Day 01: Sep 26, 2015: Depart Vancouver for Taipei Flight: China Airlines CI31 (Vancouver 02:00 AM -Taipei 06:05 AM)*

Today we depart on our exciting journey to explore the wealth and millenary traditions that are such an integral part of a Wastra.

Day 02: Sep 27, 2015: Taipei/Jakarta Flight: China Airlines CI761 (Taipei 08:45 AM -Jakarta 10:00 PM)*

Our exciting and unique textile tour of Indonesia begins with a warm welcome at Jakarta International Airport, before we are transferred to our hotel.
Overnight: Santika Premiere Hotel (Deluxe Rooms) (3 nights)

Day 03: Sep 28, 2015: Jakarta Textile Tour

Our Indonesian Textile experience begins with a visit of the Textile Museum (Museum Tekstil). The museum houses a collection of textiles from various islands in Indonesia, such as Javanese batik, Bali Songket and Ikat. It also features displays of traditional weaving instruments and equipment for textile production. We visit the main gallery, the batik gallery, the fiber and natural dye gardens. We are treated to a demonstration and hands-on activities in batik-making and operating manual weaving tools. Here we will be joined by Judith Knight-Achjadi, a prominent Indonesian textile anthropologist, who will give us an in-depth talk, called ‘An Overview of Indonesian Wastra’. Ms. Achjadi was one of the contributors in the paper that led UNESCO to recognize Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2009. Ms. Achjadi was born and raised in Canada and her knowledge of Indonesian textiles is phenomenal, since she has been involved in research and creating awareness about Indonesia's wastra and traditional costumes for over 50 years.  She has written various books about Indonesian textile traditions, the most famous being ‘The Glory of Batik’. She is also been appointed as the honorary curator for Jakarta's Textile Museum which houses over 2,000 pieces. Indonesian batik made on the island of Java has a long history of acculturation, with diverse patterns influenced by a variety of cultures, and is the most developed in terms of pattern, technique, and the quality of workmanship. We will have the opportunity to visit several workshops in Indonesia’s capital, including the one owned by Stephanus Hamy. Mr. Hamy, is a notable Indonesian fashion designer that has been using wastra for over 30 years.  He has worked with batik makers and weavers from all over the archipelago, manifest in his unique designs, which proved to be a source of inspiration to the fashion industry in Indonesia and overseas. Balance of the day is free. (B, L)

Day 04: Sep 29, 2015: Jakarta Cultural Tour

We head to Kota Tua, Jakarta's Old Town and venture through the historic complex before enjoying our lunch at Cafe Batavia, a 200-year-old building located on Fatahillah Square. After lunch, we explore the Jakarta History Museum, also known as Fatahillah Museum housed in the Stadhuis, the former city hall. We then head to the Wayang Museum, dedicated to Javanese wayang puppetry that houses various collections of puppets attired in traditional textiles and dolls from Indonesia and other countries, followed by a visit the Art and Ceramic Museum, which displays traditional Indonesian handicrafts, paintings by Indonesian masters and ceramics from various areas of Indonesia. We conclude our day at the Sarinah Department Store in Central Jakarta, one of Indonesia’s most exclusive batik vendors, which also sells batik in European/American sizes, something difficult to find in the local batik markets. (B, L)

Day 05: Sep 30, 2015: Jakarta/Yogyakarta
Flight: Garuda GA204 Jakarta 08:05 – Yogyakarta 09:20)*

A morning flight gets us to the fascinating Yogyakarta. Upon arrival we are met and transferred to the Saptohoedojo Art Gallery, one of the oldest art galleries in Yogyakarta, built by the late Sapto Hoedojo, a prominent local painter. The gallery houses a magnificent collection of high quality hand-painted batik. We then check into our hotel, and after a brief rest proceed to Lemah Ledok Garden Restaurant for a traditional lunch. We then visit the Prambanan Temple Compounds, which were built in the 10th century and are the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. The temples are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Evening we enjoy our dinner at the Abhayagiri Restaurant, located on a hilltop with beautiful views of Mount Merapi and the Prambanan Temples at sunset time.
Overnight: Eastparc Hotel, (4 nights) (B, L, D)

Day 06: Oct 01, 2015: Yogyakarta/Batik-making Villages of Central Java

Today will be truly exciting, as we experience an in-depth batik-making session in a traditional village! We head to the outskirts of Klaten in Central Java, an area that has been a center of batik production for decades. We attend a workshop that takes to us through each step in the process of making Javanese batik, organized by the Sarwidi Batik Workshop. Sarwidi’s home industry employs many local women who sit and happily chat, as they paint hot wax onto meters of cotton or silk fabrics. Mr. Sarwidi will explain to us the use of natural dyes that are kind to the environment, such as locally grown indigo, mahogany bark, coconut husks, pandan leaves and bixsa seeds, which are used at his workshop in the manufacture of batik fabrics. We will enjoy a catered traditional Javanese buffet lunch here. We then visit the village of Cawas, a Lurik manufacturing center which uses jacquard hand weaving looms as its tools. Lurik is a traditional fabric produced in Central Java, and the name comes from the word “lorek,” meaning lines. Made from cotton, lurik is characterized by its rigid texture and strictly vertical and horizontal lines. In the evening we are treated to a Indonesian dinner set to traditional gamelan music at Merapi Resto in Klaten. (B, L, D)

Day 07: Oct 02, 2015: Yogyakarta/Borodubur

Our exciting day starts with a visit to the famous Buddhist temple of Borobudur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that dates to the 8th and 9th centuries, featuring circular platforms containing 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of Buddha. After our in-depth visit of this magnificent site we enjoy our lunch in the Mount Merapi area. We then visit the Ullen Sentalu Museum to learn about the historical differences between the sultanates of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. The Museum displays artifacts, dating back to the early Yogyakarta Sultanate featuring a rich history of inland batik. We conclude our day with a buffet dinner followed by an open-air performance of the Ramayana Ballet. The performance combines traditional Javanese dance, drama and music. (B, L, D)

Day 08: Oct 03, 2015: Yogyakarta/Surakarta

Today we drive to the city of Surakarta, also called Solo in the heart of Central Java. Surakarta’s batik has had a long tradition in Java. A typical characteristic of Surakarta batik is its sogan colour (dark yellow). We visit the Surakarta Royal Palace and explore the Integrated Danar Hadi Batik Museum. Danar Hadi is synonymous with Indonesia’s great batik tradition, built around Javanese rituals and ceremonies that reflect the profound symbolic meanings of the many batik motifs, and we will feast our eyes at the magnificent pieces on display. We also enjoy a unique Surakartan lunch here. Afternoon, we visit the traditional batik-making village of Kampung Batik Kauman, famous for its fine quality Javanese batik returning to Yogyakarta, for an evening on our own. (B, L)

Day 09: Oct 04, 2015: Yogyakarta/Makassar
Flight: Garuda GA677 Yogyakarta 18:25 – Makassar 21:20)*

We start our day with a visit of the Yogyakarta Kraton, the principal residence of the Sultan of Yogyakarta, followed by a visit to the Museum Kereta (the Carriage Museum) and Taman Sari Water Castle, a former royal garden of the Sultan of Yogyakarta. We are then treated to a royal lunch at the Bale Raos Restaurant, located inside the Palace. After lunch we head to the airport to take our evening flight to Makassar (Ujungpandang) on the island of Sulawesi. Upon arrival in Makassar we will be picked up and transferred to our hotel.
Overnight: Makassar Golden Hotel (B, L)

Day 10: Oct 05, 2015: Makassar/Toraja

Since the Portuguese landed in Makassar in 1511, the city has been a major cosmopolitan trade centre with Chinese, Arabs, Indians, Siamese, Javanese and Malays merchants trading in manufactured metal goods, textiles, pearls, copper, camphor and spices.  In the morning we visit the Paotere Harbour, which is filled with Pinisi, the traditional Buginese sailing boats. Bustling with men carrying loads of cargo across narrow wooden planks that act as bridges from the boats to the dock, the harbour is always a lively and fascinating place. We then visit Fort Rotterdam, which was rebuilt by the Dutch on the ruins of an old fort in the 17th century. Later drive to Toraja Land through scenic Bugis villages, featuring typical houses built on stilts along the coast with lunch at the Bukit Indah Restaurant in Pare-Pare, a small port situated 155 km north of Makassar. We then travel through magnificent mountain passes to our final destination, the cool city of Rantepao located approximately 800 m above sea level, arriving at our hotel in the early evening. Balance of the day at leisure.
Overnight: Toraja Heritage Hotel (Oraja Heritage rooms) (3 nights) (B, L)

Day 11: Oct 06, 2015: Toraja Cultural Tour

Today we explore Tana Toraja, the land of the Toraja, who have a unique culture, characterized by traditional Tongkonan houses sitting amongst bright green rice terraces that are set against a stunning backdrop of tall limestone outcrops and blue misty mountains. Torajans bury their dead in a carved stone cliffs or caves, however before the corpse is placed in such a "tomb", it is laid to rest for a short period in the Tongkonan (the clan house) before a very elaborate and costly funeral ceremony. Torajans are famous for their spectacular, expensive and rather gruesome burial rites. After a person's death, the body is kept, often for several years, while money is saved to pay for the actual funeral ceremony, known as tomate. During the funeral, which may last up to a week, ritual dances and buffaloes and pigs are slaughtered to ferry the soul of the deceased to the afterlife. Should there be a funeral ceremony taking place, we will attempt to attend one. Our tour includes visits to the royal family tombs at Suaya, a cliff-side gravesite guarded by wood-carved painted effigies, called ‘tau tau’, followed by a visit to the site of a huge burial tree in Kambira, a place where Torajans bury babies and small children in the belief that they continue to grow along with the tree. Enjoy our lunch at a local restaurant with lovely views of the rice fields. In the afternoon, we visit Londa, a natural cave grave filled with wooden coffins and Kete Kesu village, which is famous for its traditional woodcarving craftsmen and “hanging coffins” located on nearby cliffs and caves. (B, L, D)

Day 12: Oct 07, 2015: Toraja Textile Tour

Our discovery of Tana Toraja’s textiles begins with a visit to Palawa, a village with beautiful Torajan traditional clan houses, called 'Tongkonan'. Each house is decorated with elaborate paintings and several buffalo horns on their front. We then head to the Sa'dan Toraja village of To Barana to observe traditional cotton weaving techniques. Highland Toraja people weave with cotton on a back strap loom using a continuous warp, cross sticks or coil rods, and a two part cloth beam. They use the same design motifs and patterns regardless of the decorative technique. However, the loom components vary according to the decorative technique being used. (B, L)

Day 13: Oct 08, 2015: Rantepao/Sengkang

Today we head to Sengkang, having our lunch at Enrekang, enjoying views of Buntu Kebobong, a mountain with a unique-looking formation.  Sengkang, the capital of a former Bugis kingdom, is a historic and bustling market town. The town is located by Lake Tempe and retains its old cultural traditions, including silk weaving. Whilst cruising on shallow Lake Tempe on a Lopee Bugis motorized boat we see the floating houses of the Wajo fisherman, freshwater fishponds with large population of birdlife that inhabits these wetlands. At sunset we relax on a floating house and enjoying dinner with the setting of a serene evening.
Overnight: Sengkang village (1 night)  (B, L, D)

Day 14: Oct 09, 2015: Sengkang/Makassar/Bali Flight: Garuda GA621 (Makassar 18:35 Denpasar 19:55)*

