We visited four Dayak villages along the rivers in Central Kalimantan: Pahandut, Tanjung Pusai, Tumbang Nusa and Pilang. Some of the villages had no road access, so you could only reach them by boat. They shared several common characteristics: Visitors were always welcome, there was plentiful kids, and people appeared to be genuinely happy. Tanjung […]
Indonesia 7 – Borneo 7 – Village People
Interacting with local people is a favorite part of visiting any new area. The Dayak villages of Central Kalimantan were a special treat in this regards. Not only was there a throng of adorable children, but they mostly clamored for us to take their photograph and they welcomed visitors. Some of the children were embarrassed, […]
Indonesia 6 – Borneo 6 – Orangutans
One of the top attractions of Central Kalimantan is viewing the orangutans in the wild with no fences. We took a small canoe from our Houseboat three times, along the river into the Orangutan Sanctuary operated by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS). Initially at Kaja Island, we were disappointed that we did not see […]
Indonesia 5 – Borneo 5 – River Life
As part of our tour in Central Kalimantan, we spent three days on a houseboat floating down the forest lined rivers of Palangkaraya. While I was initially concerned that we might be bored on this portion of the trip, nothing could have turned out further from the truth! Juli Kristalia, from Wow Borneo organized this […]
Indonesia 4 – Borneo 4 – Forest Dancers
We actually did quite a lot of other activities in Kalimantan, besides the festival we have reported on for the past three days. Dave Metcalf, our photography guide from David Metcalf Photography kept us busy pretty much all day, every day with wonderful photo opportunities. One afternoon, we drove more than an hour into the […]
Indonesia 3 – Borneo 3 – Festival Budaya Isen Mulang
The Grand Finale of the 2022 Festival Budaya Isen Mulang (FBIM) was the dance competition, with ten regencies (similar to Provinces or States) entering their top teams. We were told to expect traditional dances, but these are not like any traditional dances we have ever seen before! Each dance group were the winners from their […]
Indonesia 2 – Borneo 2 – Festival Budaya Isen Mulang
The Festival Budaya Isen Mulang (FBIM) has been held annually since 1993. It showcases the Dayak tribe culture and traditions with 16 competitions in 2022, that include traditional arts, dance, music, food and various sports. In the Dayak language, it means “Never Back Down.” One of the competitions was Indonesian martial arts, which focuses on […]
Indonesia 1 – Borneo 1 – Fire football!
We started off our Indonesia tour with a trip to Central Kalimantan, Borneo. Central Kalimantan is one of five provinces on the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo, which is the third largest island in the world. This was the week for the biggest festival of the year, called Budaya Isen Mulang located in […]