Hi, guys! This is the final saga of my Baliem Valley Festival budget tour travel diary. In this post, I will show you the beauty of Obia Village in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. Yesterday, my friend asked me if the tribes were exploited for the festival. The answer is no. The Baliem Valley Festival was held to preserve the Papua culture and show it to the world. That’s why they wore traditional accessories and koteka during the festival, danced, and performed mock wars. Many, many years ago, there were real wars between the tribes. However, that’s no longer the case. Also, they wear normal clothes like us in their daily lives.…
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Baliem Valley Festival Budget Tour: Day 3
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…
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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…
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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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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…
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Toraja Trip: The Ancient Ke’te Kesu’ Village and Londa Tombstone
On my second day in Toraja, I visited lots of jaws-dropping destinations like Ke’te Kesu’, Londa, Baby Grave, a historical burial site and Christ the Redeemer statue. But for this week, let me share with you about the ancient Ke’te Kesu’ village and Londa tombstone. Your trip to Toraja will be a cultural one, so make sure you don’t miss the two! Ke’te Kesu’: Family Bond, Pride and Hanging Graves If you don’t have enough money to bury your loved ones… would you sleep in the same room with the corpses and act as if they’re still alive? Making our loved ones happy is a joy to most of us.…
