We arrived in Makassar at 5.45pm. Fetched by Andi and Ole at the airport. They had waited for us since 3pm despite us telling them we would only arrive by 4.44pm Makassar time. Makassar is one hour ahead of Malaysia. Andi and Ole are the friends we met during our hike in Semeru as we registered ourselves for the expedition organized by DAL Adventure.

We had to go through the congested evening traffic of Makassar as we wanted to go to Losari Beach for a snack since we had been informed that Andi’s aunt had prepared us a dinner. They were very friendly and in fact, threw a lavish welcoming celebration for us.

Pisang Epe

The streets around Losari Beach are lined with stalls selling Pisang Epe. It’s a grilled banana served together with brown sugar gravy with additional flavours. The most famous is Pisang Epe Coklat Keju.

The banana is half-cooked before the brown sugar gravy is poured on the banana with shreded cheese. When it reached the table, our snack was served with abundance of cheese. I ordered Pisang Epe Durian, it had a thick taste but I liked Pisang Epe Coklat Keju better.

Stolen Bags

Out of sudden, a man on a motorcycle alerted us that some men took our bags from the car. Andi was the first to check the car and then Ole stood up to check the situation. A minute later, Andi came back and confirmed our bags were stolen, not even a single bag left. Then, it was Bun’s turn to check the bag while I sat manning the table. Ole came to get me and foot the bill.

When I arrived at the place we parked the car, it was true that OUR BAGS WERE STOLEN.

I had mixed feeling since I had never lost a bag since I started traveling. We had with us our camera, money and passports. Lucky us.

It was only later that I realized Ketua Pereman is actually Ketua Gangster. Dalam bahasa kampung nya, Abang Long Kawasan.

Then, the car entered into a compound with many youngsters roaming around. Tempat gangster ni. Sah. Bun and I reluctantly came out of the car. But we did anyhow. From inside the car, Bun excitedly told me and Andi that he saw our bags. Yes, our bags were there. I thought we had to beg for the bags. Dah macam filem.

We were then ushered to the sofa. Then, came the cake and a shocking expression from Bun. I was caught by surprise too. I did ask for a birthday surprise for Bun who would be celebrating his birthday on 1st July. But I didn’t expect a birthday prank. Honestly, his expression was priceless.

We Were Pranked in Makassar. Happy Birthday Bun.

Dinner at Tante Fannie’s House

After we had slices of cake, we were rushed to Tante Fannie’s house who had prepared us dinner. Mee Titik is Makassar’s special noodle. Crunchy. Served with thick gravy like our kuah ladna. Nasi goreng Makassar is red in colour because of the red sauce used to fry the rice.