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Indonesia

Attention:

Because we drove the current first part below from Miri in Malaysia to Pontianak in Indonesia already in October/November 2006, which is published on the website “Borneo” (see pic # 26-51) as well as the first “Indonesia Trip Part 1“ (see pic # 49-54), we won't show now anymore so many photos from this stretch. Though we shall see “new land” between Pontianak and Kumai. However also the current second part – the sector from Kumai to Balikpapan – is a repetition for us (July 2007) and can be seen on the site “Indonesia Trip Part 6” (see pic # 2-34). Links are in the captures. “New land” for us is definitively  from picture #31 onwards.

latest picture: October 18, 2017

• click a picture to see details

001  Departure from our MCity Apartment

in Miri/Sarawak/East Malaysia on the Island

of Borneo. It was our pleasant "home" during

the 3rd rejuvenation of our LandCruiser .....

002  ..... where we experienced

magnificent sunsets from our

balcony on the 3rd floor

003  Is there a lovelier lighthouse

than the seahorse at Miri's Marina,

which is the towns mascot?

004  The three of us in front of Miri's

famous landmark – the seahorse – at

our departure to the South from

northern Sarawak

005  A traditional longhouse of the Dayak

in Sarawak, here before Sibu. At Sungai Asap

near Bintulu – the longest longhouse – up to

100 families live under the same roof but have

different doorways from the communal terrace

006  Our LandCruiser at the 100 years old

Tua Pek Kong Temple along the Rajang

River in Sibu. With its 7-storey pagoda it

is an impressive landmark of the town

007  On the coastal road to Kuching through Pusa

and Sebuyau our LandCruiser drives off one of the

two ferries that connect this route. Both of the two

ferries cost amazingly only 1 Ringgit (= US$ 0.20).

Although the distance from Sibu to Kuching in

southern Sarawak is therefore about 60 miles

[100km] shorter, the time remains about the same

due to the two river crossings

008  Emil enjoys our picnic of satay sticks

with beer at the camping table below a shady

jackfruit tree along Maludam National Park,

which cannot be classified as spectacular from

the roadside view, because it can be entered

only with difficulties (flat peat swamp forest)

009  While Miri in northern Sarawak has

the seahorse as mascot, Kuching is the city

of the cats. Cute and funny cat monuments

are scattered in and around Sarawak's

capital in the South of the Malaysian

state on the Island of Borneo. Here the

most important in the East of the old city

(South City Council)

010  Another enjoyable cute cat monument

– a whole family – in Kuching, the city of

cats. Actually there are three in the old city:

East (South City Council), center and West

(North City Council)

011  Kuching's most striking 9-storied building

– the "Sarawak State Assembly" with its

distinctive "payung" (umbrella) roof –

sits on the northern shore of the Sarawak

River and was opened on July 27th, 2009

012  The pedestrian zone of the "India

Street" in an old area of the city of Kuching

is lined with shops selling all kind of stuff,

particularly textiles. Its special roofing

was completed in 2016

013  9/6/2017: We celebrate our easy-going

531st border crossing, this time from Tebedu/

Malaysia to Entikong/Indonesia with an

Indonesian “Bintang” beer. All we get is one

with 0.0% alcohol. Bleak prospects – finished

with Malaysian “Tiger” and “Tiger Radler”!

014  The new Tayan Bridge between

Tayan (North) and Piasak (South) over

the mighty Kapuas River in West

Kalimantan is announcing

itself in huge letters .....

015  ..... the bridge is part of the “Trans

Kalimantan Highway” and connects West

Borneo with Central Borneo. It was opened

on May 22, 2016. It is the longest bridge

in Borneo with a length of 6'480 ft [1'975m]

016  9/7/2017: About 3 miles [5km] North of

the Tayan bridge over the Kapuas River in West

Kalimantan, we cross the Equator from the northern

to the southern hemisphere for the 20th time,thereof

14 times with our LandCruiser. Nothing indicates

latitude 0°, just the Garmin GPS shows us the spot

017  A settlement along the relatively new

“Trans Kalimantan Highway” that leads more

than 250 miles [>400km] through lush tropical

vegetation. From here until Pangkalanbun, it is

“new land” for us. This stretch wasn't

driveable in 2007 due to heavy rain

018  An Indonesian lady protects

herself from the scorching Equator

sun with an umbrella

019  One of the ten landslides on the 1'150 ft.

[350m] high hill passage from West to Central

Kalimantan. They are all more recent, but already

passable again. With it the most attractive and

still mostly untouched part of the improved

“Trans Kalimantan Highways” ends

020  The huge “plant fronds” emerging

from the tropical vegetation

are always eye-catching

021  A narrow but one of the many slow-

moving brown jungle rivers in Kalimantan,

fringed by luxury tropical vegetation.

