Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part II
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part II
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part III
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part III
TravelTwins.dk
Exploring the less beaten paths of the world
- look, read, dream, travel!
The hidden gem of
SULAWESI
& TOGIAN ISLANDS
One of the most extraordinary island regions in the entire South East Asian region with top exotic and cultural encounters, and visits to the Bajau sea gypsies in a remote Sulawesian archipelago
Oh, Sulawesi… what a wonderful exotic name for an island that is truly one of the most remote regions of South East Asia. Sulawesi is quite likely also the world’s most strangely shaped island: a clash between old continental plates has lifted Sulawesi from the sea floor to form four large, odd-shaped peninsulas that makes the island look like a giant 1200 km long octopus.
1200 km in length makes Sulawesi a vast island. Grab an atlas and study its size. It’s the 11th largest island on the planet – larger than Cambodia and 2/3 the size of the Philippines.
No wonder it took us more than five weeks to cross the entire island from northeast to southwest. Sulawesi’s four peninsulas reach towards Borneo, the Philippines, Maluku and the islands of Flores and Sumbawa in the south. In the middle, the peninsulas collide to form a central mountain range and spectacular landscapes with wild highlands and smoking volcanoes, tropical jungle, deep green lakes, and leveled rice fields surrounded by several smaller coral island archipelagos.
Location: Sulawesi in Indonesia, during 6 weeks
Our journey started in the top of the archipelago nearest the Philippines, in Mindanao, near the Tomohon highlands where locals eat dog and rat for lunch, and near the fabled Bunakan reefs, one of the best diving spots on the planet.
We continued by jeepney, 4x4 and ferryboat to the Togean Islands and from there towards the central mountain chains at firstly Poso Lake and secondly the Tana Toraja highlands. Our journey ended in Makassar at the bottom of the peninsula pointing at Flores.
Sulawesi is spectacularly exotic. Volcanoes fume above its rain forests and we did several splendid ascents. Tradition hasn't lost its grip and indigenous tribal customs such as necro-centric Toraja funerals occur throughout July and August. Attending one of these funeral celebrations is a macabre privilege that we really enjoyed. Vanilla and pepper plants scented the air of highland villages while we were exploring limestone cliff dolls of the deceased, the so-called tau-tau statues. And we found some of the world's greatest marine diversity accessible just offshore in the volcanic archipelagos in the Celebes Sea as well as the in the Gulf of Tomini. We saw many of the canyons, cliffs, and deep coral shelves, prized by divers the world over.
In Europe, we have the gypsies of Romania, a group of people and wanderers with a nomadic habit of life. It is however not only a European "phenomenon". Southeast Asia has many groups of sea gypsies, a collective name for several indigenous ethnic groups residing in Myanmar, Thailand, Southern China, Philippines, Sabah, eastern Malaysia, and Indonesia. Of these, the most famous are the Moken of Myanmar, the Tanka of Southern China, the Urak Lawoi of Thailand, and the Bajau of the Philippines plus Central parts of Indonesia.
We've found that one of the best places to meet real sea gypsies is in the remote Togian Islands in Sulawesi, Indonesia; an archipelago of 56 pristine coral and volcanic islands and islets located in the Gulf of Tomini in Central Sulawesi. We spent two weeks of island hopping from one forested golden-beach to the next across more than 10 of the islands in the Togian archipelago, visiting the Bajau sea gypsies along the way. We had to travel for several days to reach this far-flung, unknown place. In return, we were stuck here for two weeks far away from almost everything. Most islands had only one or two family-run guesthouses that could accommodate just a few people.
The highlight of the Togian’s was the surrounding coral reef, which support a rich, diverse marine life. The Bajau sea gypsies were easy to meet. We experienced at first-hand how their knowledge of the sea enabled them to live off its organisms by using simple and primitive tools such as nets and spears, which they used to forage for food. What wasn’t consumed short-term was dried atop their boats or stilt houses, and then used for trade at local island markets. Many of the Bajaus are still nomadic people roaming the seas most of their lives in small hand-crafted wooden boats, some of which not only serve as transportation but also kitchen, bedroom and living area. Their life is simply build on the premises of the ocean.
If you love Indonesia see also Bali & Lombok or our page on hunting volcanoes across the archipelago. Also, the island of Mindanao in the deep south of the Philippines is rather close to Sulawesi.
Selected pics during our encounter:
A clash between old continental plates has lifted Sulawesi from the sea floor to form four large, odd-shaped peninsulas that makes the island look like a giant 1200 km long octopus or perhaps a drunken spider.
