Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

- E P I C H I K E S O F T H E W O R L D -
MAMASA TO TANA TORAJA
Hike through two distinct cultural lands, stay in traditional houses
with boat-shaped roofs and drink rice wine with locals on this rugged
and remote Indonesian adventure.
As we approached the clutch of weathered, arched-roofed homes, five
children ran to greet us. Around a dozen houses were scattered over a
steep clearing that abutted a shallow winding river. Before them was a view
over a patchwork of agricultural fields and mist-tinged mountains. By the time we’d
walked a few more minutes towards our rustic home for the night, I was holding
hands with two of the children, who gazed up at me with bright smiles.
‘Belanda’, my travelling companion Emre and I learned (after hearing it cried out
at us through the day), means ‘Dutch person’, but more than 60 years post Dutch
colonisation of Indonesia it’s used to describe anyone remotely Caucasian looking.
Whenever we reached a habitation, a crowd of happy kids followed in our wake,