It has a kind of inscrutable appearance

022  Surprise, surprise! Is this not a shop with

REAL beer? While driving through a bigger

town Emil discovers the piled up Bintang cases.

Hopefully better days are ahead!

023  This monumental mosque stays in the city

of Sampit in Central Kalimantan. Such huge

buildings can be found everywhere, as Islam

is the main religion in Kalimantan: West 59%,

Central 74%, South 96%, East 85%, North 65%

024  One of the many “swiftlet fortresses”, besides

palm oil another lucrative business. Swiftlet's nests

are collected and sold to China. They are a Chinese

delicacy. 1lb = about 55 nests cost up to US$725

[1kg/120 nests US$1'600], depending on quality

025  During a short stopover on our roller coaster

ride from South to East Kalimantan a father takes

a picture from us, while his family is enjoying it.

Smartphones are just everywhere!

026  The crossing from South to East Kalimantan

is a constant roller coaster ride through luxurious

tropical green. Up to now it is the slowest stretch

due to the holey bad road condition

027  It never takes long for kids to spot our

special looking LandCruiser. Somehow it doesn't

fit into their normal scene; therefore their

astonishment is always obvious

028  At the ferry terminal of Penajam with its

pretty backdrop of stilt houses we take our

1st ferry across the Balikpapan Bay to

Kariangau near Balikpapan

029  The ferry ride on board of the 21-year-

old “KMP Dharma Ferry” was our 300th

shipping during the past almost 33 years and

lasted for the 4.2 miles [6.8km] one hour.

Cost Rp. 269'500 (US$21.50)

030  Kariangau/Balikpapan is greeting us

with the attractive scenery of Balikpapan – a

big city with a population of more than 700'000

031  The lights of the city of Balikpapan are

already switched on when we leave Kalimantan

on board of the ferry “KMP Tuna” (24 years old)

and make ourselves comfortable for the 22 hours/

232 miles [374km] long crossing through the

Makassar Strait to the island of Sulawesi .....

032  ..... the crew is cheerful and hopes

that they will catch a big fish during the

calm sea journey, which unfortunately

does not happen .....

033  ..... the jetty in Taipa, about 10 miles

[16km] north of Palu – the capital of Central

Sulawesi – comes in sight. We "survived" the

crossing at calm sea carrying only few

passengers and vehicles

034  Sunday morning in Palu: Families enjoy

themselves at the stony seashore. Eateries

spring up. At lunchtime, when it is getting

sticky hot, the beach is deserted again

035  Children obviously have much

fun in their rubber dinghy watched

by their parents

036  The renter of car's inner tubes in Palu is

packing up. He manages to cram up to 16 of

the inflated tubes onto his motorbike

037  Thundery atmosphere across Palu Bay.

Sheltered by mountain ridges, Palu itself is

regarded as the driest location in Indonesia

038  Palu's white horse monument

at the beach front contrasts with

the dark mountain backdrop

039  The floating ‘Arqam Bab Al Rahman’

Mosque in Palu. It was inaugurated in 2012

by the Governor of Central Sulawesi

040  It is sizzling at every street corner.

Here a lady is scooping fried

bananas from her pan

041  Bride and groom are posing for

their photographer and smile as well

into our camera

042  Three school girls in their Muslim outfit

are waiting to be picked up from school. 77% of

the population of Central Sulawesi are Muslim

043  Just on Liliana's birthday our LandCruiser

surprises us with its 188th flat tire. Emil is

fetching the spare tire from the roof

044  Not everyday a foreigner is changing

a tire. Children are fast to spot us and follow

each of our movements

045  A farmer drives home from his

plantation with some coconuts

tied to his motorbike

046  Northern Sulawesi is known for its

extensive coconut plantations. About 20%

of the copra production of Indonesia

can be found here

047  At the turquoise shimmering natural pool

(sinkhole) “Pusat Laut” about 9 miles [14km]

southwest of Donggala, resp. ca. 30 miles

[50km] from Palu, children dip into the water to

catch the coins, visitors have been throwing in

048  The beach lying along Makassar Strait

is gleaming white and is deserted on the day

when we visit it during the week

The beauty of exotic plants are eye-catching

049  A hanging heliconia (Heliconia

rostrata), actually a South American plant

050  A bunch of coconuts (Cocos nucifera)

that hang heavily at the palm tree

051  A tree trunk where delicate fresh

plants are springing everywhere

052  Liliana at the terrace of our Bungalow

under palm trees directly at the beach of the

"Bambaleno Beach Cottages" in Parigi, located

ca. 50 miles [80km] east of Palu at Tomini Bay

053  A smelly billy goat tries persistently

to make friend with Emil

054  Next morning we are awakened by a

gorgeous sunrise at the very calm Tomini Bay

055  9/27/2017: Equator monument in

Central Sulawesi. We cross at Tada the equator

for the 20th time from South to North resp.

