09/03/2014 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 73 - An epic winding road back to sea level.

Distance cycled: 162km from Rantepao to Pare-pare, Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Average speed: 21km/h
Moving Time: 7h43m
Elevation Ascended: 1497m
Elevation Decended: 2329m
Burned Calories: 4199kcal
Burned Fat: 545g
Total Distance on Current trip: 6613km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 13,137km
Money spent: $16



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THIS downhill run today was incredibly good fun but also frighteningly dangerous as I was taking every turn just a little bit too fast narrowly missing unseen vehicles around tight bends. This didn't stop me grinning when I had made it down to the bottom having passed such unique and stunning scenery.
162 kilometers is a long way to cycle in a single day with the last hour in the dark and right now as I write this in a hotel room I am squirming with aches and pains finding it difficult to keep my eyes open, let alone write this post.
However tomorrow is much the same with another 160 or so kilometers to Makassar. No rest for the wicked, eh?
This gives me one day to pack my bicycle into a box before I fly back to Thailand.
Right now its time for some much needed Sleep. Yawn!

The beautiful landscapes leaving the Toraja region of Sulawesi, Indonesia

08/03/2014 - Brutal Torajan funeral ceremony.

 

Being the most cultural experience I have seen in Indonesia the Torajan funeral ceremony just outside of Rantepao, South Sulawesi was intense.
The tomate (funeral) is the most important ritual for the people here and without proper funeral rites it's believed that the soul of the dead would cause misfortune to its family.
It may take some time for the family to accumulate money after the death of family member during which the deceased will be exposed to the elements within the home, rotting away for up to a year.
This excessive amount of time is necessary because the whole ceremony was incredibly intricate and extravagant involving many people, food and decorations including temporary structures for the guests and without doubt, definitely would have set the family of the deceased back quite a lot of dough.
 
My decision to attend this event came at the last minute as I was preparing to leave on my bicycle back to Makassar, I was told that the one who recently deceased was in the upperclass of this society and the events of the day would be worthwhile.
The inclusion of photos in this post show off this occasion, but be warned - there are some gruesome photos of the sacrifice of a water buffalo.

$8000 dollar albino water buffalo

Tongkonan - traditional houses and the body in a casket to be carried around the village

Buffaloes are a status symbol for the Toraja and traditionally been a symbol of wealth and power.

Torajans believe that the souls of the animals should follow their masters into the next life - although the sacrifice of the buffalo was brutal there was only one, I was told the previous year there was a sacrificial massacre of 147 buffaloes!? Dear reader I hope your not squeamish.

Portions of the buffalo meat is spread out amongst and consumed by the village folk however the family close to the one deceased are forbidden to eat the sacrificed meat.

Hundreds gathered for the very unentertaining buffalo fight...

The dozen buffaloes that entered the fighting grounds barely made contact, however I had seen enough bloodshed today

 

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Many if the people attending the event.

Oh, and we started off the morning by going to a baby grave where the infants that were deceased were placed within a cut hole in a special tree that over several years would encapsulate the body within it. The babies were placed on the opposite side of the tree to which the family lived.

05/03/2014 to 07/03/2014 - Rantepao, do you eat baby? What?!

 

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Finding a fantastic place to relax after cycling 500 odd kilometers from Bira over the last few days, I was content with simply chilling and doing really not much else. The hotel is named Poppies and I certainly would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Rantepao or Sulawesi for that matter.

I would often eat at the same place around the corner at a simple and cheap 'warung', the first time I ate at this place the woman owner asked me "you eat baby in Australia?", unsurprisingly I was shocked by this question but I knew the Toraja people have very unique customs but in no way did I think it was this extreme. I repeated over and over "no, no, don't eat baby, it's very bad" but with a confused look on her face she said "you're eating baby now!". Completely shocked, but only for a split second I then realized what was happening, something lost in translation. She was saying 'Babi' not 'baby', Babi means 'pig' in Indonesian! When I explained we both laughed.  

I spent these days with a Russian girl who was also traveling on her lonesome and we had some laughs together. Katya who incidentally is a model spoke English much better than all other Russians I have met in the past and so it was great to have some company whist we laid back and visited a few of the surrounding sites.

I also cycled 40 odd kilometers north of Rantepao viewing the beautiful countryside from a higher altitude as shown in the pictures below.

Toraja style grain houses and some ancient burial grounds within the cliff face

1/2 albino buffalo