Ujung Pandang (Makassar), Sulawesi, Indonesia - the Midpoint of our Cruise

Map of Sulawesi, Indonesia

Our second and last Indonesian port was the bustling town of Makassar on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, which we visited on the exact middle day of our 115-day cruise.  When we asked Indonesian crew members about the island, most confessed that this was their first visit to this island. It certainly has a unique shape with all of its peninsulas!  

Sulawesi is home to 8 million people, of which 1.8 million live in the port and capital city of Makassar.  Sulawesi has two seasons, dry and rainy, but they sometimes call one of the seasons the “durian” season.  Durian is a fruit that has a very potent and unpleasant odor, so much so that it is not allowed in some places. 

Sulawesi (originally known as Celebes) has been influenced by many different cultures.  It was settled by the Muslims in the 16^th Century, and two ethnicities dominated, the Makassarese and Buginese.  Of these, the Makassarese state of Gowa became the most powerful. In the early 17^th Century the Dutch arrived, taking over the island as a trading post and maintaining control of the island for centuries.  The Dutch are credited with doing much to improve living conditions on Celebes. The British occupied the island in the 1800s during the Napoleonic Wars. It was controlled by the Japanese during World War II.  In the 1950s clashes between the nearby Indonesians and the Dutch ultimately removed the Dutch from the area, and Sulawesi subsequently became a part of Indonesia. 

One of the main industries of the island is farming, and a few of the main crops are bananas and coconuts, as evidenced in our visit to the market.  The bananas are small and grow in spiral bunches – quite different from the bunches we see at home!  Because wood is scarce, many of the homes are built of metal, which naturally means that they are very hot in an already hot climate (5° S).

Our sail in was quite interesting: we found ourselves passing tiny islands (apparently many of the 13,665 islands that make up the country of Indonesia).  We couldn’t tell whether these were naturally formed or man-made.  In a few cases I assumed that they were the latter because they looked suspiciously like the breakwater that signaled the entrance to the harbor.  One was a long narrow strip with a few boats and a house. Another was a round island perhaps 50 meters across, again with a few boats and a house.  I can’t begin to imagine actually living on an island like that, having to go by boat to do absolutely everything!  In fact, I wasn’t sure if the islands we were seeing were inhabited or if they were just outposts where people went to fish.  No matter what their “use”, they certainly were fascinating!   

Our shore excursion, Bantimurung Waterfall and Makassar Sights, took us inland so we could see just how the people on the island live.  It was quite obvious that they do not experience tourists very often, as evidenced by their reaction as we traveled through Pasar Terong, or market.  Our guide told us that they envy people with white skin and very much want their skin to whiten as a “status symbol”.  As we maneuvered our way through the lively market, we saw a potpourri of items for sale – the ever-present bananas and coconuts as well as a wide variety of other fruits and vegetables of every size, shape, and color. Colorful live (and unsuspecting) chickens squawked as they sat on pallets, totally unaware that they were most likely going to be “tonight’s dinner” for some family.  Trays and trays of eggs were sitting out in the hot sun. Through the narrow and bustling street wove small cars, bicycle-powered cabs called becaks (some awaiting business, others containing one or two passengers being pedaled through the market), motor scooters, and small produce trucks, as well as people shopping for today’s dinner, children on their way to school, and tourists.  It was quite obvious that, had the vendors and shoppers known that there would be four buses of tourists descending upon their market, they would have brought cameras to take pictures of us because we were as much a novelty to them as they were to us.  The people were very friendly and eager to pose for pictures with their wares, and in some cases if they had cameras, we were their subjects also!  We found the entire market scene absolutely fascinating, but it is also hard to imagine this lifestyle.

Grateful for the coolness of the air-conditioned bus, we re-boarded for our hour-long trip into the countryside to Bulusaraung National Park, where we would visit Bantimurung Waterfall.  As we traveled inland, we were fascinated by what we saw passing by our window.  Metal-constructed houses with rusty corrugated roofs, which I’m sure made sounds within echo loudly, lined rivers.  These rivers still contain crocodiles so I’m sure that the people do not swim there voluntarily!  Small outrigger boats were anchored at the houses.   Unlike in Bali, homes were smaller and closer together.  Laundry was visible in front of, under, or behind the homes, and everyone seemed to have at least one cow. In fact, water buffalo are so important here that some homes and monuments were shaped like water buffalo horns, and people would price big-ticket items according to how many water buffalo it would take to purchase them.  In front of most homes were water trenches, meaning that they needed a small “bridge” across the trench to get from house to road.  These bridges were crudely-constructed planks that made very uneven walking.  It’s all in what people get used to, but I know that I would be carefully watching every step I took if I needed to cross any of these! 