the 12th time together with our LandCruiser

056  The island feeling is evident when

we roll on the ‘Trans Sulawesi Highway’

across the lush landscape

057  Peace and solitude: A modest hut,

a fishing boat and in front the wide blue

sea, the Tomini Bay in Molucca Sea –

on the road to Moutong

058  Morning mood at 5am: View across

the calm sea from our seaside terrace at

the ‘Sakana Beach Resort’ in Moutong

059  The dead and leafless mangrove trees are

a desolate sight. About half of the originally

32'865 acres [133km²] of mangroves of the

‘Tanjung Panjang Reserve’ in the Gorontalo

Province have been converted since 1989

into extensive fish ponds

060  View over a sea of palm trees –

one of the many plantations near the

‘Randangan Panua Reserve’ along the

southern coast in the province of

Gorontalo – that spread an exotic feeling

061  The southern coastal route from

Gorontalo along the ‘Dumago Bone National

Park’ to Kotamobagu and in direction

Manado is very picturesque with its little

hidden bays and beaches .....

062  ..... the many quaint fishing villages .....

063  ..... and mostly narrow roads, often

fringed with palm trees. But this route is about

60 miles [100km] shorter than the ‘Trans

Sulawesi Road’ along the northern coast

064  Nature pure: A stony mountain stream

carves its way through lush tropical vegetation –

on the Gorontalo- Kotamobagu south route

065  A pretty mosque in Molibagu at the

Molucca Sea, where it's said to have another

23 mosques, although the village lies already

on the rather Christian dominated

(up to 93%) Minahasa Peninsula

066  Beach, palm trees and the sea

– what more could we want? - near

Molibagu, North Sulawesi, at the

Molucca Sea. This picture is our

10'000th photo on our website

067  A forested volcano watches over

a rice field in the Minahasa Highland

068  The three of us feel very happy in the

tropical surroundings of Tomohon, the

capital of the Minahasa Highland

069  After each tropical rain, the hills in

the Minahasa Highland get shrouded by mist

Churches dominate in the Christian oriented Northeast of Sulawesi particularly the Minahasa Highland. Mostly they are impressive monumental buildings

and the houses of worship belong to different congregations. It is not uncommon that in a small modest village different congregations are “competing” and

churches are standing side by side. And Christians do as Muslims do: They also stand on the street in front of their places of worship and collect

money from passing motorists

070  Gereja GMIM Kalvari Tombasian

Atas in Kawangkoan, 10 miles [17km] south of

Tomohon, i.e. 25 miles [40km] south of Manado

071  Gereja GMIM Imanuel Leilem in

Leilem, 5½ miles [9km] south of Tomohon,

i.e. 20 miles [40km] south of Manado

072  Gereja Katolik St. Fransiskus

Xaverius Kakaskasen in Tomohon,

13½ miles [22km] south of Manado

073  The Buddhist ‘Vihara Buddhayana’

complex in Tomohon at the ‘Minahasa’ Highland

sits on a hill surrounded by agriculture

074  View from the top of the nine-story

‘Ekayana’ pagoda down to the 18 golden

‘Lohan’ statues that line the entrance

075  One of the impressive golden ‘Lohan’ statues

– Pindolabharadvaja – with 5'184 ft. [1'580m] high

‘Mount Lokon/Empung’ volcano) in the background

076  The lovely little temple (Palace of the

Goddess ‘Kwan Im’) is a fascinating example

of Buddhists rich decorations

077  Emil is enjoying the view from the top

of the ‘Ekayana’ pagoda. Wherever it is

possible to climb a tower, Emil does it

078  A shrine with a statue of Goddess

‘Kwan Im’ besides the ‘Ekayana’ pagoda,

flanked by bouquets of flowers

079  Mystic figures frame the fountain at the

‘Vihara Buddhayana’ complex in Tomohon

080  A giant frog-headed dragon is part of

the ‘Vihara Buddhayana’ complex in

Tomohon, which symbolizes luck

081  A remembrance picture of the three

of us in front of the impressive ‘Vihara

Buddhayana’ complex in Tomohon

082  Emil serves as a “guinea pig” of the

dished up Minahasa’ food bowls at the Heng-

mien Restaurant, because Indonesian food is

often too spicy for Liliana thanks to its chili

083  The family of the Hengmien Restaurant

at the Tomohon-Manado road

084  Emil eats “Fondue” at the Kitty

Bakery in Tomohon – at least that's

what the little bowl with the creamy

cheese-milk-sauce is called!

