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Pictures of the sixth of our Indonesia trip in Kalimantan (Borneo)

 

latest picture: August 2, 2007

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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  Our Toyota is loaded in Mamuju/
West-Sulawesi for its 12th ferry ride
in Indonesia onto the vessel
„KMP Dharma Kosala“, which sails
in 14½ hours to Balikpapan/East-
Kalimantan on the Island of Borneo
02   We discover this unique
flower between the prickly
stems of the palm oil tree
03   Green, green and green again –
crossing from East to South
Kalimantan, the mountain road is
winding through a landscape that
looks surreal with its creeping plants
 
 
 
 
 
 
04   The quiet brownish water of the
jungle rivers always looks mystical
and spreads a touch of adventure
05   Between all the greenery, we
discover new exotic flowers .....
06   ..... and water channels
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
07   A waterfall is rushing through
dense vegetation downhill
in different courses
08   The pink buds and
flowers are a lovely contrast
to the lush greenery
09   Branches, plants and trees reflect
in the calm water – in the marshland
of Central Kalimantan a common sight
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10   Ferns are abundant in
Kalimantan’s rain forests
11   Driving from the East to the
South Province is like being on a
roller coaster. The narrow mountain
road meanders through lush vegetation
and remains the most beautiful
stretch of our Kalimantan journey
12   The vegetation along the
river banks is changing: From
wild, to tamed, to gentle
 
 
 
 
 
 
13   Early morning at the vast river in
Tanjung: River dwellers make morning
toilet on their bamboo floats
14   ..... a fisherman throws
his fishing-rods .....
15   A new river, the same pictures –
in the whole of Kalimantan
 
 
 
 
 
 
Life on the river:
16   Doing Laundry .....
17   ..... canoeing .....
18   ..... babysitting
 
 
 
 
 
 
19   Along the road, fuel in bottles
and containers is sold everywhere –
a handy service for the (extremely)
high number of motorbikes
20   Eateries are spread all over.
Nobody has to remain
hungry in Kalimantan
21   Also in remote areas, there are
always small shops along the road.
This grandmother shows us
proudly her grandchild
 
 
 
 
 
 
22   The huge jackfruits grow
into the mouth of the community
23   Movable traders on motorbikes
selling vegetable, fruits, household
articles and even chickens are common
and are often the only source of
providing provisions in remote areas
24   This huge hat protects
not only from the sun, but also
from the tropical downpours
 
 
 
 
 
 
25   The home of a family in the
marshlands of Central Kalimantan
is just a modest wooden hut with
a thatched roof
26   The setting sun and
one of its dramatic shows
27   What makes people live in the
harsh marshland of Central Kalimantan?
At least this hut is covered with a
corrugated iron roof giving more protection
and lasting longer than a thatched one
 
 
 
 
 
 
28   Kalimantan is strongly Muslim. In
most villages, mosques are an eye-catching
sight. Along the road, many people collect
for the construction of a new mosque
29   Friday prayer time in a village
mosque: Who will find the own
thongs again?
30   Money is always flowing readily
at the construction of a
monumental mosque
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31   The impressive mosque of Martapura is
an example of the monumental construction
style. Its deep blue domes are visible from far
32   Houses on stilts and
floats border the banks of
the river in Martapura
33   A unique contrast: The modest
river life and the king blue domes
of the city mosque in Martapura
 
 
 
 
 
 
34   In Kumai, our continuation to Pontianak
by land ends due to the torrential rains which
made the clay roads impassable. This forced us
to make a long and expensive detour with two
ferries via Java. This one brings us from Sampit
in Central Kalimantan to Surabaya in Java
35   In Sampit, the “KM Kirana III”
– our 14th ferry – takes us for about
three hours downriver towards the
mouth of the sea, passing small river
settlements .....
36   ..... where again mosques are
dominating. Afterwards we sailed for
22 hours through the open Java Sea
 
 
 
 
 
 
37
38
39
Rivers are often the only arterial “road” for the settlements along the rivers, like here near Sampit
 
 
 
 
 
 
40   Our 15th Indonesian ferry – the “KMP
Marisa Nusantara” – brings us in 31 hours
from Semarang in Java back to Pontianak
in Kalimantan. Luckily, we are able to book
a cabin with AC, because people with their
luggage are lying simply everywhere
41   Now, the passengers are still
sitting. When they settle down for
the night, there is no way through
anymore
42   The Equator Monument has us back.
From 2am (= arrival of the ferry) to 6am
(= dawning and hitting the road again) we
step between the Southern and the Northern
Hemisphere while having breakfast. It is our
30th Equator-Xing, this time South to North
 
 
 
 
 
 
43   Ngabang (on our way to the
Malaysian border), where a part of
the population lives again at the river
bank (this time it’s the Landak River) .....
44   ..... where they have a special
liking for flowers and pot plants .....
45   ..... and where the satellite dish is
almost never missing. With the Indosat-
System, in Indonesia there is communication
everywhere to the world – if there is electricity
 
 
 
 
 
 
46   School kids on their way home
discovered us having a picnic
47   Fun at the gasoline station.
The price for one liter of gasoline or
diesel is now Rp. 4’500 (± US$ 0.48)
48   August 2nd, 2007: The departure
formalities in Entikong, one of the official
three land borders in Indonesia, are completed
(another is from Papua to Papua New Guinea
and the third is from Timor to Timor-Leste).
The officers say good bye to us as friendly as
they have welcomed us eight months ago.
Land borders are much easier than sea borders
 
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