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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 Sulawesi before and after Toraja Land in June and July 2007
• Pictures from Tana Toraja (Toraja-Land) in 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 from our 2010-Indonesian trip in Southern Sumatra in June 2010

 

latest picture taken: May 23, 2010

• click a picture to see details

 76  On the way from Tarutung to

Padangsidempuan we cross

this “steaming” jungle river

 77  Our LandCruiser accelerates

to tackle the steep ascent towards

Sipirok, where stranded lorries

wait to be winched up

78  Mist is spreading through the

rainforest along the Sibolga bypass,

giving it a mystical appearance

 79  View from the hill of the Torsibohi

Resort in Sipirok over the fertile valley

 80  This splendid mosque stands

in the otherwise characterless

village of Kotanopan

81  Lush green paddy fields

turn up at every corner

Wedding of the Minangkabau people near Padangsidempuan. The Minangkabau form one of the few still existing matrilineal

societies on earth. i.e. where property and land is passing down the female line from mother to daughter

 82  The bridal couple is sitting on the

throne adorned in gold and red .....

 83  ..... the wedding guests –

strongly devoted to Islam – listen

to the words of the Imam …..

84  ..... a student and a little girl

spontaneously embrace Liliana in

front of the car before saying good-bye

 85  Dreamy landscape: A lonely

mosque perched between rice field

and the rainforest near Kotanopan

 86  Incredible how this scooter

manages to keep his balance on the

winding mountain road to Bukittinggi

87  Freshly planted rice fields are

always eye catching – there is a

lot of hard work behind it

 88  In Bonjol, lying in the hot plain

between Lubuksikaping and Bukittinggi,

we cross the Equator for the 27th time.

Reason enough to celebrate this special

moment with a Gin-Tonic drink

 89  Bukittinggi, 3’050ft. above sea

level, has many buildings with the

distinctive architecture of the Minang-

kabau highland people. Already the

city gate has the upswept gables,

inspired by the form of buffalo horns

90  The main square in Bukittinggi

teems with life on Ascension Day

 91  Jam Gadang, the Clock Tower, is

Bukittinggi’s landmark. It was built 1926

– a gift from the Dutch Queen. After

Indonesia’s independence, the roof has

been adapted to the Minangkabau culture

 92  Where ever we look, the

distinctive Minangkabau roofs

are never far away in Bukittinggi

93  Two distinctive architectures:

The Moorish arcade of the

Hills Hotel in Bukittinggi and the

gabled Minangkabau roofs

 94  Three girlfriends smile somehow

shyly when we take a picture

 95  Dried food is plentiful at Pasar Atas,

the big market in Bukittinggi …..

96  .... and the tiny market stalls are

crammed with Islamic headscarves

 97  Nostalgic horse drawn carriages

are waiting for customers at

Bukittinggi’s main square

 98  A cute looking house in a

narrow side road of Bukittinggi

99  View from the balcony of our

Hotel Benteng in Bukittinggi during an

interesting evening ambiance, with the

distinctive mosque in the for- and the 9’484ft.

high Merpati volcano in the background

 100  From the Panorama Park in

the West of Bukittinggi we enjoy

the view to the Sianok Canyon .....

 101  ..... with its bizarre

rock formations .....

102  ..... and the peaceful monkey

families that are living there

 103  Liliana is sitting in front of the city

museum that was built in the Minangkabau

style in 1934. Left and right are rice barns …..

 104  ….. an elderly lady is

sitting on the steps leading into

the interior of the museum

105  Minangkabau roofs

tower towards stormy skies

 106  A vertical cliff, a lush rice field, majestic

palm trees and a traditional Minangkabau

house – one of the most beautiful spots in

Harau Canyon, 35 miles East of Bukittinggi

 107  A waterfall drops over

a vertical, 330ft. high cliff of

the Harau Canyon down

to the valley

108  Two guys walk across a rice

field to the “Lembah Harau Echo

Homestay” that is situated

right under a cliff

 109  A paddy farmer lady makes

a well deserved break .....

 110  ..... another peasant woman

pushes her barrow to the paddy field .....

111  ..... another woman sells

“energy cracker” in front of her house

 112  Between the village of Harau

and the city of Payakumbuh, this building

like a palace attracts our attention

between palm trees and paddy fields

 113  East of Bukittinggi Cassava

is growing and is laid out to

dry along the road

114  Also this mosque in

Payakumbuh has a touch of

the Minangkabau architecture,

at least with its “dome”

 115  The traditional “Surau Nagari” –

an Islamic men’s house – is built entirely

of wood and sits in the village of Batipuh,

South of Bukittinggi, near Padangpanjang

 116  A beautifully decorated traditional

Minangkabau home in Batusangkar, the

capital of the ancient kingdom of Minang-

kabau in the Tanah Datar region …..

