Indonesia 2008

A Conference, and an Adventure

Indonesia 2008
What follows is a collection of photos
from Penny's trip to Indonesia in
November of 2008.

GloCALL Conference in Jakarta and

Yogyakarta,

Penny and Kate explore Sulawesi Selatan

(two weddings and a funeral!),

An indulgent couple of days in Bali.

A Conference and an Adventure in Indonesia

When I heard that the GloCALL conference would be held first in Jakarta and then in
Yogyakarta this year, I leapt at the chance to attend! The conference was a great experience
for a first-timer like me and I met some amazing people working in the field of Computer
Assisted Language Learning. There was a big emphasis on digital storytelling, Web 2.0
collaboration tools, and the importance of good pedagogy in language learning and teaching
throughout the conference.

After a "break day" in Yogyakarta (oh how I've missed Malioboro!), I met up with Kate in
Jakarta and we traveled to Makassar together. We stayed at Pak Dodo's house, a "driver" who
came highly recommended through the Lonely Planet Thorntree forums. He was a great help in
organising our trip and we managed to see the port, a beautiful beach sunset, two weddings
and a drink at a warung within the first five hours of arriving! What a rush!

The following day was one of colour and festivities as we had the good fortune (and timing!) to
be in Makassar for a celebration of the different regencies of Indonesia. This was certainly worth
postponing our travel to Tana Toraja by a day!

Tana Toraja was simply stunning. Set in the mountains of South Sulawesi, this Christian
community has a unique culture and belief system. A friendlier place you could not wish for.
It began in Jakarta with a day of shopping and stressing over my conference paper and poster.
A Wings Air flight took me to Yogyakarta two days later to join the conference there. But first, a tour to
Borobudur!
I met some amazing people at the GloCALL conference - it was a great audience for a first-time presenter!
Oh how I've missed the hustle and bustle of Jl. Malioboro!
Then it was off to Jakarta to meet up with Kate and begin our journey through Sulawesi Selatan.
A visit to a port, the beach at sunset, two weddings and a beer at a warung... all within our first 5hrs.
We were lucky to arrive in Makassar when a Kabupaten festival was in full swing!
The festival was a celebration of all the different regencies in Indonesia. A riot of colour!
On the road again... our trip was helped a lot by Pak Dodo!
We continued to meet great people along the way, and stayed at a friendly hotel in the middle of Rantepao.
The royal graves of Lemo, Tana Toraja. They carve taou-tau here to honour (and remember) the dead.
The caves and catacombs at Londa were creepy yet respectful.
The next day, Pak Yatim took us on a tour of Tana Toraja. We were fortunate to witness a funeral and see some
spectacular scenery.
And then it was another full day exploring Rantepao. Again, we had lucky timing and caught the weekly Kerbau
and Babi market.
A couple of indulgent days in Bali before returning to Perth finished the trip.
 Indonesia 2008
Penny's travels in Indonesia
November 2008