Makassar

Makassar, formerly called Ujung Pandang, is the capital of South Sulawesi province. It has the largest population of any city on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, and is the fifth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and Medan. The city is on the southwest coast of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar strait. It is regarded as the gateway to the eastern part of Indonesia.

Understand
Makassar was the traditional capital of the Bugis kingdom (Sultanate of Gowa). The Bugis were known throughout the region as proud, fierce warriors and pirates and highly skilled mariners, and before the Dutch defeated them, they had a formidable empire and sphere of influence in what the Europeans called the "Spice Islands". The Bugis also traded throughout the region, and you can find Bugis people today in many other parts of Indonesia and beyond.

Makassarese cuisine, based as you might expect on seafood, is highly prized throughout the region, so make sure to have some while you are here.

By plane
is the main airport serving Makassar. Reaching Makassar city center from Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport by taxi is the most feasible option and should cost around Rp100,000 to the city (as of 2022). You can use the taxi app Grab. It is well-connected to other major cities in Indonesia, and also served a handful of international flights from Malaysia and Singapore.

The Airport Bus (operated by Perum Damri) is operating on the lower ground floor, linking the airport to the city. Ticket costs Rp27,000 (as of March 2019). If there is no one on the counter, you can board the bus and pay after the bus departs. The bus should be departing at a 30-min internal. The journey takes about one hour.



By boat
The main port of Makassar is the Soekarno-Hatta Harbor. Makassar is a major port for Pelni ships for Central and Eastern Indonesia. It takes about 16 hours to Balikpapan, 24 to Surabaya, and 30 to Tanjung Priok.

By bus
Makassar has several bus terminals. One of the most useful bus terminals is Terminal Daya, 200 m from the main road from Makassar to Pare-Pare (and Rantepao). The Daya bus terminal is the one that serves Tana Toraja.





By becak
Becak is a trishaw of unique design but minimalist compared to the ones in Java, can accommodate 2 small persons/children, but suitable only for one adult. Fare depends on the distance, usually Rp8,000-15,000 around town.

By taxi
There's a lot of taxi companies, all have the same fare and all use meters. You can also use the taxi app Grab.

By petepete (Angkot)
Petepete is the equivalent to other cities' angkot (angkutan kota/city transportation). A trip in town usually costs Rp5000.

By Trans Mamminasata
Trans Mamminasata (Makassar, Sungguminasa and Takalar) operates with Corridor-2 Trans Studio-Mal Panakukkang. Not as TransJakarta which serve only inside Jakarta, Trans Mamminasata serve also to outside Makassar.

By Transportation Sharing Application
On-demand (online) ojek services such as Go-Jek and Grab are ubiquitous can be booked through their respective smartphone apps, and offer generally cheaper fares which are stated in advance. Payments can be made by cash or using stored value (akin to prepaid mobile phone service). Go-Jek as a pioneer has more widespread availability; those who travel here alongside other Southeast Asian countries may find it useful to keep using Grab. The other more expensive on-demand ojek service is Lady Jek with female drivers. Unlike conventional ojeks, which typically only operate dawn to dusk, they are available 24 hours and relatively safe for both passengers and drivers because they are monitored by GPS. While it seems cheap, those who travel in groups of at least three may be better off taking a taxi for convenience and unnoticeable difference in fares.

Talk
Makassar is a multicultural city, but dominated by ethnic Makassar and Bugis. Therefore, they have a lingua franca language that is, Makassar Malay Language (Logat Makassar) or can be called Indonesian Language dialect of Makassar. Macassar Malay is not a creole, but a mixed Malay–Macassarese language, with Malay lexicon, Macassarese inflections, and mixed Malay/Macassarese syntax.

Do

 * Makassar Hash: Local Hash House Harriers, for those who love jogging, running or hiking with a great view, in the jungle, river, or just adventure, this is your group. Makassar Hash gather every week at Kios Semarang, a restaurant in front of Losari Beach, and the group will take you to various places every Saturday.
 * Makassar Hash: Local Hash House Harriers, for those who love jogging, running or hiking with a great view, in the jungle, river, or just adventure, this is your group. Makassar Hash gather every week at Kios Semarang, a restaurant in front of Losari Beach, and the group will take you to various places every Saturday.

Buy
Makassar has the type of shopping malls you would find in any other major Indonesian city, nothing very inspiring. The largest include:

Eat


Pisang epe can be found at Losari Beach. It is a pressed grilled banana, served with melted brown sugar. Available with chocolate and/or cheese topping, and durian (seasonal) flavor. Buroncong, an early morning breakfast cake, can be found at Losari Beach. Baked on firewood. It's made of grated coconut, flour, etc. Sop Saudara, a traditional South Sulawesi soup, can be found almost anywhere. It contains meat, liver, lung, etc. However, you may choose the ingredients you want in your soup. Pisang Ijo is a banana wrapped in thick green rice flour layer, served with condensed coconut milk and syrup. The most famous one is made by Bravo Restaurant on Jl. Andalas, but it can also be found at Nyuk Nyan restaurant on Jl. Irian and Jl. Bali, sometimes hotels serve Pisang Ijo as well. Coto Makassar is a traditional makassar soup. Quite similar to Sop Saudara, but has different taste. Usually served with rice cake. It's very easy to be found around Makassar. Pangsit Mie (Mie Pangsit Palu) is noodle served with BBQ pork, chicken and wontons. Easy to be found around the Chinatown (Jl. Sulawesi, Jl Lombok, Jl. Sangir and surrounding area). They usually available only until lunch time. Mie Kanton is a Cantonese-style fried noodle. It's deep fried or usually grilled noodle, served with condensed soup containing vegetables, fried meatball, and pork meat. Can be found around Chinatown (as mentioned above). Pallubasa is a Makassar style meat soup. The soup is spicy and contains grated coconut. Nasi Kuning is yellow rice served with various dishes. One of the most favorite breakfast in Makassar. Some nasi kuning seller sell at night. Songkolo is stirred glutinous rice, served with fried grated coconut, salted fish and sambal (traditional chili sauce). It's quite difficult to find songkolo around Makassar nowadays. It's usually available at the traditional market or traditional food seller. Try Bacan Market (Pasar Bacan) in the morning if you want to have songkolo.



Go next
On land:
 * Malino - the nearest popular highland in South Sulawesi. 2-hour drive.
 * Tana Toraja, the famed Land of the Heavenly Kings is an 8- to 10-hour drive or 1-hour flight to the north.
 * Tanjung Bira - a popular beach community on the south-eastern tip

By boat:
 * Balikpapan
 * Surabaya
 * Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta