Sulawesi was my target in 1993, but first I was invited to the birthday of Desa Pasedahan, between Candi Dasa and Tenganan in Karangasem/Amlapura district, east Bali.   Pak Nyoman Mariatha, my host, made sure I was dressed properly.   It was a great day, and the children were equal participants in the celebration.

The men seemed to do most of the food preparation, except for the rice which was brought from home by the women.   Adat is an interesting facet of life that will take me a long time even to begin to understand. :)

From Ujung Pandang in the south, (the gateway to eastern Indonesia) the Trans-Sulawesi Highway stretches all the way to Manado in the north.   In '93 the road was still unpaved in sections, but it did make for an interesting trip. :)

The funeral rites in Tana Toraja are unique.   As a vegetarian I don't enjoy watching the killing of animals, so I hid behind my camera and changed the occasion into an artificial, through-the-lens experience.   I'm told that sometimes more than a hundred kerbau are slaughtered in the celebrations for a rich person's funeral.   Only four were killed on this day.

Danau Poso, in Central Sulawesi is a large body of water in a beautiful, natural-looking part of the country.   These kids in Pendolo, on the southern shore of the lake, came down to watch the ferry leave.   I was told that "wild-men" still roam the jungles of the area.

In Tindoli, near Pendolo, the children followed me at a distance, running away laughing if I spun around to look at them.

Getting wet seems to be a local specialty, and there's more to see than just the waterfall.

Manado reminded me of Adelaide (why?) and its millions of blue microbuses provide a great service.

	But Bunaken Island is one place to spend a honeymoon.   It is so peaceful there. The locals are friendly, the water is clear and warm, and the coral reef with its milticoloured fish is beautiful.   I caught the Mutiara to Pulau Bunaken from the back of a copra trading shop perched over the river in Manado.   Sunset over Manado Tua Island, as seen from an outrigger canoe was one of the highlights.

After a short and happy stay with some Balinese transmigrants near Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi, and an even shorter stay with Duncan, this time in Surabaya, I stayed a while with Father Charlie Burrows at the Pastoran Katolik, Cilacap.  

While there I was shown the schools and other projects the church and its members have performed under his leadership over the past 20 years, including some work with people living in the mangroves.

Homeward bound, I stopped briefly in Yogya, then Malang, a beautiful town, where this fellow, a dwarapala, sits nearby (in Singosari) with his brother.   Lonely Planet says they may have been part of the original gates to the headquarters of the Singosari kingdom.

My 60 day tourist visa being nearly finished, I returned to Candi Dasa before flying home.   It was easier to leave this time; maybe because I know it's not forever.

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