A scenic coastal drive gets us to Makassar Airport with stops on the way for refreshments. A short flight takes us to the legendary island of Bali. Upon arrival we are met and transferred to our hotel in Ubud.
Overnight: Kajane Mua, Ubud (4 nights)(B, L)

Day 15: Oct 10, 2015: Ubud, Bali

Morning, we get an interesting lecture by William Ingram, the co-founder of Threads of Life, a fair trade business based in Bali, and co-director of its sister organization, the Bebali Foundation. He will share insights he has gained from 15 years of work with traditional weavers in remote communities across Indonesia. He started out to create a model of how a profitable business can have a social mission, and now works with over 1,000 weavers and their families in 36 cooperatives on 11 islands. We also visit the Threads of Life Gallery. Textiles and artifacts throughout are curated to museum standards with interpretative texts and images. The gallery staff will guide us through the exhibits, teaching us about the textile arts, their cultural roots, and the importance of the gallery’s work to rural livelihoods across Indonesia. Ubud also features many arts and crafts centres, artist’s workshops, art galleries and fine restaurants and we will have plenty of time to enjoy the place at our own leisure, eat, do some shopping and perhaps enjoy the evening with one of the many optional cultural shows offered. (B)

Day 16: Oct 11, 2015: East Bali Textile Tour

We start our day with a guided visit to the extraordinary Setia Darma House of Mask and Puppets in Mas. The collection consists of 5900 masks and puppets from Indonesia, Asia and Africa, which are stored and beautifully displayed in four different traditional Javanese antique houses. We then head to Tenganan, a village in east Bali famous for its geringsing double-ikat textiles made using a technique employed in only three other places in the world. We will meet weavers in their homes, discover the complexities of making double-ikat, and see the best pieces the weavers have to offer. During a guided walk of the village’s backstreets we will learn about the community’s history and unique culture, and see a side of this famous community that few visitors witness. We then proceed for lunch at the nearby Alila Manggis Resort. Afternoon, we visit the charming village of Sidemen is in the heart of the panoramic valley of the Unda River and home to three of Bali’s most important textile traditions. At the Pelangi workshop we will see the production of endek weft ikat. At the homes of weavers in the village we meet women who use backstrap looms to produce the sumptuous songket supplementary weft patterned textiles used across the island as wedding dress for both bride and groom. We will also visit Ida Ayu Ngurah Puniari, author of “Kain Bebali Sacred Cloth: Meaning and Usage in Balinese Hindu Rituals” (Indonesian Heritage Society 2011), to see and learn about the deceptively simple but ritually important and increasingly rare striped bebali textiles she weaves. (B, L)

Day 17: Oct 12, 2015: Ubud

Today we enjoy a free day in Ubud, the artistic and cultural heart of Bali. We can enjoy the facilities at our resort or take an optional tour to discover more of this amazing island. Evening we are treated to a sumptuous farewell dinner. (B, D)

Day 18: Oct 13, 2015: Denpasar/Vancouver
Flight: China Airlines CI772 (Denpasar 3:40 PM -Taipei 8:55 PM)*
Flight: China Airlines CI32 (Taipei 11:15 PM Vancouver 7:25 PM)*

After our fascinating incursion into the world of Indonesian textiles, we are transferred to the airport for our flight back home. Optional extensions to enjoy Bali’s beaches or visits to other islands of Indonesia can be arranged. Arrival in Vancouver will be on the same day. (B)

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner

Departure Dates & Prices

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Notes

Inclusions

Participants

This tour operates on a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 20 participants

Customised Itinerary

If you would like to have a tour on dates other than the above ones or with a customised itinerary, please contact us and we will be happy to work out an exclusive program for you.

Contact Info
You may e-mail us at bestway@bestway.com or call 1-604-264-7378. Residents of U.S.A./Canada may call us toll free at 1-800-663-0844.

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