Take 2 (or is it 3?)

We are currently back in Makassar resting up at the Fave Hotel after another quick road trip taking in the usual destinations, where once again we stooped and stumbled our way through cocoa orchards, Sue diagnosing the leaves for disease (which she can now do in a matter of seconds) and me tapping the stats into our trusty iPad, which has made the whole process much more doable. (The thought of doing it all with pen and paper and transcribing it at the end of the day onto the laptop makes me shudder.)

Along the way we have covered many kilometres on the Trans-Sulawesii Highway and its offshoots, and made it as far north as the bottom end of Lake Poso in Central Sulawesi.

This time around we did not have the luxury of a 'company car', so did the first leg of the trip, from Makassar to the Mars research station in Tarengge, by overnight bus, choosing the optimistically named Kharisma bus lines. I was all set with my technology to help get me through the night, but found that the rental movie that had taken me days to download onto the iPad due to dodgy internet connections had already expired. The backup was the trusty old iPod mini with a load of songs on board — streaming's not something you can really count on here in Sulawesi.

All in all the 12 hour bus ride wasn't too bad, once we actually got going, but the bus was apt to stop at random points to pick up people, even within a few kilometres of the depot. Try doing that in Australia.

Seats on the Kharisma bus are business class!

Most towns of any size here in South Sulawesi have at least one statue of note. As you enter the town of Masamba, an hour before Tarengge, you are met with what looks like a tribute to the NRL but is actually acknowledgement of the region's main cash crop: cocoa ... the Big Pod as it would be called in Oz.

Tarengge's own statue has more of a general welcoming message for folks who are arriving ...

... but less so for those leaving town.

A huge advantage of the Tarengge site for us are the facilities and generous people of the Mars Cocoa Development Centre. This impressive research station has plantings of 45,000 cocoa trees all for research rather than commercial purposes. Here they monitor which are the best varieties in terms of yield and disease resistance, as well as a host of other factors such as plant management regimens and even planting distances.

They also have an air-conditioned office and a canteen where we have been fed and watered numerous times 'on the house'. They even delivered some morning tea and umbrellas to us in the field one morning as we copped a unusual shower of rain. Legends.

As well as studying some of the trees in the Mars plantation, we have also been monitoring another small planting about 2 km down the road in a little village called Cendana Hijau. We've now spent 4 or 5 afternoons in this plantation, and the nicest part is the walk back to Mars as the late afternoon cools off. The locals are mostly outside sitting around, the young ones circling on bikes, and the sight of a couple of bule (Westerners) walking (actually on foot!) seems to make their day.

Our travels have included most available modes of transport, except the horse and cart, which is still in use by the Mandar folks around Polewali. Sometimes the easiest and cheapest option is the pete-pete (petay-petay), tiny minibuses that travel mostly fixed routes but stop on demand, taking as many as they can cram in, the standard fee usually being around 0.30 cents.

There are many unnerving moments travelling on Sulawesi's chaotic roads, not the least of which are when streams of scooters and cars sail gaily through a red light. I asked Anwar, our driver, about this once, and in essence his reply was that: "conditions apply, read the small print", i.e. the little signs below the traffic lights. In this case, "Left turn must obey the light" ...

In this case, "Straight ahead can continue".

The red arrow would be a big breakthrough here, I'm thinking. Just one more reason why I'm happy to leave the driving to others.

Back in Makassar we are staying at the modern, comfortable and value-for-money Fave Hotel, well located in the Kawasan Kuliner (culinary district). It's only downside is that "fave" is not a natural homophone in Indonesian, so many taxi drivers will not understand it pronounced this way. Instead, you need to experiment with variations like "Farfay", "Parpay", "Parfay" etc. until you achieve recognition.

Over the road is one of the most popular eating spots for locals, Lae Lae.  The decor is no-frills but their house specialities of barbecued fish and other seafood are excellent.

We are also just 5 minutes walk from Pantai Losari (Losari Beach), Makassar's town square and civic heart. The kilometre-long waterfront promenade is populated at most times of the day and night. Sunset photographs against the giant place names are especially popular.

Yesterday a group called Forum Mahasiswa Pinggiran (Forum for Marginalised Students) held a Clean Up Losari Beach rally, venturing out in rubber duckies to scoop up some of the countless plastic bags, bottles and other rubbish that are the main downside of the waterfront. Rubbish is a problem all over Makassar, but it was great see a local group of students trying to do something about it.

Today, Sunday, was market day at Losari Beach and, from 7 a.m., time for the biggest community aerobics session you've ever seen. And yes, Sue and I did shake our booty for 10 minutes or so, until it all just got too sweaty. And that's without the jilbab. Enjoy!

Did you know?

The northern coast of Australia was once part of the Gowan empire. They don't teach you that at school.

Map in the Balla' Lompoa Museum (former residence of  Sultan Hasanuddin), just outside Makassar, showing the reach of the Gowa Empire in the 17th Century.

Rough translation: MAP: The Gowa Kingdom and regions that recognised his authority up to the year 1660-1659. The Sultan of Gowa  was recognised as the protector of Muslims in Maluku.

© 2014 Steve Dobney