E N G I N E E R ' S E N G I N E E R ' S Adventures Hassles to Get a Glimpse of Torajan Culture

Ir. Chin Mee Poon www.facebook.com/chinmeepoon

Ir. Chin Mee Poon is a retired civil engineer who derives a great deal of joy and satisfaction from travelling to different parts of the globe, capturing fascinating insights of the places and people he encounters and sharing his experiences with others through his photographs and writing.

Makassar by road, but there After spending two nights in is no direct public transport Mamasa, we left for Rantepao in between these two places. Tana Toraja in a car with a capacity We had to break the journey for 7 passengers. Scheduled to pick at Polewali, 246km from us up at the hotel at 7 a.m., the driver . Taking the advice showed up more than one hour late. of our hotel receptionist, There were already 4 other passengers we took a Grab car early in the car and the front seat that I one morning to go to Daya reserved through the hotel was taken Bus Terminal some 20km by a woman. The driver used the northeast of the city but direct way, going over the mountain there was not a single bus range between Mamasa and Tana there. After waiting for Toraja. Before this road was opened some time, we acceded a few years ago, we would have had to a man’s suggestion to to backtrack south to Parepare and go in a passenger car. Out then take another road north to Tana n early September 2018, my wife on the main road, the chain-smoking Toraja to reach Rantepao – a total of and I spent 23 days in , driver spent the next two hours going 12 hours. The direct road is shorter but Ione of the largest of the over very slowly and picked up three more it’s in an abhorrent state due to lack of 17,000 islands that make up . passengers. We were on our way maintenance. The road was not only Shaped like a giant letter “k” scribbled finally at 10.30 a.m. Then there was an extremely winding and narrow but with an unsteady hand, Sulawesi is an early lunch break of 35 minutes. When much of it was also unpaved, uneven island with vastly varying geographical we reached the junction town of and strewn with loose stones. We features and ecosystems and is Parepare at 12.30 p.m., the driver took passed through a few tiny hamlets but populated by some distinctly different 45 minutes to drop off a passenger hardly encountered any oncoming ethnic groups as well as unique wildlife. and pick up a new one. Later, there traffic. But what prompted me to include the was another 35-minute refreshment The mountain scenery was nice island on my bucket list of must-visit break and we finally reached Polewali though. We reached Rantepao after 43 places was the unique culture of the at 3.25 p.m. spending 5½ hours on the road. . The driver actually took only 3 hours We spent the following two days We began our sojourn at Makassar, to cover the distance of 225km from exploring parts of Tana Toraja on a the capital of Sulawesi Selatan the bus terminal to our destination but, rented motorcycle and we saw many province and the largest city on the with all that dilly-dally, we were kept on beautiful traditional family houses island. It is the stronghold of the Bugis the road for more than 7 hours. known as “”. people. The Torajan, on the other The next morning, a similar car We were also very lucky to be hand, are found in Tana Toraja, a took us and two other passengers invited to attend part of a grand mountainous region in the north. West from Polewali to Mamasa, 95km to ceremony that was scheduled of Tana Toraja and separated by a the north. The mountain road was very to last 10 days. Such ceremonies are NOVEMBER 2018

mountain range is Mamasa; its people ●

winding, undulating and narrow and the main draw for tourists from all over share much of the Torajan culture. we were caught in pretty heavy rain. the world to this part of Indonesia. Leaving Makassar, we decided Fortunately the pavement was in fairly Torajan culture is truly fascinating. It to visit Mamasa before going to Tana good conditions though the journey was certainly worth all the hassles to get JURUTERA Toraja. Mamasa is 340km north of still took over three hours. to Tana Toraja for the experience.

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS,