Soe
%0388 / Pop 32,000
About 110km east from Kupang, the cool, leafy market town of Soe (800m) makes a decent base from which to explore West Timor’s interior. The traditional villages scattered throughout the interior are some of the most intriguing sights in NTT.
1Sights
oAir Terjun OehalaWATERFALL
One of the prettiest waterfalls we've seen in Indonesia is close to Soe. Look for a road going north off the main highway, drive 6km and turn east at a sign for 'Oehala'. After another 3km you'll find a parking area where a short walk brings you down to a series of white ribbons of tumbling water. The best section sees the water diffusing over huge boulders in a silvery sheen. It's popular with locals at weekends, deserted other times.
4Sleeping
Hotel Bahagia IGUESTHOUSE$
(%0853 3830 3809; Jl Diponegoro; r 120,000-275,000Rp; a)
Right in the centre, there are a range of rooms here – from small, dark cold-water ones, to airy, air-con retreats. It's a compact courtyard building with a little breezy terrace offering valley views.
oTimor Megah HotelHOTEL$$
(%0388-22280; Jl Gajah Mada; r 250,000-400,000Rp; aW)
This new hotel block just west of the centre is Soe's best place to stay. There is a range of large rooms in a L-shaped three-storey block. The cheapest have fans and hot water, the best add air-con and fridges.
Hotel Gajah MadaHOTEL$$
(%0388-21197; Jl Gajah Mada; r standard/VIP 250,000/450,000Rp)
Well situated near the centre of town. The 38 rooms are large, comfortable and clean with queen beds, TV and hot water. There are nice mountain views from the second-storey terrace.
5Eating
oDepot RemajaINDONESIAN$
(Jl Gajah Mada; mains from 20,000Rp; h10am-10pm; v)
This modest yet very clean diner is the place to try succulent sei babi, the iconic local smoked pork. But the fun doesn't stop there; try the warming pork soup – which is more stew than soup – and the jantung pisang (banana flower salad). Everything is superb and there are many veggie options such as papaya salad.
Bundo KanduangINDONESIAN$
(%0813 3947 0896; Jl Gajah Mada; meals 25,000-35,000Rp; h24hr)
If you’ve been waiting to find a fresh spot to try Padang food, this is it. There are devilled eggs with chilli, fried and curried fish, rendang, stewed veggies and potato cakes. Almost everything is spicy and it all rocks. It’s 1.5km west of Soe centre.
7Shopping
Timor Art ShopHANDICRAFTS
(%0853 3351 8929; Jl Bill Nope 17; hby appointment)
If you’re interested in antiques and handicrafts, don't miss this shop that could be a museum. You’ll find Timor’s best selection of masks, sculpture, hand-spun fabrics and carvings at unbelievable prices. There’s no sign, so call owner Alfred Maku first. He speaks excellent English.
8Information
There are Bank BNI (Jl Diponegoro) ATMs around town, including right across from Hotel Bahagia.
Tourist Information CentreTOURIST INFORMATION
(%0368-21149; Jl Diponegoro; h9am-3pm Mon-Fri)
Has good detail on the surrounding area and is a good place to arrange guides.
8Getting There & Away
The Haumeni bus terminal is 4km west of town (3000Rp by bemo). Regular buses go from Soe to Kupang (30,000Rp, three hours), Kefamenanu (20,000Rp, 2½ hours) and Oinlasi (20,000Rp, 2½ hours), while bemos cover Niki Niki (10,000Rp).
Around Soe
None
None is Kefamenanu’s last headhunting village and one of the area’s best attractions. A trail runs for 900m from where the bemo drops you off on the main road. Stroll past corn and bean fields and hop over a meandering stream (often dry) and you’ll reach scattered ume bubu (traditional beehive huts), home to 56 families that have lived here for nine generations. Parents still bury their baby’s placenta in the centre of their hut, and the village is protected by a native rock fort, which abuts a sheer cliff.
At the cliff’s edge you’ll find a 200-year-old banyan tree and a totem pole where shamans once met with warriors before they left on headhunting expeditions (the last was in 1945). The wise ones consulted chicken eggs and their wooden staff before predicting if the warriors would prevail.
Villagers are warm and welcoming, and break out their looms at the village lopo (meeting place) for weaving demonstrations upon request. It is so peaceful here that it’s hard to believe they were taking heads just two generations ago. You can arrange for traditional dances or even stay the night. Be sure to leave an offering of at least 20,000Rp each.
8Getting There & Away
You can reach None, 18km east of Soe, on an ojek (30,000Rp), or hop on a Soe–Niki Niki bemo for 5,000Rp. If driving, you can get close to the village, but consider doing the access walk from the main road to soak up the atmosphere.
TRADITIONAL HOUSES
Central West Timor is dotted with ubiquitous ume bubu (beehive-shaped hut) villages that are home to local Dawan people. With no windows and only a 1m-high doorway, ume bubu are cramped and smoky. Government authorities have deemed them a health hazard and are in the process of replacing them with cold concrete boxes, which the Dawan have deemed a health hazard. They've built new ume bubu – or rehabbed their old ones – behind the approved houses, and live there.
Oinlasi
We'll let others speculate about why local governments keep the road to the important market town of Oinlasi in such miserable condition. But the painful drive is worth it, especially on Tuesdays, when a traditional market spreads for over 400m along a ridge overlooking two valleys. Villagers from the surrounding hills, many of whom wear traditional ikat, descend to barter, buy and sell weavings, carvings, masks and elaborately carved betel-nut containers, along with fruit, livestock, local sweets and some of the worst popular music ever recorded. The market starts early in the morning and continues until 2pm, but is at its best before 10am.
If you want to immerse yourself in Timor life or troll the surrounding villages for handicrafts, stay the night 1.5km from Oinlasi at Sungar Budaya (Desa Anin; r incl 3 meals 150,000Rp ), a simple homestay in Desa Anin. It has just two clean rooms with concrete floors.
8Getting There & Away
Regular buses from Soe (20,000Rp, two hours) make the 51km trip along the twisted, rutted mountain road to Oinlasi. Turn south off the main highway at Cabang, which is 5km east of the turn for None.
Boti
Hidden out of sight on an isolated mountain ridge and accessible only by a degrading mountain road that's often impassable without a 4WD, is the traditional, almost orthodox, sun-dappled village of Boti. Here the charismatic kepala suku (chief), often referred to as the last king in West Timor, has vowed to maintain the strict laws of adat. He's also the only king we've ever heard of who works the fields side by side with his people.
The Boti people maintain their own language, live off their own land (they grow bananas, corn, papaya, rice, pumpkin, coconuts and a cash crop of peanuts) their own way (they live by a nine-day week and always rest on that 9th day), and steadfastly refuse government assistance of any kind. Their autonomy was given an early assist when the Dutch colonial powers failed to find Boti. So did the headhunters before them, which allowed the Boti to live peacefully in an isolated corner of Timor, unmolested, for centuries.
Villagers wear shirts, ikat sarongs and shawls made only from locally grown and hand-spun cotton thread coloured with natural dyes. Men are encouraged to marry outside the village and bring their new wife back into the fold. After marriage the men must let their hair grow long. Similar to Rastafarians, they view their hair as their connection to nature. Their head is like the mountain, they say, and their hair, like the trees. Cutting their hair-trees is considered a bad omen and carries a fine, payable to the…well, to the king.
Women, on the other hand, are forever shunned if they marry outside the village, and children are allowed to attend only primary school.
High school is forbidden, as it is considered by elders to be the key to unhappiness, which may sound familiar. Boti’s over 300 villagers (76 families) still follow ancient animist rituals, though another 700 neighbouring families who live in Boti’s geographical sphere of influence have adopted Protestantism and attend public schools.
The village has been hosting guests since 1981, but sees fewer than 400 visitors per year. Make sure you're one of them. This place is magical, the people pretence-free and with great sincerity. On arrival you will be led to the king’s house, where, in keeping with tradition, you will offer betel nut to the chief as a gift. You'll then enjoy coffee, tea and snacks (banana chips, a delectable version of doughnuts, steamed cassava etc) prepared and served by the king's sister.
It’s possible to stay in the leafy, cool, charming village, in your own simple lontar guesthouse, and sleep on beds swathed with local ikat. All meals are provided for 100,000Rp per person, and for another 100,000Rp the wives and mothers will play their early days gamelan (traditional orchestra) and sing a haunting tune. The king will strum his indigenous ukelele and young women will twirl in the village courtyard before the young men demonstrate their war dance. Day trippers are expected to contribute a donation, as well (50,000Rp should work).
The Boti king requests that you do not visit independently; bring a guide from Kupang or Soe conversant with local adat.
8Getting There & Away
You have two ways to reach Boti: you can go via a tortuous road that passes through Oinlasi from Cabang, or you can take a tortuous road directly from Cabang. The best solution is to simply do a loop, so you can fully partake of the rugged countryside and avoid repetition. (Note that you can't drive the 12km between Oinlasi and Boti in the rainy season because a bridgeless river crossing floods.)
You can go directly to Boti from the bus stop in Cabang on an ojek for 80,000Rp.
DON'T MISS
IKAT MARKETS
Women in small villages across West Timor produce some of the most beautiful traditional ikat cloth in all of Indonesia. They sell their wares at weekly markets near their homes at prices one-10th of what you'll pay at a boutique on Bali. Top markets include the following:
Oinlasi – Tuesday
Niki Niki – Wednesday
Ayotupas – Thursday
Kefamenanu
%0388 / Pop 35,000
A former Portuguese stronghold, Kefamenanu is mostly a quiet hill town, although you'll see some traces of the manganese mining boom in full effect in the form of somewhat more ribald night-time commerce than you might expect.
Still, it remains devoutly Catholic and has a couple of impressive colonial churches. Most importantly it's the jumping-off point for Temkessi, one of West Timor’s ‘can’t miss’ villages. Known locally as Kefa, the town lies at the heart of an important weaving region. Prepare to haggle with the ikat cartel.
4Sleeping & Eating
Hotel AriestaHOTEL$
(%0388-31007; Jl Basuki Rahman 29; r economy/superior/ste100,000/250,000/400,000Rp; aW)
Set on a leafy backstreet, this long-time budget joint sprawls across 44 rooms in a modern annex and a weathered original block. Economy rooms are scruffy. The all-suite annex boasts plenty of light, hot water, air-con and a private porch, but the cheaper superior rooms hit the sweet spot with air-con, hot water and nice porches.
Victory HotelHOTEL$$
(%0388-31349; Jl Sudirman 10; r 250,000-500,000Rp; aW)
Newly built, this two-storey block has rooms ranging from windowless cells to spacious, light-filled retreats. The small breakfast buffet is above average. The check-in area doubles as a jewellery shop.
Hotel LiveroHOTEL$$
(%0388-233 2222; Jl El Tari; r 300,000-500,000Rp; aW)
The airy lobby has grace, and the 38 rooms are decent with wooden bed-frames and flat-screen TVs. A few have private terraces in the tree tops, but some have no windows at all, or have been tainted by nicotine. There's a nightclub popular with miners and a nice open-air cafe.
oDefi NatalinaINDONESIAN$
(Jl Semangka 2; snacks under 10,000Rp; h9am-6pm)
Stalls selling fried snacks in Indonesia are myriad but this little corner operation is superb. It's near the bus terminal and on the main road to Timor-Leste. The hard-working lady prepares tempe goreng (succulent tofu fritters) and pisang goreng (banana fritters) that are just that much better. Buy by the bagfull.
Rumah Makan NusantaraINDONESIAN$
(%0852 3638 8814; Jl El Tari 99; mains 10,000-25,000Rp; h7am-9pm)
You'll enjoy a cheery 'Merry Christmas' year-round thanks to the decor at this high-ceilinged, large and popular restaurant. The full range of Indo foods are on offer, both cooked to order and served Padang-style. The house-made sambal is smooth and spicy.
8Information
Kefa stretches in all directions from the old market, pasar lama, which is around 2.5km north of the bus terminal.
Use the Visa-compatible ATM at the gleaming new Danamon Bank (Jl Kartini).
The tourist office, Dinas Pariwisata (%0388-21520; Jl Sudirman), is opposite the field north of the highway and can help locate a guide.
