INDONESIA ​
​Papua (Irian Jaya)
​I first visited Indonesia in the 2000's and returned in 2015-16 and visited Papua (Irian Jaya)

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​These kids were practising at school in Jayapura.

These boys were entertaining passengers at mini bus stop.​



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Villages on Danau Sentani are renowned for unique bark paintings.

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Sumpaima, just north of Jiwika, is home to the 280-year-old Wimontok Mabel mummy (admission 20,000Rp, photos 2000Rp.*

This young woman volunteered to sing me one of her favourite songs.

The final descent to Danau Maninjau, on the road from Bukittinggi, 38km west, is unforgettable.  The road twists and turns through 44 hairpin bends, and offers stunning views over the shimmering blue lake and surrounding hills.*​​

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The Dani fences around Wamena were quite extraordinary.

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The Vanishing Dani
Learning about other cultures helps us understand different perspectives within the world in which we live.

Many Dani labor at menial jobs or stick to subsistence farming. Some make a relatively good living by posing for tourists. All Dani however have suffered under the Indonesian occupation.

​Papua’s natural resources are being exploited at great profit for the Indonesian government and foreign businesses, but at the expense of the Dani.

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Soccer of course is very popular in Sentani, Papua.
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​I meet this guy on the road outside Wamena.
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This magnificent lake is in itself worth a trip to Jayapura and/or Sentani.  If you fly to Sentani, you will soar across the lake and see its 19 islands, as well as numerous fishing villages full of wooden houses precariously raised on stilts above the water.*​

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The Dani occupy one of the most fertile parts of Papua. They build round or oval huts and they are farmers. The Dani tribe’s customs and culture are very rich and interesting, in this episode we feature village life and tribal dance.​

* These captions are from Indonesia -- Lonely Planet's travel guide.