Sulawesi stop #1: Makassar

Well, I only spent 48 hours in this gigantic city.
I am sur this city used to be quite a marvellous place decades ago, where its center most probably was around the area of the port of traditional boats. This area, aside from being by far the most/only interesting, full of character, traditional area of the whole city is now actually very far from the city center.

Makassar, in short, let's just say that without its amazingly welcoming and smiling youth, it would be am absolute chaotic dumpster. I don't think that Indonesians could actually litter more than they already do, even if they wanted to.

It is very much a cultural shame. They are ruining such a geographical jewel without even being aware of it.

I think that littering habits and environmental disrespect is by far what has shocked and disappointed me the most so far in my trip. I am not quite sure what to do about it just yet, but this will be a key focus of my incoming observations for the rest of my trip, and I will investigate a lot more when I have easier and better access to accurate information in English later on.

This reminds me that I meant to post a little conclusion about my travel through Borneo. I think I can sum it up in six very short points:
1. There is a very concrete cultural distinction between Malaysian and Indonesian Borneo. The people from the latter are way warmer and more welcoming.
2. Borneo, overall, is an unbelievable fauna and flora jewel (still) though without a doubt, must have been a paradise on earth like no one could ever imagine way back before plastic was introduced on the island and people started carelessly littering.
3. There does not seem to be any efficient apparent sewage or garbage collect/disposal system in place to this day.
4. Last, but what actually occupies the biggest part of my memories of this island today, Borneo is certainly an environmental disaster; intensive and continuous logging, dynamite and cyanide fishing, absence of garbage, massive littering as natural habit.
5. Tourism, local just as much as foreign has been having a negative impact on the infrastructural development of cities and villages. It went to fast, forgetting the basics in order to be sustainable.
6. Fantastic cohabitation of Muslims and Christians (and Hindu to some degree in the larger cities on the Malaysian side) on the same land, and even in the smallest of the smallest of towns. So far, absolutely no feeling of any religious tensions or propaganda of one over the other one. An example to follow for many other countries.

I guess my last point about Borneo is that though I absolutely do not agree with its people environmentally disrespectful behavior about the logging and slow destruction of their precious rainforest, I do however understand their behavior and would probably do the exact same thing if i were in their shoes. Yes their forest is superbly unique and yes their trees and a national treasure, but before they started logging their gigantic trees, their situation was pretty much comparable to that of homeless people having millions of dollars in jewelry in a safety deposit box at the bank, and not having neither roof over their head nor food in their belly. Simple solution, sell the as much of jewelry as you can find buyers for it. The question to ask yourself when thinking about the issue is: would you sacrifice your life and that of your family for a few trees? Well...probably not. So the actual solution has to come under the form of some financial compensation if we want these loggers to ever stop. But for now, the government is just way to corrupt, and the world is undergoing a major economical crisis to put the sustainability of a key forest before other major global health issues when it comes to international funding initiatives. At least that is my interpretation of the situation, and I kind of agree with if. I am sure some people will say that preserving the forest is also a long term investment the global population's health. But during times of crisis, we have to focus our energy and resources on the most impactful and possible short terms outcomes. We simply cannot do everything at the same time.

But perhaps I am wrong, and the global organisations, despite the crisis still do have sufficient funds to target multiple causes.

Hmmm...I guess we are in some ways in the situation of the chicken and the egg.

I am not sure if I am making any sense. I will have to go back to this post later.