8Getting There & Away
The bus terminal is in Kefamenanu's centre, 50m from the Jl El Tari market, which blooms most days. From here there are regular buses to Kupang (50,000Rp, 5½ hours), Soe (20,000Rp, 2½ hours) and Atambua (20,000Rp, two hours), on the Timor-Leste border, from 6am until about 4pm.
Hotel Ariesta rents motorbikes for 70,000Rp per day. Rental cars in Kefa cost 600,000Rp per day with driver.
Timor Tour & TravelBUS
(%0388-31320)
You can join express minibuses running between Kupang (95,000Rp, five hours) and Dili in Timor-Leste (180,000Rp, 7½ hours). Tickets are sold at an office 4km east of the centre on the main highway; pickups are made at hotels.
Around Kefamenanu
Oelolok
Oelolok, a weaving village 26km from Kefa by bus and a further 3km by bemo, is home to Istana Rajah Taolin, a massive beehive hut with a huge outdoor patio and carved beams dangling with corn from decades of harvests. Royals have lived here for five generations, and its current residents are more than happy to share the myths and legends of their culture and kingdom. Ask about the power of the ‘sword with seven lines’.
Temkessi & Around
Accessible through a keyhole between jutting limestone cliffs, 50km northeast of Kefa, Temkessi is one of West Timor’s most isolated and best-preserved villages.
The drive across wind-swept ridges, with distant views out to sea, sets the otherworldly mood. Just when you think you've left civilisation far behind, a giggle betrays some little kids spying on you.
From a parking area, you walk 300m up a path paved with enormous cobblestones under a canopy of trees until you find a grouping of stone buildings that looks like something out of Star Wars.
The raja’s house overlooks the village. Clamber up the stone steps that lace the village to meet the day's designated dignitary, where you’ll offer gifts of betel nut, make a donation (50,000Rp per person) and pay your respects. After that you can shoot pictures of the low-slung beehive huts built into the bedrock and connected by red clay paths that ramble to the edge of a precipice (just don't take a picture of one conical hut that is the designated home of evil spirits, lest your camera explode – so the locals solemnly intone). If you drop something, don’t pick it up. Let local villagers do it, unless you want bad vibes in your life.
You won't be able to miss the soaring and utterly alien-looking limestone rocks. At least once every seven years, young warriors climb its face, sans rope, with a red goat strapped to their back. They slaughter the animal on top and can’t come down until they roast and eat it in full. This Natamamausa ritual is performed to give thanks for a good harvest or to stop or start the rain.
Very little Bahasa Indonesia is spoken here, so a guide is essential. A few villagers will guide your guide and the overall mood is warm and welcomin
g. Once settled into this surreal setting, with the wind rustling the trees in what feels like the top of the world, you may find it hard to leave.
Back along the road from the main highway, 19km from Kefa, Maubesi is home to the Kefa regency’s best textile market. Market day is Thursday, when goods are spread beneath riverside shade trees. Sometimes cockfights break out. Maubesi Art Shop (%0852 8508 5867; hhours vary) has a terrific selection of local ikat, antique masks and statues, plus carved beams, reliefs and doors from old Timorese homes. Prices are quite low. Look for the plain yellow-and-black ‘Textile’ sign.
8Getting There & Away
Regular buses run from Kefa to Manufui, about 8km from Temkessi. On market day in Manufui (Saturday), trucks or buses should run through to Temkessi. Otherwise, charter an ojek, or better, secure your own wheels.
THE STORY OF SEVEN
Ethnic Timorese are known as the ‘people of the sunrise’ and trace their ancestry back to seven sisters who came down to earth from the sun for a bath. A lustful man watched as they bathed, and hid the most beautiful sister’s robes. Naked and ashamed, she was left behind, and eventually became mother of the Timorese people.
The number seven permeates Timor. Their sacred swords have seven lines, special rituals are carried out every seven years, and seven also symbolises completion of the human life cycle; from birth, through childhood and adulthood, to marriage and the cultivation of wisdom, and finally death and the merging of the soul back into the universe.
Lonely Planet Indonesia Page 75