Beneath several volcanoes sits Tomohon, a fascinating city in Northern Sulawesi. It is much cooler here than on the coast and we spent several days here exploring the village and area. We climbed several volcanoes including Gunung Lokon (1.850m - shown in the picture) and Gunung Klabat (2.022m). The picture was taken from the Gunung Mahawu volcanic crater rim (1400m) during a hike.
We reached Tara Tara village by feet from Tomohon and it is part of the highlandes. There was an interesting but small market there. Outside Tara Tara village we saw several hot springs, caves and pretty waterfalls. Tincep waterfall was especially nice.
We continued south of the Tomohon Highlands near the coast and spent a few days at Lake Tondano where we did several smaller hikes in the area. There are several tiny fishing villages where small warungs serve fresh fish from the lake, as well as caves, mineral springs and public baths. The local fishers were quite talkative and our very basic Bahasa Indonesia skills was tested. Selamat Jalan!
The Tomohon day market was a truely exotic experience where we saw several exotic animals for sale, including bats, dogs, rats, cats, birds, monkeys and snakes.
The sight of a dog being clubbed to death and then burned is not for those with weak stomachs. It is however part of daily life and a cultural aspect for the locals oa truely exotic village where rat, dog and cat is served for lunch and dinner.
Gunung Klabat is easily the highest peak on the northern peninsula of Sulawesi. The climb goes through farmlands and rainforest.
From Manado we boarded a small boat bound for Bunaken Island. The reefs around this island offer some of the best snorkeling and diving in SE Asia.
Most of the island's residents live in Bunaken village at the southern tip. Pantai Liang is a beautiful tropical beach, but westerly winds often sweep piles of garbage on the beach.
Bunaken boasts some the world's most spectacular and accessible coral drop-offs, underwater caves and valleys. We did several dives and also spent must "surface time" simply snorkeling offshore. Just 100m offshore the flat coral takes a dramatic 90 degree turn, plummeting from 2m depths to dark oblivion. Starting at the northern end of Bunaken Island we would drift along the reef all the way to the southern tip. Simply snorkeling we saw several turtles, sharks, eels and doplhins.
The boat boat on one of our diving trips turned 30 years of age and we were invited to his birthday dinner party in Bunaken Village.
Manado Tua, or Old Manado, is a nice little island just across from Bunaken Island. It is easy to charter a boat here as boatmen approached us when we walked along the beach.
The volcano can be climbed in 3-5 hours following a jungle path. The reefs around Manado Tua are also in good shape and more remote, i.e. less divers.
We visited Pulau Siladen on another day trip from Bunaken Island. The island is a basic but pleasent alternative to Bunaken and during our stay we saw at least one homestay there. Other islands worth exploring inside the National Park are Nain island and the Mantehage islands.
Despite its size, Manado is a nice city on the ocean full of temples, Indonesia hero monuments, and rumah makan street food stalls.
Manado is a mecca for adventurous diners - regional delights include fried forest rat, spicy dog meat, stewed bat, tender gold fish and pig intestials.
Gamy rintek wuuk is spicy, tender dog meat and a local favourite. The night warungs along the esplanade offer a good selection. It was excellent for backpackers on the cheap such as ourselves.
From Manado we traveled west to Gorontalo. We were a bit under time pressure as we had to catch a ferry for the Togian Islands and could therefore not rely on the long-distance busses or mikrolets from Mandao. Instead, we found a local pick-up truck and got a space in the back. The road through the thin peninsula of northern Sulawesi was bone-crunching with many zig-zag roads up and down hills during the 10-hour ride. Next, we boarded a boat for the Togian Islands. The crossing took 20 hours.
Located in the Tomini Bay in Sulawesi
The Togian islands are hard to reach. We traveled overland from the Tomohon Highlands to Gorantalo for 14 hours. And then we boarded the M/S Puspita for the 15-hour trip to Wakai in the Togian Islands. We slept in the lower deck together with the locals. Around midnight we started the journey towards Wakai. We were packed like sardines in a tin and it was a really windy night.
We found our spot in the lower deck and tried to get some sleep. Saltwater was momentarily squirted into our faces through the small porthole – without any closing device. Later in the morning we finally managed to get some sleep, partly because most of the crew went upstairs on the deck to cook.
In Walea Kodi Island the small fishing village of Dolong was our first stop. It was raining all the time, so we spent some time reading and exploring the stilt village. The snorkeling offshore was very good.
