Major towns along Trans Sulawesi

View Larger Map
A detail look at the map of Sulawesi(Celebes)including the physical features of the landscape might deter travelers from trying to make an overland journey from Makassar(the capital city of Sulawesi Selatan(or Sulsel)to Manado(capital city of Sulawesi Utara(or Sulut)

Can you imagine the road distance from Makassar to Manado is approximately 2,000kilometers which might take couple of days to arrive in Manado.
Except for good roads out of the capital Makassar to Pare-Pare,further than this point will be the long and bumpy narrow roads through the hinterland.
Sulawesi is quite an enormous island with tough terrain and rich virgin jungles.

Trans Sulawesi highway is not an actual expressway like those in modern cities.There will be instances of unpaved roads,narrow and winding through the rugged mountains.
To adventurous backpackers,overland travel is quite a good marathon attempt.

The northern routes bus terminal  is at Panaikang aka Dayak Terminal.in eastern suburbs of Makassar to catch the buses :

1) Pare-Pare,
-the hometown of third President Indonesia-B.J.Habibie
-population about 132,000 (2012 consensus)
-about 3 hours journey(200km),road condition excellent.Fare:22,000 Rupiah

 
2) Rantepao
-the gateway to Tana Toraja
-about 8 hours journey.Fare:55,000Rupiah(normal),70,000 Rupiah(aircond)

3) Tana Toraja
- about 8 hours,near Rantepao.Fare:70,000 Rupiah.
-Bintang Prima,a luxury busline direct booking at Makassar Mall.
LIST of bus companies and phone numbers for booking


4) Poso
-facing Gulf of Tomini,main port north eastern coast Central Sulawesi, situated on the Equator Line.
-Population about 40,000.Year 1998 sectarian violence flashpoint,Christians and Muslims(JI groups)
-situation now normal and expect security checkpoint within the vicinity.
-the shortest route to Manado in the northeastern tip has to pass through Poso.


5) Tolitoli
-capital city Central Sulawesi(Sulawesi Tengah)
-population about 200,000 human capital.
-main agricultural produce is pepper.

6) Gorontalo
- the 32nd Province of Republic Indonesia administered by provincial governor.
-main hub to Tongean Islands
-accomodations Hotel Quality ,City Hotel, Hotel Tenteram, Liberty Hotel,Prasanthi Magna Hotel Resort

7) Tomohon
-Tomohon city website
-Wonderful Indonesia Official Tourism Website

8) Bitung
-ferry to Ternate in North Moluccas.
-best diving spot adjacent Lembeh Island.
-captivating Lembeh Straits.the world's number 1 eco-diving paradise.


9) Manado,capital North Sulawesi also the main gateway to Bunaken Island.


Taxi services South Sulawesi

Centrally located New Legend Hostel.

New Legend Hostel
Located less than 5 minutes walk from the Chinatown arch off Jalan Ahmad Yani road.Tel:+62 411 3632123
Dormitory bunk beds are on the highest floor access by a spiral metal staircase as there's no lift in the building.
The bathroom during my stay was still under repair so I need to use an alternative one on the second floor.
Western breakfast inclusive in the room rates and starts from 8:30am till 10:30am.
Well it won't be noisy despite many vehicles passing by the road below.
In the afternoon after school,students will be playing futsal at nearby D'Jampea Futsal arena and you can hear their echo.

In fact the dormitory bunk beds are on the rooftop and directly infront below is this old Dutch style colonial mansion.

This is really luxurious during the olden days and only the wealthy can afford it.

Typical style during this period include large roof overhang, high roof and ceiling, and front and rear verandahs that opened on to gardens.

Beside the hostel is an ethnic Chinese coffeshop(kopitiam)  name Phoenam established since 1946.
Wow,that's a year after the Japanese Imperial Army surrendered to Allied Forces during World War II.
Even Ujung Pandang(Celebes) has undergone the Japanese Occupation
The Hailam people form Hainan Island,southern China brought along with them their signature trade,that is the kopitiam business.
This is the most famous coffeeshop in Makassar and you should not miss to taste the superb coffee flavour.

