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Pictures of the fourth part of our Indonesia trip in Sumba and West Timor
in the island group of Nusa Tenggara – on the way to Timor-Leste

 

latest picture: June 5, 2007

  • click a picture to see details
More websites from Indonesia and Timor-Leste:
 
On November 21st, 2006, we left the Island of Borneo after half a year, where we overhauled completely our car and visited the Malaysian provinces of Sarawak and Sabah and two new countries – Brunei (# 154) and in Kalimantan the "begin" of Indonesia (# 155) –, driving a total of 3'258 miles. Two days later, we arrived on a domestic ferry in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, a mega-city of about 17 million people on the island of Java. Then, a whole range of more Indonesian islands followed: Sumatra to the West and Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Rinca with the Komodo Dragons, Flores, Sumba and Timor to the East. In-between we explored the 156th country – Timor-Leste –, before our Indonesian roundtrip continued in Sulawesi and ended finally in Kalimantan on the Island of Borneo.
 
 
 
 
 
 
01   On our 8th Indonesian island
hopping from Flores to Sumba, our
LandCruiser is surrounded by
60 pigs during the 7 hour lasting trip.
If this does not bring luck!
02   Waingapu – the capital – nestles
between the sea and rolling hills
covered with grass. After the
previous tropical islands, it is a
completely new feeling
03   The sight of churches, like this
one in Waingapu, is common also on
Sumba, despite that animal sacrifices
are still widespread, to put their
ancestors and spirits in a good mood
 
 
 
 
 
 
04   The modern corrugated iron roof
of a traditional house rises above the
rice fields in Waikabubak
05   Six people are buried in this grave
in Kampung Pasunga in Anakalang,
22km East of Waikabubak. The vertical
slab took six months to be carved with
the figures of a man and a woman.
During the construction, 150 buffaloes
have been sacrificed
06   Kampung Pasunga with its
corrugated iron roofs. A traditional
Sumba village usually consists of
two parallel rows of houses facing
each other and a square in between
with a spirit stone for offerings
 
 
 
 
 
 
07   A traditional thatched house roof
with a high gable, which slopes
abruptly upwards from all four sides
08   One of the next candidates to
be sacrificed? Besides water buffaloes
pigs are the most sacrificed animals. A
very big swine shall cost around US$600
09   School children are always
ready to pose for a picture
 
 
 
 
 
 
10   View of the traditional village of
Tarung in Waikabubak. It is astonishing,
how friendly people react when we
walk trough their village, where life
is taking place outside. They are
not yet fed-up with tourists!
11   This old woman is sitting quietly
on the “verandah” of her house in
Tarung village. Her mouth is red
from chewing betel nut
12   A daily task: Pounding rice
in Tarung village (with Emil in
the back). This traditional, modest
life recalls memories of Africa
 
 
 
 
 
 
13   This man, wearing the traditional
head dress, is waiting for the departure
of his bus in Waikabubak
14   What a promising brand of cigarettes!
In this part of the world, we hardly find
someone who does not smoke. The name
„Swiss“ or „Switzerland“ is used often
everywhere, whether legally or illegally
15   The Betel Nut is sold in every market.
In Sumba, this “stimulation” is still traditionally
chewed (similar to Qat leaves in Yemen). The
nuts and the green stalks are mixed with lime
(which often is here extracted from corals).
It creates a red mouth and a big amount
of saliva, which is spit out constantly
 
 
 
 
 
 
16   This colorful market takes
place every day in Waikabubak
17   A Mitsubishi overland bus with its
typical nose upwards is being loaded
at the Waikabubak bus station
18   People love to pose for pictures.
Here on the way back to their house
 
 
 
 
 
 
19   This group of thatched houses
with its extreme high roofs belongs
to the traditional village of Ratenggaro
on the wild West Coast of Sumba
20   At the sea shore near Ratenggaro,
locals are quick on the scene trying
to sell handicrafts
21   Carved stone tombs and high
roofs of the village of Wainyapu across
the river add to the beautiful Western
coast line at Ratenggaro
 
 
 
 
 
 
22   View over the rolling hills of
Waikabubak towards Marosi
Beach, situated in the South
23   The high roofs of a traditional
village often peep out above the trees,
as here on our way to Marosi Beach
in the South of Waikabubak
24   View of the coast at Marosi
Beach with its cliffs on one side .....
 
