable 😍😍😍
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Finally, the mummy arrived!
The mummies in Wamena, Papua, were different from the Egyptian mummies because they were in a sitting position.
According to the prehistoric concept, mummies in a sitting position looked like babies in the womb.
Sophie and Elizabeth who really loved photography brought along a light reflector and asked the driver to assist them, holding it while they were taking photos 📸📸📸
Oh ya, if you join this Baliem Valley Festival budget tour, remember to bring some candies for children in this tiny village!
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Baliem Valley Festival Final Day – Special Performances and Meeting Sandiaga Uno
The final day of the Baliem Valley Festival was special because superior tribes would perform. Satisfied with the photos that I took on Day 1 and Day 2, I decided to chill and just enjoy the performances.
I paid so much to join the Baliem Valley Festival budget tour, it was time to watch the performances through my eyes – not through the camera lens!
Here’s what I saw on Day 3:
- Performances from various tribes
- Festival closing speech by Sandiaga Uno and other VIPs
- Spear throw competition
- Bakar Batu (stone burning)
- Lunch (in a box)
- Walking on burning charcoal
- Karapan babi (pig run competition)
We arrived at the festival arena at the right time. The performances hadn’t started and it wasn’t too crowded, so I used the period to take more photos before heading to the VIP tribune.
Afterwards, there was an announcement from the loudspeaker that the performance was going to begin. I quickly sat down on the VIP tribune’s staircases.
🇮🇩 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
Not long after that, me and other people who sat on the staircases and gathered around the VIP tribune were asked to move because the real VIPs were coming, including the Papuan governor.
The Baliem Valley Festival 2024 was even more special because Sandiaga Uno, Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy also attended the festival.
Imagine, after 32 years running, he was the first Indonesian tourism minister who attended the Baliem Valley Festival…
We’re talking about an annual festival that attracts people from around the world! 👀👀👀
Luckily, Sumi was a smooth-talker. She told the policemen that we’d come all the way to attend the festival and we wouldn’t disturb the bodyguards or the event.
So, we were allowed to stand in front (below the VIP tribune) and got the best view of the performances 😁😁😁
It turned out, the pigs didn’t race altogether but one by one. The owner had to run and entice their pig to follow them. The jury used a stopwatch to take the time and decide the winner.
Aaaah, I was hoping to see them cute pigs run towards me! Other travellers and I were waiting in front of them, ready with our cameras to shoot the moment 😅😅😅
Not long after eating lunch and rest, all of us decided to leave. The festival had long ended and we were satisfied with the performance and photos that we had taken.
Since we had plenty of time before dinner, we planned to go to Napua Hill, a lookout point of Wamena. Alas, the sky was dark and it started to rain, so we decided to go there tomorrow.
Resting at the guest house while waiting for dinner, I charged my phone and camera. Not forgetting to text my mom and crush about what happened that day ❤️📸😊
The dining room opened 24/7, so I made myself a cup of hot black tea and enjoyed the tempe chips that I bought from the supermarket. Afterwards, all of us went out for dinner.
Alright, that’s my diary for the Baliem Valley Festival budget tour day 3. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post.
Stay tuned for the Baliem Valley Festival budget tour Day 4 blog post, have a wonderful week! 🌻🌻🌻
🇮🇩 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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