Monday, June 20, 2011 at 8:35AM Go Overseas ( www.gooverseas.com ) has just selected Balifornian Tours and Travel blog as a Top Indonesian Blog! We are thrilled and honored.
We are currently traveling and leading tours in Bali but we will be back to posting more great material soon. Thanks so much for your support and happy travels!
Salamat Jalan!
Michael and Maryam
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 8:35AM The water buffalo is invaluable throughout Asia as every thing from the milk, meat and dung are used in everyday life. There are few places where the powerful animal is more prized than in Tana Toraja on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The huge animal is treated like a member of the family and their human partner spends each and everyday with the bovine beast washing, feeding and caring for his companion. The relationship is mutually beneficial as the beast of burden provides labor by plowing fields, providing transportation and many other tasks that the largely agrarian society requires.
The animals come in various colors, hide patterns and sizes with horns up to 2 meters (over 6.5 feet) long. The most prized however are the albino variety with blue eyes and well-shaped horns, much like the guy pictured here. To own a near perfect specimen like this is akin to having a fleet of the finest automobiles, a private jet or any other show of wealth in our Western world.
These images come from Balifornian Films (http://www.balifornian.com) upcoming documentary on the elaborate Torajan funerary traditions and rituals, which include the slaughter of these loyal animals. The funeral celebrations can last weeks with hundreds of mourners bringing offerings including cigarettes, pigs and their own coveted water buffalo. The deceased are then entombed in cliff side tombs, deep in caves or even hanging graves. There is much mystery and intrigue woven into this part of the world.
Bali Tour Toraja
Sulawesi is the home of the age old frightening myth of the "boogie man" propagated in the 15th century by the English to promote negative views of their rivals, the Buginese, who battled the marauding English, Dutch and other Europeans who were trying to obtain strategic control of the lucrative spice trade. In colonial times, cloves for example, coveted by dentists for their anesthetic properties, were more expensive than gold. The cloves only grew on the small ‘spice islands' of Sulawesi. This was also home to many other spices that were desirable the world over.
Copyright © 2010 Balifornian Tours and Travel Blog ~ Michael Doliveck
Our Adventure Photo Safaris ~ Are you a photographer or just love to take pictures? Contact us to find out about our special tours for photographers. Take a look at the images in the gallery, as they are good examples of the types of images you will be able to create on our tours. The tours are led by Michael, a professor of art and photography as well as some very special guest teachers and pro photographers. Contact us atphoto@balifornian.com today for more information.
Do you have some great images from your Indonesian travels you would like to share? Want to submit your fantastic photo for the Balifornian Tour and Travel Blog Photo of the Day? Please send your JPEG, location and description to photo@balifornian.com Files must be under 500 kb.
Happy travels! Salamat Jalan!
Michael and Maryam ~
Balifornian Tours and Travel Blog ~ Is The best website for news and information on Bali and Indonesia.
BALI TRAVEL, bali tour, best bali tour, boogie man, ecotravel, indonesia, photo tour, sulawesi, toraja, toraja travel, water buffalo in Documentary, Toraja, adventure, animal, asia, culture, eco-tourism, photography, spirituality, tour, travel Friday, April 1, 2011 at 10:09AM This happy man is an elder from Tana Toraja. We had a brief chat with him over a few glasses of tuak. Tuak is similar to arak (Balinese arak made with coconut palm flower, not the Turkish and Iranian national drink). It can be a powerful alcoholic beverage made of fermented rice, sugar and yeast. Quality or well brewed tuak can be 50% alcohol. It is commonly shared and drank at Torajan funerals, festivals, weddings, hosting of guests and other special occasions. Both tuak and arak are more than just recreational or celebratory drinks. They are also used as a base for medicine. Balians (Balinese healers) will commonly use the arak base and add roots, herbs, and other organic materials and use it both internally and externally to cure a variety of maladies. It is said to provide more than simple intoxication and can lead to visions, messages in dreams and even hallucinations. Authentic high quality tuak and arak are hard to find and are sometimes completely fake and can even be poisonous. Unfortunately, reports of death from fake arak are not uncommon. Perhaps illogically the real arak and tuak can be found at warungs (small roadside stands where you can see them making it) vs. liquor stores where the product can be very weak or even cut with harmful chemicals and liquids.
Please note: Beware when purchasing any arak, tuak or any 'homemade liquors' while traveling. Balifornian Tours can help you source real arak and tuak. We do not make, manufacture or gain profit from this, we just want you to travel safely.