 
 
 
 
 
25   ..... and its rice fields
on the other side
26   Rice fields, palm trees
and the sea at Marosi Beach
27   We can drive right to the beach
at Marosi Beach, what is very rare
 
 
 
 
 
 
28   Marosi Beach – lonely,
virgin, clean – simply beautiful
29   A herd of water buffaloes are on their
way along the beach to the feeding grounds
30   At Marosi Beach: Liliana enjoys
collecting beautiful shells
 
 
 
 
 
 
31   This 60 year old lady carries
her “Ikats“ not only on her head,
it’s also a kind of sun protection
32   A modest life in and with the nature
33   A last picnic on our way back to
Waingapu, before boarding the ferry to
Timor. Emil relaxes with a Bintang beer
 
 
 
 
 
 
34   We wonder where on this ship
we might find for two nights a place
to sleep during the 36-hour trip from
Sumba via Sabu to Kupang on
West-Timor? It’s our 9th voyage
on a ferry in Indonesia
35   A big crowd awaits the arrival
of the ferry on our stopover on
the island of Sawu (Sabu)
36   Palm trees, sandy beaches
and the islanders greet us on Sawu
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
37   We enjoy the fine sea view sipping
a few cold Bintang beers at the
Lavalon-Bar in Kupang
38   This lady selling all kind of
stuff for a better sexual life is
never short of customers!
39   The street stalls in Kupang are
well equipped with all kind of goods
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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41
42
Kupang, the main town of Western Timor, is a dusty, uninteresting place with about 200’000 people.
But the sunsets are spectacular and different each day, as here on three days on a row
 
 
 
 
 
 
43   West Timor is drier than the
other Indonesian islands we visited
before and reminds us to the
Australian Outback
44   The road from Kupang to Soe
winds itself steadily towards the
mountains to a height of 2’625 ft.
45   A meadow covered with golden
daisies on our way to Soe awakens
memories of „home“. It contrasts
wonderfully against the white
painted mountain church
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
46   Before Soe, vegetables and fruits
are sold along the road, especially sweet
oranges. We buy four avocados for
5’000 Rupias =(50 US-Cents)
47   Between Soe and Kefamenanu,
we cross a deep gorge .....
48   ..... and enjoy a lovely view over a
wide, nearly dry river bed from a hilltop
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
49   Around Soe, thatched roof
houses pop up everywhere,
here with plants adorning the front
50   We admire him in his
traditional Sarong – and he
admires us in our car
51   Unique for this West-Timor region
are the beehive-shaped houses. With no
windows and the entrance only a little more
than 3 ft. high, they are small and smoky. The
Indonesian authorities have started to replace
them, but the locals do not like the new ones,
because they are “cold and unhealthy”
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Who does not think of Africa? Traditional villages with thatched houses dot the way from Soe to Kefamenanu and Atambua
 

To:   Enclave of Oecussi in Timor-Leste      May 15th, to May 18th, 2007        < OR >         May 19th, to June 4th, 2007    To:    Mainland of Timor-Leste
 
Continuation in Indonesia: Pictures from the fifth part of our Indonesian trip in Sulawesi from June 13, to July 14, 2007
 
More websites from Indonesia and Timor-Leste:

More websites from East Malaysia and Brunei:
Articles in newspapers about us in Indonesia:
Article: "Tamu Istimewa: Neverending Journey", Monthly Car Magazine "Jip", January 2007
Article: "Toyota FJ60 1982 World Travelers", Monthly Car Magazine "Jip",  February 2007
Article: "CHEESE LAND CRUISER", Monthly Car Magazine "BBC Top Gear", February 2007
Article: "22 Tahun Jelajahi 156 Negara", Daily Newspaper "Post Metro Balikpapan", July 17, 2007