Tentena

If there is a route in Sulawesi where one should not skimp on travel costs, it is the route from Tana Toraja to Tentena. At least, that’s what I heard from several travelers, which is why Melany, Etienne, and I rented a car with a driver instead of taking the bus. Our top priority was to reach the border between South and Central Sulawesi before noon, as it would be closed for several hours due to construction work. Instead of leaving at 8 AM like the bus, we set off at 6 AM and made it to the border despite several stops before it closed. The driver did a great job (although he had a penchant for overtaking in curves or before hilltops) and, after this 10-hour monster ride, he was understandably exhausted and mentioned that his backside hurt quite a bit. But he was not alone in that.

Noni, the owner of Hotel Victory, warmly welcomed us upon our arrival and immediately offered some suggestions for what we could do the next day. The next morning, after breakfast, I rented a scooter and checked out some recommendations from Noni. These included a lookout tower, a market, the Saluopa waterfall, and Siuri Beach. Although Siuri Beach belongs to an accommodation and is therefore well-maintained, everyone is still warmly welcomed to relax or snorkel on the beach without an entrance fee. Europe could certainly learn from that!

However, my highlight was the family-run tofu and tempeh factory. I watched an employee for at least half an hour and saw several steps in the process from soybean to finished tofu. However, the factory would probably be shut down immediately if someone from the German health department walked through there... The employee couldn’t explain anything to me since he spoke no English and I spoke no Bahasa, but I still found it fascinating.

At some point, an older gentleman joined us and asked me in very rudimentary English if I wanted to eat a pomelo. Shortly after, he had already fetched a pomelo from the tree, peeled it with a huge knife, and handed it to me to eat. It was the most delicious pomelo I have ever had! Moreover, instead of the many small seeds like the pomelos sold in Germany, it had only a few large seeds that were much easier to remove. Shortly after, another pomelo was peeled and put into a plastic bag for me to take later. I didn’t have to pay for it.

The Tarsier tour I did in the evening with William was also cool. Just the two of us walked through the jungle searching for tarsiers. Unfortunately, we had no luck at the first three spots, aside from seeing a snake, although William said he always sees tarsiers that jump away immediately. So, we took a break where I had something to eat at his wife’s warung. On our fourth try after dinner, we finally had success, and William found a few tarsiers that let us take pictures of them.

After this tour, I had to ride back to the accommodation on the scooter in the dark for half an hour, but by then, I was already accustomed to it.