Copyright © 2010 Balifornian Tours and Travel Blog ~ Michael Doliveck
For more on tuak, arak and Toraja, Sulawesi and its incredible funerary practices, keep an eye out for the upcoming Balifornian Films documentary.
Our Adventure Photo Safaris ~ Are you a photographer or just love to take pictures? Contact us to find out about our special tours for photographers. Take a look at the images in the gallery, as they are good examples of the types of images you will be able to create on our tours. The tours are led by Michael, a professor of art and photography as well as some very special guest teachers and pro photographers. Contact us at photo@balifornian.com today for more information.
Do you have some great images from your Indonesian travels you would like to share? Want to submit your fantastic photo for the Balifornian Tour and Travel Blog Photo of the Day? Please send your JPEG, location and description to photo@balifornian.com Files must be under 500 kb.
Happy travels! Salamat Jalan!
Michael and Maryam ~
Balifornian Tours and Travel Blog ~ The best website for news and information on Bali and Indonesia.
Longhouse, Tana Toraja, arak, bali, boogie man, funeral, indo, indonesia, sulawesi, toraja, tuak in Documentary, Toraja, adventure, arts, culture, eco-tourism, photography, safety, spirituality, tour, travel Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 9:57AM An 18 wheeler falls off Bridge. Dramatic coverage of a horrific truck accident in Yogjakarta, Java, Indonesia. As seen on Balifornian Tours Ec-Adventure Tour.
While it may seem to the outsider that the drivers in Indonesia and other Asian countries are reckless and law breaking, we see very few accidents while traveling. This was one of the few, but it was quite shocking. It appears the driver and passenger of the big rig were in shock but alive. No word on their recovery but we wish them the best. Its amazing they made it out at all as the cab was crushed. Be safe out there everyone!
Balifornian Tours and Travel Blog was nominated for the best bali website and travel blog.
Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 9:11AM Balifornian Tours announces The Ultimate Adventure Expedition. We will be touring Bali and then head off to one of the most remote regions left in the world, West Papua also know as Western New Guinea (formerly Irian Jaya).
Its beauty and magnificence is unparalleled from its pristine beaches, ultra rare flora and fauna and the deep traditions of its tribes, which have been virtually untouched by outside influences.
Travel is difficult on this tropical island for many reasons from snow capped rugged mountains to some of the most impenetrable jungles. Many areas of this remote island are off limits to tourists and others require permits, but we will have unique access, as we will be chaperoned by local officials and members of the military.
This is a once in a lifetime trip allowing you to interact with former headhunting and cannibalistic tribes of primitive cultures whose development is said to have ended in the Neolithic period (younger Stone Age). We will be making a documentary film during this tour in which you can participate (and be credited).
This expedition is for experienced travelers and requires extreme sensitivity and thus the exploratory party will be limited to only a small group. If you are interested, please contact us ASAP papua@balifornian.com as we depart in June 2011. For more information go to http://www.balifornian.com
Balifornian Tours ~ Best Tours. Best Adventure. Best Experience. Photos above from Public Domian.
Michael Doliveck
Update:
The response has been strong so I wanted to provide a bit more information. We have a great opportunity here and I am working hard to get everything arranged. Some details are still being worked out as it always is with these projects.
If you do have strong interest, I am happy to provide more information. I'd say you would need to buy air fare before too long as prices are predicted to rise due to oil prices worldwide but now they are still reasonable, though a bit more than usual for this time. All team members are responsible for their own expenses.
The plans are liquid at this point as we are still gathering information and coordinating with our contacts in Papua. I think we are looking at 8-14 days there and I am trying to lengthen it. We will be in Bali for a couple weeks as well. Papua is a bit pricier than other spots in Indo but still very reasonable and we will be able to save money by traveling with family (who also conveniently lead the Navy). I can take care of all the permits and coordination. It looks like we may have a small crew of videographers so its shaping up to be a great trip. The rubber dates to be in Papua are June 22- July 6th or so. All we ask is that, all footage gathered would remain the sole property of the shooter, but we be given permission to be used in the documentary we are producing. All credits will be given to the shooter in the film and we are still filling positions (editor, sound tech, etc.)
I have a great travel agent if you want his name.
Thank you,
Michael
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Prof. Michael Doliveck ~ Balifornian Tours and Travel Blog ~ Your best source of news and information of Bali and Indonesia
m@balifornian.com
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