085  View from the big panorama

window at the Hengmien Restaurant

into the tropical surroundings …..

086  ….. with its exotic orchids …..

087  ….. and a butterfly resting on a green leaf

088  The encounter with like-minded Swiss

fellows Marius, Diana and their two boys at the

Mountain View Resort in Tomohon is too brief

089  Our LandCruiser always generates attention:

At the Kitty Bakery in Tomohon we are asked to

pose for a picture with officials

090  Thomas and Ursi from Switzerland belong

also to the holiday makers with whom we had nice

conversations at the Mt. View Resort in Tomohon

091  The monument with the white wild

horses stays in Manado's ring road at the

entrance to the residential complex

“CitraLand” of “Ciputra”

092  The 98 ft. [30m] high statue of Jesus

Christ in Manado is besides the ”Cristo

Redentor“ in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil and the

”Cristo Rei“ in Lubango/Angola the third big

Christ monument we were able to admire on

our epic journey; left of it the ”Big Ben Tower“

093  The “flying” Christ statue in Manado

watches over the city. It is situated on the

hill of the ”Citral“ residential area

More websites from the "Borneo-Sulawesi-Moluccas-Papua" trip:

Part 2: Pictures from the second part of North Sulawesi – Tomohon and surroundings, Tangkoko NP in October 2017

Part 3: Pictures from the North Moluccas Part 1 – Ternate und Tidore in November/December 2017

Part 4: Pictures from the North Moluccas Part 2 – Halmahera in November/December 2017

Part 5: Pictures from West Papua Part 1 (Irian Jaya) – Sorong and westerly ‘Trans Papua Road’ in December 2017-February 2018

Part 6: Pictures from the Moluccas Part 1 (Central) – Seram in February 2018

Part 7: Pictures from the Moluccas Part 2 (Central) – Ambon in February/March 2018

Part 8: Pictures from Papua Part 1 – Yapen in March 2018

Part 9: Pictures from Papua Part 2 – Biak in April 2018

Part 10: Pictures from West Papua Part 2 (Irian Jaya) – Manokwari and easterly ‘Trans Papua Road’ in April 2018

Part 11: Pictures from South Sulawesi-Kalimantan-Sarawak Part 2 – South Sulawesi via Kalimantan to Kuching and Miri/Malaysia from May to July 2018

More websites from Indonesia and Timor-Leste:

• Pictures and report from the first part of our Indonesian trip in Java and Sumatra from November to December 2006
• Pictures from the second part of our Indonesian trip in Bali from January to March 2007
• Pictures from the third part of our Indonesian trip in Lombok, Sumbawa and Flores in April 2007
• Pictures from the fourth part of our Indonesian trip in Sumba and West-Timor in May and June 2007
• Report and pictures from Timor-Leste (Oecussi and Mainland) in May 2007
• Pictures from the fifth part of our Indonesian trip in Southern Sulawesi before and after Toraja Land in June and July 2007
• Pictures from Tana Toraja (Toraja-Land) in South-Sulawesi in June and July 2007
• Pictures of the sixth part of our Indonesia trip in Kalimantan (Borneo) in July 2007
• Pictures and report from our 2010-Indonesian trip in North Sumatra from March to April 2010
• Pictures and report from our 2010-Indonesian trip in West Sumatra in May and June 2010
• Pictures and report from our 2010-Indonesian trip in Southern Sumatra in June 2010

More websites from East Malaysia und Brunei:

• Report from Brunei in September 2006
• Report from Sabah in October 2006
• Report from Sarawak, Part 1: Northeast (Miri) from June to August 2006
• Report from Sarawak, Part 2: South (Kuching) in November 2006
• Pictures from our Borneo trip through Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah and Kalimantan from August to November 2006
• 1st Rejuvenation of our LandCruiser in Miri/Sarawak/East Malaysia from 6/15/2006 - 8/26/2006 + 9/17/2007 - 9/24/2007
• 2nd Rejuvenation of our LandCruiser at the same place from 7/30/2012 - 10/4/2012
• 3rd Rejuvenation of our LandCruiser at the same place from 2/6/2017 - 5/3/2017 + 7/16/2018 -