Sulawesi Surprise: A village in Tanah Toraja.

Leaving the buffalo with its master behind, we walked along a small path into a village. It looked like an old dilapidated place, quiet too and you'd wonder if there were any living souls there if not for some children and old men who sat quietly under the rice barns. People in Tana Toraja feed on rice. Almost everywhere, you could see paddy fields and the harvested paddy are kept in a rather special rice barn which you would have to climb up to using a ladder. I suppose the people probably eat their rice with pork. We walked along a narrow lane and it was rather smelly.There was a pig sty nearby and inside it, there were black pigs! That was the first time I laid my eyes on black pigs. Most of the pigs I came across were like the one featured in the 1995 family film Babe that tells the story of a pig which want to be a sheepdog. Once, while visiting Taj Mahal in Agra, India, I saw some pigs with dirty white hairs and black spots on the body . The pigs here in Tanah Toraja are relatively cleaner but living in a sty like that, I suppose they would want to be sheepdogs too!   19

Which of these would interest you more..old man, children or pigs? Can you spot the rice barn here?

Traveling Tip: Take interest in the people and the animals!