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…
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Baliem Valley Festival Budget Tour: Day 2
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… -
Baliem Valley Festival Budget Tour: Day 1
Hi, everyone! This week, I’m excited to take you on the Baliem Valley Festival budget tour! The Baliem Valley Festival is an annual cultural festival celebrated in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. During the festival, which is held every August, various Papuan tribes will present simulations of war between them, their daily life, and dances. Get ready for an unforgettable experience, meeting various tribes of Papua with their interesting (and au naturel) makeup, accessories, and performances
This is a cultural trip that I’ve been dreaming of since the Covid lockdown. However, I only managed to go there this year because I found a tour that suited my budget. Baliem… -
Visitting Dewata, the Biggest Starbucks in Southeast Asia
It was a rainy afternoon in Bali. My mom, sister, and I were planning to go to Penglipuran Village. However, because it was raining heavily, I suggested that we stopped by the biggest Starbucks in Southeast Asia. “Oh, you mean Dewata?”, asked my driver. Ah, so that’s it! Starbucks Reserve Dewata, to be precise. I wasn’t a coffee lover but since we were already in Bali, I wanted to check it out! Not only it was the biggest Starbucks cafe building ever, it also had its own logo and offered a different experience that you wouldn’t find in other Starbucks. First, it had its own parking lot, receptionist, garden, coffee…
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Bandung Trip – The White Crater, Tangkuban Perahu & Food Hunting
Hi friends!! It was only 2 weeks ago I dreamed about travelling and now Langkawi is gonna be opened for domestic tourists on 16 September 2021. It’s a very good sign and a ray of hope for international travelers to return next year. So… hang on! ??? Meanwhile, I’m still homesick so this week I decided to share about my Bandung trip back in 2012. Honestly, I travelled to Bandung, Indonesia mainly for wisata kuliner aka food hunting, but there are still many places that you shouldn’t miss such as Kawah Putih (the White Crater) and Tangkuban Perahu. Since it was a short trip and done many years ago, this…
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The Pandemic Pushed Me to Do Things I’ve Been Delaying for Years
If there’s one thing that I’ve been delaying for so many years, it’s exploring Indonesia. The pandemic makes me feel the ‘itch’ to do it. But now, even if I wanted to, I can’t travel to Indonesia because of the international travel restriction. Yes, although I myself am an Indonesian, I haven’t explored my wonderful country a lot – except for some famous places such as Bali, Bandung, Jogja, Toraja and Raja Ampat. If you check out the “Countries” tab of my website, you won’t see many posts about Indonesia. I’ve been delaying this dream because I wanted to “aim high” aka travel to far, far away places that require…
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Other Things to See in Toraja Besides Ke’te Kesu and Londa
There are three main reasons why most people are intrigued to visit Toraja, Indonesia: Ke’te Kesu, Londa and the funeral ceremonies. But actually, there are other wonderful things to see when you’re there! I could write a lot of blog posts about Toraja but there won’t be a lot to read as some of them are short visits. Or perhaps it’s I who want to finish writing about Toraja (hint: look at the Countries page, there are many places that I haven’t written about). Ok, without further ado, here are some places or things that you shouldn’t miss when in Toraja, Sulawesi, Indonesia: The Erotic Mountain at Buntu Kabobong, Bambapuang…
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Rambu Solo, Toraja: The Grand Funeral that Attracts Travellers from Around the World
It is grand and bizarre at the same time. But that’s exactly why people from around the world come to Toraja, Sulawesi, Indonesia – to see Rambu Solo aka the traditional funeral ceremony. In the previous post, I shared with you how Torajans respect their family highly, especially when it comes to sending the deceased to the afterlife. Noble families usually sacrifice 24-100 buffaloes. The middle-class families will sacrifice 8 buffaloes and 50 pigs. The locals believe the more buffaloes slaughtered, the faster the soul reaches heaven. As you can see from the video above, Rambu Solo is a grand funeral ceremony. It lasts for a few days/weeks and costs…
