Photo of the Day ~ Arak, Tuak and a Torajan Elder ~ Balifornian Tours and Travel Blog

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.

The Real Home of the Boogie Man (photo)

In Southeast Asia the term is commonly used to refer to the ethnic group The Bugis and Buganese pirates, who were (and to some extent, still are) ruthless seafarers from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes).

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.

Sulawesi and its incredible funerary practices in Tana Toraja is the subject of an upcoming Balifornian documentary. 

Photo 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 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 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 ~ You're best source for news and information on Bali and Indonesia.