There is a modern port in Makassar, but the harbour of Paotere is where the Portuguese and Dutch sailing ships moored centuries ago.  Photos courtesy of David Metcalf/NOWJAKARTA Walking towards a long line of tall traditional pinisi boats in the historic Paotere Harbour in Makassar, I caught whiffs of freshly cut timber. I watched strong, sinewy sailors

Photos by David Metcalf/NOWJAKARTA Each month, NOW! Jakarta brings you tales of hidden heritage from our travelling duo, writer Stephanie Brookes and photographer David Metcalf. During 2019 they have brought stories back from the Kei Islands, Lombok, the Banda Islands, Seram Island, Kalimantan, Bali, Java and Sumatra. From accounts of meetings with forest-dwelling shamans who

Photos by David Metcalf/NOWJAKARTA Sitting on a woven mat, I listened as a Dayak Simpang elder explained, “Our history and our story are told through the old songs.” I was in Ketapang Regency, around four hours from Pontianak, the gateway city to West Kalimantan. I sat captivated as he continued, “We moved a long time

Seram Island in Maluku Province of Indonesia is steeped in tradition. Deep in its mountains and along its coast, several indigenous tribes still hunt with long wooden spears and adhere to their old ways of life. The largest island in the Maluku archipelago, Seram is known affectionately as the Nusa Ina (Mother Island) and is considered the

Belitung Island emerges gracefully out of the Java Sea inviting curiosity and exploration. It does not disappoint. It is unquestionably a place of extraordinary and untouched beauty. The beaches are chalky white, and are touted to be some of the most exquisite in South East Asia. Huge granite boulders rise out of the sea, forming

I started my trek in the Sabangau National Park, Central Kalimantan under a veil of darkness.  The earthy smell of the peat bog forest rose sharply to greet me as I held my torch steady so as not to trip and fall into the organic black water swamp that lay on either side. I was

There is only one way to meet the Wana tribe. You must walk into their rugged territory. Arrangements should be made in advance because the Wana are wanderers and their territory is vast. They pack up and move when the village council decides the time is right based on agricultural crop cycles. Because of this,

Inspired by the goddess of life and fertility, Dewi Sri, the spa at the Ayung Resort embodies all that Bali represents. Drawing on the vitality of the Ayung River below it and the surrounding tropical forest, the Dewi Sri Spa is a secluded escape for those in need of quiet refreshment and rejuvenation. Now, with

I stood with my blowpipe at the ready. “Gather strength from your core and aim high,” Agus advised. “We are excited to have an Australian team enter the competition and best of luck to you”, he added with a broad smile. With all my might I blew from my stomach as instructed and hit the

Karangasem Regency in East Bali is an area of intense beauty dominated by Bali’s highest and most sacred volcano. Mt Agung’s 3,142-metre peak, and its dramatic foothills and valleys shaped by centuries of lava flows, combine to create a landscape unrivalled anywhere in Bali. The great mother temple of Besakih sits perched against this wondrous

“We believe that the human body is inhabited by a life giving spirit. We call this an amirue. When a person dies, his or her spirit becomes an adiau, just for the time of its journey to the place where the amirue resides. During the nine days of the Ijame ceremony we help the adiau

I slowly shuffled forward in the queue of passengers boarding the ferry at Kupang Harbour. I was about to cross the Timor Sea to Rote Island. Ahead of me, a long line of tall-coned straw-like cowboy hats snaked its way up the gangplank. Finally arriving at the comfortable VIP lounge on the upper deck, I