Betel Nut From Sumba

The Travel Junkie

Betel Nut From Sumba (Image courtesy of MacKenzie Davey)

Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Travel through Sumba and Timor and you can’t avoid the random splodges of red residue that liberally decorate the pavements and bus aisles of this region, or the villagers’ foaming, scarlet mouths.

The substance behind the stain is betel nut, or sirih pinang, a mildly intoxicating stimulant that provides a nicotine-like or espresso-esque buzz and suppresses appetite. It’s also carcinogenic – levels of mouth cancer are very high in societies that use the gear. The nut itself, which is large and oval-shaped, is actually the seed of the graceful betel palm tree.

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Visiting Sumba – Sexy Villages & Exotic Cultures

The Travel Junkie

Sexy Villages near Pero in Sumba (Image courtesy of Nick Leonard)

Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Many Sumbanese villagers are now accustomed to tourists, but many still have difficulty understanding the strange custom of Westerners who simply want to observe an exotic culture and sexy villages.

If you’re interested in their weavings or other artefacts, the villagers put you down as a potential trader.

If all you want to do is chat and look around, they may be puzzled about why you’re come; and if you simply turn up with a camera and start putting it in their faces, they’re likely to be offended.

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Best Reasons We Love South of Waikabubak

The Travel Junkie

A Superpower in the South of Waikabubak (Image courtesy of Terry Slattery)

Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Give yourself at least a few days around western Sumba. Once you have learned some basic manners as a guest arriving in a village – hopefully armed with some Bahasa Indonesia – it’s possible to do without a guide. So, here are best reasons we love South of Waikabubak.

The traditional village culture of western Sumba is one of the most unblemished in Indonesia. Kampung of high-roofed houses are still clustered on their hilltops (a place of defence in times past), surrounding the large stone tombs of their important ancestors. Away from the towns, old women with filed teeth still go bare breasted, and men in the traditional turban and short sarong can be seen on horseback.

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A Fresh Look at the Best of Eastern Indonesia

The Travel Junkie

Fak-Fak Kids (Image courtesy of Arif Lukman)

Traveljunkieindonesia.com – The trail that time forgot. Two Months, Papua to Flores. This 3000km off-the-radar adventure takes in the picturesque islands around Papua’s Kota Biak before heading to the sublime Danau Sentani and the beguiling Baliem Valley. Maluku’s Pulau Ambon and Banda Island provide a change of scene before the route heads south to West Timor and Flores.

Papua is the launching pad for this route, starting at Kota Biak. A relaxed and pleasant town, Biak is most useful as a base for trips to the beauty beyond. Pack a tent and make for the exquisite reefs and beaches of the Padaido Islands and the unspoilt, ethereal Pulau Numfor.

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Top 10 Festivals in Indonesia

The Travel Junkie

Baliem Valley Festival (Image courtesy of Masao Konno)

Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Indonesia is big, cheap, rough and effortless. It’s everything to everyone, a choose-your-own-adventure travel destination. If possible, you’ll do well to catch any one of these festivals during your visit to Indonesia. So, here are top 10 festivals in Indonesia:

Baliem Valley Festival
August – This uniquely Papuan festival traces its root in the belief held by the various local tribe that war is not only a conflict of power and interest, but also a symbol of fertility and prosperity. A rich celebration of the Baliem Valley’s diverse indigenous cultures.

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Mystical Kelimutu in Nusa Tenggara

The Travel Junkie

Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Set in plunging craters at the summit of a volcano, the coloured lakes of Kelimutu are undoubtedly the most spectacular sight in Nusa Tenggara.

Astonishingly, the lakes periodically change hue – on our visit the largest was an iridescent turquoise, its neighbour chocolate brown and the third lake dark green.

A few years ago the colours were blue, maroon and black, while back in the 1960s the lakes were blue, red-brown and café au lait.

It’s thought that the lakes’ colours are in constant flux due to dissolving minerals, a process that can accelerate in the rainy season.

The moonscape around the summit gives Kelimutu an ethereal atmosphere, especially when clouds billow across the craters and sun shafts add luminescent pinpoints to the lakes.

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The Wreck of the Liberty Bali: Most Popular Dive Sites in the World

The Travel Junkie

Traveljunkieindonesia.com – In January 1942 the US Navy cargo ship USAT Liberty was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine near Lombok. Taken in tow, it was beached at Tulamben so that its cargo of rubber and railway parts could be saved.

The Japanese invasion prevented this and the ship sat on the beach until the 1963 eruption of Gunung Agung broke it in two and left it just off the shoreline, much to the delight of divers.

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Travel Junkie Indonesia Classic White Organic Cotton T-Shirt (Limited Edition)

The Travel Junkie

SHOP NOW! Travel Junkie Indonesia Classic White Organic Cotton T-Shirt

200.000 IDR

Organic cotton mens t-shirt with printed Travel Junkie Indonesia design

Travel Junkie Indonesia sizing guide;
Size 1 = Small
Size 2 = Medium
Size 3 = X-Large

Product code: TJI1-BWMK-90S Classic

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Travel Junkie Indonesia White Organic Cotton T-Shirt (Limited Edition)

The Travel Junkie

SHOP NOW! Travel Junkie Indonesia White Organic Cotton T-Shirt

200.000 IDR

Organic cotton mens t-shirt with printed Travel Junkie Indonesia design

Travel Junkie Indonesia sizing guide;
Size 1 = Small
Size 2 = Medium
Size 3 = X-Large

Product code: TJI1-BWMK-90R Classic

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The Travel Junkie and the Art of the Perfect Planking

The Travel Junkie

The Art of the Perfect Planking in Bromo Mountain

Traveljunkieindonesia.com – The Planking Travel Junkie is one way to connect with the earth. The funniest thing about this category is Planking is funny now, but in 20 years time it probably won’t even be known.

Imagine sitting down with your kids or grand kids and showing them pictures from your travels around the world. Trying to explain to them the reason why your lying down in the pictures, and telling them it was called planking travel.

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Top 11 Street Names & Indonesian Heroes

The Travel Junkie

Thetraveljunkie.org – In every city, town and village in Indonesia, streets are named after Indonesian heroes who helped fight the Dutch. So, here are Top 11 Street Names and Indonesia Heroes:

1. Mohammad Husni Thamrin (1894–1941)
This hero was a nationalist leader and politician in the 1920s and ‘30s.

2. Sudirman (1916–50)
Between 1945 and 1950 General Sudirman led the resistance against the Dutch and was Indonesia’s first commander in chief.

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