Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kalimantan Highlights
Completing the landmark Cross-Borneo Trek (
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)
- if you can
Meeting the orangutans of Tanjung Puting National Park (
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)
Travelling up Sungai Mahakam (
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)
- and into the past
Living the (inexpensive) high life in Balikpapan (
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)
Exploring the Derawan Archipelago (
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), both under water and
above
Settling into village life in lovely Loksado (
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)
Cruising Sungai Kahayan aboard the luxurious
Rahai'i Pangun
(
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)
Ascending the tower of the extraordinary Islamic Centre of Samarinda (
Hiking unspoiled Wehea Forest (
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)
- the Earth as it used to be
History & Culture
Separated from Southeast Asia's mainland 10,000 years ago by rising seas, Kalimantan
was originally populated by the Dayaks, who still define its public image. The culture of
this jungle people included headhunting, extensive tattooing, stretched earlobes, blowguns
and longhouses - horizontal apartment buildings big enough to house an entire village.
That culture has been slowly dismantled by the modern world, such that some elements,
such as headhunting (thankfully), no longer exist, while others are in various stages of dis-
appearing. Tribal identity persists, but many Dayaks have either abandoned their tradition-
al folk religion, Kaharingan, or combined it with Christianity (or Islam).
In addition to the Dayaks, Kalimantan contains two other large ethnic groups, Chinese
and Malay. The Chinese are the region's most successful merchants, having traded in
Kalimantan since at least 300BC. They're responsible for the bright-red Confucian
temples found in many port towns, and a profusion of Chinese restaurants, some of Kali-
mantan's best dining. The Malays are predominantly Muslim, a religion that arrived with
the Melaka empire in the 15th century. Their most obvious presence is the grand mosques
in major cities and towns, along with the call to prayer. Several palaces of Muslim sultans,
who came to power after the Melaka fell to Portugal, can still be visited as well.