117  ….. Close-up view –

a real splendor!

 118  The ruins of the „Queens Palace“

(Pagaruyung) in Silinduang Bulan near

Batusangkar that was demolished by a

fire on 3/21/2010. The two beautiful rice

barns survived. The “Kings Palace” (Basa

Pagaruyung), which lies just a few hundred

yards away, burnt down on 2/27/2007

by lightning and is currently rebuilt

 119  Traditional and modern

architecture in Silinduang

Bulan near Batusangkar

120  The new monumental

“Kings Palace” in Silinduang Bulan

near Batusangkar is still under

construction after the old one was

hit by lightening on 2/27/2007

and burnt to the ground

 121  In small villages, we discover

now and then further jewels of the

Minangkabau culture …..

 122  ..... lovely detail of

the traditional home

123  Emil poses for a picture in front

of another traditional Minangkabau

house, again near Batusangkar

 124  Another example of a

Minangkabau house in Batusangkar

with its elaborately carved exterior

 125  Who is taking whom for a ride?

126  The village of Belimbing, which

lies about halfway between Batu-

sangkar and Lake Singkarak, has the

biggest concentration of Minangkabau

buildings that survived “more or less”

 127  Lake shore at peaceful Danau

(= lake) Singkarak in Ombilin,

where we make our lunch break

 128  The smoke of the harvested paddy

field fires rise everywhere towards

the sky and leaves everything in haze

129  Mountain village of Sungai Landia

between Bukittinggi and Manijau, where –

like everywhere – the mosque dominates

 130  Peaceful image of the village

Sungai Landia, surrounded by rice

fields and forest. It’s along the road

from Bukittinggi to Lake Maninjau

 131  Hard work for farmer and

water buffalo: Plowing a rice paddy

132  Also in the countryside,

mosques are monumental: On the

way from Matur to Danau Maninjau

(= Lake Maninjau)

 133  From the viewpoint “Puncak

Lawang“, 4 miles North of the village of

Matur, we absorb the serenity and beauty

of the beautiful crater lake Maninjau.

The hill is also known for paragliding

 134  From the viewpoint „Puncak

Lawang“we spot on the

Northeastern slope of Danau

Maninjau this idyllic

mosque between paddies

135  Liliana is enjoying the tranquility

that surrounds Danau Maninjau –

for once no speeding and

ear-deafening scooters

 136  Maninjau is situated picturesquely

at Lake Maninjau’s Eastern shore

 137  Gives us a kind of a Far East

sensation: View from one of the 44

switchbacks leading to Danau Maninjau

138  Fish farming at Lake Maninjau.

Beginning of 2007, 7’000 tons of fish

died; some believe due to escaping

sulphur from hot underwater springs,

others due to an overproduction from

the 15’000 fish farms around the

38 sq.mi. 'big' lake

 139  Twiners are covering entire

palm leaves in the tropical forest in

the Sianok Canyon near Bukittinggi

 140  A curious monkey, which

is often seen sitting alongside

a road: Macaques

141  Nature at its loveliest

 142  This beautiful adorned Minangkabau

house is situated in Koto Gadang, a silver-

smith village 6 miles outside of Bukittinggi

 143  “Hello! – Hello Mister!”

sounds persistently from a window

144  Mural along the Eastern shore

of lake Maninjau depicting the

culture of the Minangkabau people

 145  A marquee has been erected

alongside the street next to the „Orchid“

Hotel in Bukittinggi, where a traditional

Minangkabau wedding is taking place …..

 146  ..... where Liliana is introduced

to the bridal couple in their traditional

“royal” outfit and may

join for a picture …..

147  ..... and where beforehand a

traditional men’s gathering took

place. At the top is sitting the groom,

his relatives joined on both sides

To the previous website: Pictures from our 2010-Indonesian trip in North Sumatra in April and March 2010

To the continuation: Pictures from our 2010-Indonesian trip in Southern Sumatra in June 2010

• Report from Sarawak, Part 1: Northeast (Miri) from June to August 2006
• Allround-Rejuvenation of our LandCruisers FJ60, model 1982, in Miri from Juni 20th, to August 30th, 2006
• Report from Brunei in September 2006
• Report from Sabah in October 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