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Palu |
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Palu is a noisy and dirty little city
(albeit not as dirty as Manado or Ujung Pandang!), and also happens to be the capital of
Central Sulawesi. Why Poso is not the capital is beyond me, since
it is not so isolated, and it is located in the centre of the province. Palu is situated
on a bay on the west coast and surrounded by almost impassable mountains. Sometimes when
it rains particularly hard, the main road that connects Palu to the trans-Sulawesi highway
is closed (60 kilometers away!) If the city wasn't here it would be beautiful however. The
city is extremely dry and you can find cactus everywhere. Not much rain. The people are a
big mix, consisting of mainly Kaili (Click here to find out a little
about Kaili culture) and Bugis (from South Sulawesi), although you can find people
from all over Indonesia here. Getting out of Palu is a good idea. You can head into the
hills for a picnic or swim in one of the rivers close by. If you drive a short distance
you are already in the rainforest, so Palu is a good place to start. You go to Masomba
market to get Kijangs, buses or otherwise to destinations like Napu, Kulawi,
and Gimpu (Bada Valley). The company Alugoro has an executive overnight bus to Poso,
although to get a seat near the front it is better to buy a ticket a few days ahead. Some
interesting places not far from Palu are Enu Beach (on the east
side of the bay), Tanjung Karang (on the west side of the bay near
Donggala), Loli Indah recreation area (with swimming pool), and Mantikole hot springs (south of the city on the west side of the
river). You can make day trips to any of these places by hiring a taxi. As far as Palu goes, most travel guidebooks are limited to recommend eating at Milano Ice-cream in the Hasanuddin Supermarket area. Although it is centrally located, this is a definite no-no, as there are a multitude of better and cheaper restaurants cropping up all over Palu. The food at Milano is at times inedible! |
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Traditional Kaili house in Palu | |||
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| copyright 1999 by D. Fournier. Please contact me at [email protected] to copy information found here or to share something about Central Sulawesi. |
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