Nine Things I love About Makassar

 

Desember ini genap sudah 26 bulan saya menetap di Makassar. 

Buat saya, Makassar itu spesial, karena selain merupakan tempat ibu saya dibesarkan, di sinilah saya pertama kalinya tinggal sendiri selama lebih dari setahun dan merasa ‘kerasan’.

Makassar memang bukan kota perantauan saya yang pertama. Tahun 2011 saya pindah dari Jakarta ke Jayapura, Papua untuk bekerja di sebuah NGO di sana. Di Jayapura, saya merasa betah, karena walau fasilitas kotanya sederhana, tapi di sana saya di kelilingi teman-teman yang seperti saudara sendiri. Sayangnya, saya hanya berkesempatan tinggal di Jayapura selama 9 bulan dikarenakan daur project yang telah usai.

Happy CNY

 

Celebrating the Chinese New Year in Makassar by visiting a colleague's house and had a bowl of delicious mie panjang umur with a touch of pink-colored egg.

And yes, I received my first ever angpao!

So without further ado, let me wish you a very happy Chinese new year!

Let's ride, thrive and be prosper in the year of the horse!

Aloha Tanjung Bira

 

My best friend Fachril has never been to Eastern Indonesia. As a beach lover, he realizes most of beautiful beaches that would make him go crazy are located in the eastern part of the country. He also understands very well that he needs a getaway to freshen up from his demanding job.

One day he decided to book  a return ticket to Makassar. His intention was clear: to visit  Tanjung Bira beach. He made the call after I lured him with pictures of the clear blue water and pristine sandy beach of Bira.

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Documenting a Project: An Experience in Sulawesi

The pretty landscape of Bantaeng

 Something I wrote for the project's blog. 

The project that I'm currently involved in, operates  in South and Southeast Sulawesi provinces in Indonesia. A few months ago, I was given the chance to revisit the project areas in both provinces. The objective of my trip was to document the accomplishments the project have made. In order to fulfill the task, I was accompanied by two videographers from Jakarta. Together, we drove from Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi for three hours to  Bantaeng, passing through the flat lands of Gowa and Jeneponto districts, traditional stilt houses, shrimp farmings and hectares of paddy fields. The plan was simple: to go to districts and interview first-hand sources such as farmers, representative of government agency and partner organization. Yet apparently, the simple mission may not be as simple as it seemed in the first place.

South by Southeast part 2

Wonuahua, our second village on the list of Southeast sites, is part of Lambuya sub-district. From Unaaha, it takes about 30-40 minutes drive.

The village is divided into several sub-villages, spreading across the terrain.

We met Mr. Ibrahim, the leader of farmers’ group at his stilt house that is located amongst cacao trees.

Mr. Ibrahim lives at sub-village 3, which is miles away from the main road, that it takes another 15-20 minutes passing thru slopes and bunches of cacao farms.


Along the grubby soil path toward sub-village 3, plots of cacao trees with owner’s house usually sited at the back are the only thing that is apparent. In this sub-village, each residential is distant between one to another.

Sub-village 3 is also dominated by migrants from South Sulawesi. Most of local Tolaki people lives in the other side of the sub-village that is closer to the main road.

South by Southeast part 1

Village hopping. That's what I’ve been doing lately and what’s going to occupy me for the next couple of weeks.

Back in the July, my fellow Miss Endri came to my table during a workshop. She put out her idea of conducting village-level communication system research and asked me to co-work with her. I said yes straight away even though I was also a bit nervous, knowing that it’s going to be one tough task.

The research covers 12 villages; 6 in South Sulawesi and 6 in Southeast Sulawesi where my office’s project operates.

Long story short, everything was set, and the pre-test was completed in mid October.

Makassar part 2 (Photos)

Oh the sun, it's so beautiful

Palu (Photos)

Palu is the city where you sweat uncontrolably. Even if you just sit or stand still, you will still sweat. 

It is so hot, I really feel like taking shower every 2 hours.

Not much to see in the capital, and I also didn't have time to go around, so I only managed to go to the provincial museum and Donggala, a city nearby.

Really wish that I can visit it again sometime, to explore the Lore Lindu National Park. It is just tempting :D

Bantaeng and Bulukumba (Photos)

Bantaeng and Bulukumba are two districts located on the south of Makassar. I visited both places a couple of days ago for business trip. The two places can be reached by public transport (using angkot and bus), but I'd say the most comfortable ways are to rent a car or take travel service. 

If you're a solo traveller, travel service is the best option. There's a Makassar-based company called BMA that serves the route using  air-conned minibus. The trip takes around 4 hours to Bantaeng and another 1 hour from Bantaeng to reach Bulukumba. 

Makassar part 1 (Photos)

Got a pretty postcard and earings from miss Saras Juwono. Thank you thank you thank you

Makassar, Palu, and Things in Between

October commemorates my first month in Makassar.

As I once mentioned before, I currently work for a project that focuses on improving farmers' livelihood in Sulawesi. The main project areas are Bantaeng, Bulukumba (both is South Sulawesi, Konawe, Kolaka (in Southeast Sulawesi), and soon Gorontalo. In each province, there’s a project office that coordinates all activity. What’s more, there’s also a representative in Makassar (which is me), that serves as the hub for the areas.

An Announcement (And Invitation Too!)

I’m going to be in Makassar by the end of August, and will stay there until mid next year. 

I would love to have a company, so if you happen to visit the city, please drop me a message and perhaps we can hang out together! 



See you :)

First Trip to Bantaeng, Kendari, and Konawe (Photos)