List of branches:
Jl. Boelevard Blok F 32-33 Panakkukang Mas, Makassar, Indonesia

Phoenam Jampea, di Jl Jampea

Phoenam Tamalanrea, di Bumi Tamalanrea Permai (BTP)

Pheonam Ratulangi Jl Dr Ratulangi, Makassar

Phoenam Mal Panakkukang




Hotel Yasmin,Makassar is just next door of the Phoenam Kopitiam.
Jln.Jampea No.5 Makassar
Tel. 0411 320424, Fax. 0411328288 42
e-mail.Yasmin@indosat.net.id







Chinatown Arch Gate,Makassar,Sulawesi Selatan.

 Simple design structure,missing out are the pair of dragons on both side of the roof top unlike the better ones in Surabaya,East Java.

The busy road in front is Jalan Jenderal Ahmad Yani.
A short walk towards the left is a 24 hours convenience store followed by the Polwiltabes Makassar(Police HQ)



Gerbang(Gate) China Town ini Dibangunkan tahun 2002,(constructed 2002) by Sdr.William Effendy.a renown building contractor in Makassar City.
Offical opening February 2003 by Drs A,Achmad Massalissi.

Just a 15 minutes walk at the end of Jalan Ahmad Yani corner is Makassar Karebosi Trade Center.
A huge modern shopping mall with Carrefour Hypermarket among the anchor tenants.
Foodcourt on the third floor.
Along Jalan Haji Oemar  Said Cokroaminoto from MTC Karebosi another 15 minutes walk is the Makassar Mall.







From the Chnatown  Gate,travelers wishing to head for the Losari Beach area can walk towards the right till this Welcome To Makassar Monument and walk left passing by Fort Rotterdam.along Jalan Ujung Pandang.

Jalan Ujung Pandang is the seafront road.












Losari Beach Hotel

The seafront is just across the Jalan Penghibur road but hardly any nice sandy beach along this stretch.
You need to go further up for a more decent beach.









Penginapan Wisma Pelangi Indah,guesthouse same row with Losari Beach Hotel.
Room rates around 200,000 Rupiah
The word Wisma is an Indonesian term  often use for accomodation. They are quite cheap in most instances and from my experience in Pekan Baru,Sumatera ,they don't accept foreigners.
Maybe those in big cities like Jakarta do accept.











Near Makassar Golden Hotel was a side road where I stumbled into this boat landing pier

The heading says:
You Are Heading For
"Harmoni Pier BTN"
* BTN denotes Bank Tabungan Negara or National Funding Bank.

Lae-Lae Island,Ujung Pandang District,Makassar.

About Lae-Lae Island:
About 9 hectares in size,near the Straits of Makassar.
Lies between Samalona Island on the west and Makassar City on the east.
On the  island south is Tanjung Bunga  while in the north is Gusung Tangayya
Population 1,780 and main economic activity Fishing.



 The distance of Pulau Lae-Lae from the mainland is only 1.5km so a small boat like this is quite accomodative for maybe eight passengers.
The 10 minutes motorized boat ride cost about 15,000 Rupiah
I would suggest backpackers should make it a point to visit this beautiful island as there are bamboo huts easily  available for rent around 30,000/40,000 rupiah.
Food stalls and shops are also available.Not to miss out are the white sandy beaches ideal for snorkelling and a great scuba diving spot.
The deepest diving spot is about 9 metres

Dutch bastion Fort Rotterdam Sulawesi Selatan

The Dutch East India Company seemed to be one of the greatest maritime colonial powers of the 17th century.
Malacca,my hometown was once known as The Sleepy Hollow where the Dutch booted out the Portuguese conquerors in 1641.
It's all about the monopoly of spice trade route.
Imagine the Dutch ruled Malacca for 183 years (1641-1825) before they finally gave in to the British in exchange for a new capital Batavia (now known as Jakarta).
Batavia being strategically located on the maritime route between the Straits of Malacca and South China Sea provided a valuable asset base for further expansion within the hinterlands of the Indonesian archipelago.More seaports were established by the Dutch  which included Manado(North Celebes) and Macassar(South Celebes).
A visit to Fort Rotterdam gave me further historical insight on how the Dutch defended Makassar.(formerly known as Ujung Pandang)against any invading forces.This will be the Dutch East Indies battalion bastion.