The park is one of the island’s most well-known and visited natural areas.  The Bantimurung Waterfall gushes 50 feet over a rocky limestone cliff into a stream below.  Children and adventure-loving adults could opt to ride down the river below the falls in inner tubes, which I’m sure was a wonderful way for locals to be refreshed in such a hot and sticky environment. Chuck climbed what appeared to be a watch tower to get an overview of the falls and river.  Because the grating on the platform was too difficult to walk across, I took a pass, and Chuck commented that the climb up to the top and down again was somewhat challenging if more than one person was on the stairs at the same time.  I got my views from the bottom and was very happy with what I saw. 

The same park is home to thousands of butterflies so we took a walk over to the small butterfly museum where we could see a wide variety of butterflies on display.  The live ones were in a separate area, but as we started down that path, a lady came back and said that there were only a few there.  Chuck made the effort to go on, but I chose not to.  Better to avoid the walking on uneven surfaces and enjoy another day of travel!  

Soon we were on our way back to Makassar for a buffet lunch at a local hotel.  The food was very good, but it was much spicier than I’d expected, and I paid for it later!  I love the peanut sauce they use on various dishes, but the sauce they use on the ship is far less spicy than we had in the meal at the buffet!  All part of the travel experience! 

Our final stop was Fort Rotterdam.  Built in the 16^th Century, it was taken over by the Dutch in 1669.  It was used as a military fort until 1937, when they started using it for cultural purposes.  It now houses a museum and has theatrical performances.  Apparently there is also a school there.  After going through the museum, we went outside for an afternoon snack.  Sitting down on a low stone fence, a young man came up and asked if he could sit down.  We were somewhat skeptical at first, but we said it was fine.  He explained that he was a student at Fort Rotterdam, studying to become a member of the Merchant Marine and that he liked to practice his English whenever he had a chance.  He asked where we were from, and when we replied Chicago, he didn’t know where that was.  I was about to say that it was in Illinois when I realized that if he didn’t know Chicago, Illinois certainly wouldn’t be familiar to him!  So we told him that Chicago was the third largest city in the United States and was in the middle of the country, he was able to understand that.  We had a very pleasant and interesting chat with him until it was time to return to the bus.  He was interested in hearing about where we’d been, how long we would be in Sulawesi, where we were going next, etc.  We exchanged email addresses and told him that we would be sure to write to him when we got home and give him more opportunity to practice his English. A few of his friends came over and timidly joined in on the conversation. He explained that after finishing up his study, he would be at sea as a cadet for a year and then have six months more of study before getting out of school, at which point he hoped to get some kind of a job on a ship.  We really enjoyed talking to him and finding out what he had in store for himself!

In the meantime, the lady sitting next to us, a retired teacher from New York City, was approached by a few junior high students who asked if they could interview her.  She had a wonderful time answering their questions and asking them her own questions, for which she received giggling replies.  They wanted to take her picture, and she of course wanted theirs. 

Both her and our experiences were obviously just as thrilling for the local students as they were for us!  They just don’t have as much opportunity for close contact with people from so far away!

As we set sail from our last stop in Indonesia, I’m sure many of our ship’s stewards were sorry for such a short visit.  However, our next two ports in the Philippines mean that another large group of crew members will be visiting home.  So that level of excitement continues to build.

With two days at sea between Indonesia and the Philippines, we spent the first day celebrating the arrival and “travel dispensation” of King Neptune.  For some reason, he never holds “polliwogs” accountable for their first southbound crossing of the Equator, but he holds them accountable as we travel north across the Equator.  So on the first sea day, we had King Neptune’s Ceremony.  Fortunately none of the polliwog guests were put on trial for invading King Neptune’s realm; however, many of the newbie crew members were put on trial.  As in the past, the guests assembled around the Lido midship pool for the trial.  Crew members from several departments were brought forward for various infractions (like cabin stewards polishing the bald heads of passengers to sparkle up the ship or kitchen staff giving people raw fish, etc.)  These unfortunate souls were forced to “Kiss the fish”, and then were slathered with a doughy corn flake mixture before being allowed to survive or walk the plank.  Believe me, in this case, surviving is not a good thing. Those who walk the plank can jump in the pool and instantly remove the gooey mess.  Those who survive have to sit around in it until the ceremony is over!  It’s pretty much the same ceremony every year, but it’s always a good time! 

We certainly don’t lack for things to do between ports!  Despite King Neptune brewing up quite a storm while we crossed the Equator, we kept ourselves entertained and didn’t mind the rain on the ship, agreeing that we were very glad that it occurred there rather than in Sulawesi! 

BT