Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 312

anything from $100 to $1000. A tight
weave, clean precise motifs and sharp
edges between different colours are all
signs of a good piece. Dealers in the towns
will often give you better prices and more
choice than those in the villages.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By plane The airport is about 10km to the southeast on
the road to Rende. Representatives from the main hotels
are usually on hand to ferry tourists into town - as long as
you agree to look at their hotel first; if they're not there,
take a taxi (Rp50,000), or step outside and flag down an
ojek. Lion Air/Wings Air ( W lionair.co.id) and Merpati
( T 0804 162 1612, W merpati.co.id) have flights to/from
Bali, and Trans Nusa ( T 0387 62427, W transnusa.co.id)
to/from Kupang.
Destinations Bali (1-2 daily; 1hr 35min); Kupang
(4 weekly; 50min).
By bus All buses will stop at the terminal west of town,
but most also drive into and around town to pick up
passengers for the return journey, so you should get
dropped off at the market if not right at your hotel.
Destinations

from the western harbour; an ojek will take you there.
Head to the harbour for information about ASDP ferries.
Destinations (Pelni) Bima (fortnightly; 13hr); Denpasar
(fortnightly; 30hr); Ende (fortnightly; 10hr).
Destinations (other) Aimere (Tues; 10hr); Ende (Sun;
10-12hr); Kupang (Tues & Sun; 24hr).

ACCOMMODATION
All the accommodation below is in the newer part of
town near the market. Hotels can arrange transport to the
airport if required.
Elvin Jl A Yani 73 T 0387 61462. Friendly staff and the
cheapest rooms in Waingapu - large, clean an d en suite -
though there are lots of mosquitoes and no nets. Rp90,000
Merlin Jl Dil Panjaitan 25 T 0387 61300. Rooms are tiled
and clean, and some open onto a big wr ap-around b alcony;
but the road outside is very, very noisy. Rp154,000
Sandalwood Jl Dil Panjaitan 23 T 0387 61887. Homely
place right by the market, pleasantly quiet and good value
for money. The English-speaking staff are full of helpful
information, and there's also a dece nt restaurant. Single
rooms are only Rp66,000. Rp99,000

4

EATING
You're almost spoilt for choice for food, with warungs
lining the main road linking the old and new towns.
Nazareth Jl Lalamentik. Popular Chinese restaurant, with
a good choice of food at reasonable prices (mains from
Rp15,000). Daily except Sun 11am-10pm.

Melolo and Rende (several daily; 2hr);
Waikabubak (several daily; 4hr 30min).
By ferry Passengers arriving at the main western harbour
can get any bemo to drop them at the hotel of their choice.
The Pelni o ce ( T 0387 61665, W pelni.co.id) is down at
the bottom of the hill near the old harbour. Ferries leave

SUMBA'S TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS
One of the main reasons to visit Sumba is to experience the extraordinary agrarian animist
cultures in the villages. These villages, or kampung, comprise huge clan houses set on
fortified hills, centred around megalithic graves and topped by a totem made from a petrified
tree, from which villagers would hang the heads of conquered enemies. The national
government insisted that all totems be removed back in the 1970s, and though some do
remain, many have disappeared.
The most important part of life for the Sumbanese is death, when the mortal soul makes the
journey into the spirit world. Sumbanese funerals can be extremely impressive spectacles,
inspiring several days of slaughter and feasting, the corpse wrapped in hundreds of exquisite
ikat cloths.
Ostensibly, visiting the villages often involves nothing more than renting a motorbike
(available from town from around Rp70,000/day; your hotel is the best place to ask), but the
di culty for Western visitors to Sumba is that traditions and taboos in Sumbanese village life
are still very powerful and sit ill at ease with the demands of modern tourism. A visitor to a
Sumbanese village should first take the time to share sirih pinang ( betel nut ) with both the
kepala desa (village headman) and his hosts. Bringing betel nut is seen as a peace offering
(enemies would rarely turn up brandishing gifts), while its use is a sign of unity; Sumbanese
ritual culture sets great store by returning blood to the earth, and the bright-red gobs of saliva
produced by chewing sirih represent this. (The central purpose of the Pasola festivals is
similarly to return blood to the soil; see box, p.317.) Many villages that are on the regular trail
for tourists have supplanted the tradition of sharing betel with a simple request for money,
but if you come with gifts (betel nuts, cigarettes, or anything else that can be shared) you'll be
far more welcome.