As I entered the main compound,there's an open air stage with the theme Pagelaran Seni,some sort like cultural performance but that's in December 2012.
The Tourism Board also has a theme below saying Let's Visit South Sulawesi.
The program line up includes traditional karebosi dance,musical Ansam Bel,sketches Calling Back the Spirit Parody.
The guest star was Miss Sulawesi Utara 2012,Nathania Lukman(age 21,Height 5'8")

 

Makassar Chinatown

Makassar's Chinatown,Sulawesi Island of Republic Indonesia lies between  Jalan Sulawesi,Jalan Lombok and Jalan Wahidin Sudirohusado.
The main artery road of Makassar is Jalan Ahmad Yani where most of the financial,commercial and administrative offices were located.
Most of the ethnic local Chinese  operates businesses  with their residential houses(shoplot type) tend to concentrate around this part of Makassar(also known Ujung Pandang)
The Chinatown here is not that spectacular as not much activities can be seen.During the night this whole place can be very dark with sparsely lit streetlights.
Metropolitan Makassar has standing links to overseas communities bridging as  twin cities namely:
1) Mobile,Alabama,United State of America
2) Aden,Yemen
3) Constanta,Romania,
4) Lismore,Australia
5) Peshawar,Pakistan
6) Hakodate,Japan
7) Tawau,Malaysia
8) Qingdao,China
9) Wellington,New Zealand

Mention Chinatown in any parts of the world,you definitely have the Chinese Temples.
In Makassar alone,there are four distinguish temples.
This one Gedung Istana Sakti Klenteng Xian Ma (Mother of Immortal )is at the corner of Jalan Sulawesi and Jalan Bali.

Other temples nearby  include Tian Hou Gong (Heavenly Queen Temple) corner of Jalan Sulawesi and Jalan Serui.
Xuang Tian Shang Di Temple and The Long Xian Gong Temple.

The internal view of Xian Ma temple.
All visitors of any creed are allowed to enter this temple.















Dinasti Hotel lies off Jalan Sulawesi,Lombok 30 Street  can be contacted at +62 411 3625657
email: info@dinastihotelmakassar.com
There's an in house massage outlet  within,free wi-fi to all rooms.
Price range Rupiah350,000 onwards.

Strategically located in town center,walking distance ten minutes to Jalan Nusantara beside the harbour area where the nightlife gets hotter

 For backpackers,across the Dinasti  hotel here there's one guesthouse at the corner  charging around Rupiah 70,000 fan private bathroom
Name:-Penginapan(Guesthouse) Kartini Tahel
Rupiah120,000 aircond attached bathroom
Room maximum two person,each additional pay Rupiah30,000 Kamar - room

Check in 06:00 WITA,Check out 13:00 WITA
*WITA stands for Waktu Indonesia Tengah.(Mid islands Indonesia time zone)

Late checkout pay Rupiah10,000 per hour fan room,also applies aircond room Rupiah 15,000 per hour












Vihara Ibu Agung Bahari (Tian Hou Gong Temple) one of the oldest temple in Makassar

GPS:

-5.130845568550237, 119.40663164627995

 Built in 1736 by Kapitan Ong Giap.

Formerly the temple was known as Klenteng Istana Ratu Laut and was renamed to the present form in 1750 by Thio Heng Sioe.Most of the Chinese names have to be Indonesianised as required by the law.

This building looked quite new but the actual one should be behind me where I took this photo.

The old building looked totally wrecked.

Pelabuhan Makassar or Port of Makassar  along Jalan Nusantara.

During the day,the street was lined with job hunters and when night falls the area being transformed into a red light area.

To get a bus back to the airport,find a bus stop near the port side  as the bus do ply along this route.

For ferry services timetable refer to Government owned PT Pelni (Persero)



Tugu Selamat Datang di Makassar(Welcome to Makassar monument) similar to the one in Kota Jakarta.

View form the city center airport bus stop along Jalan Ahmad Yani.

Traffic circle from the monument along the left is just a five minute walk to Fort Rotterdam.

That cream colour building is Yazmin Hotel and two blocks beside is the Legend Hostel which I parked myself for three days while in Makassar.

My arrival on the first day was greeted by Legend Hostel staff Henrik.

The weather in Makassar was drizzling all throughout the day.and in the evening followed Hendrik to attend the Sunday mass at the nearby  True Jesus Church or Gereja Yesus Sejati,

Thailand Radio Stations