Makasar

Perched out on the very tip of southern Sulawesi, the sprawling city of Makassar is every inch the burgeoning Indonesian megalopolis. The town continues to sprout suburban leg after suburban leg, stretching out from its sixteenth century colonial core of Dutch fortresses and weathered spice docks into the jungles and wild inland hills all around. First time visitors should ask their Makassar tour guide about trips to the seventeenth century Fort Rotterdam, which stands right on the city’s seafront as a lingering testimony to its former trading might, or perhaps excursions out to spot the cave art of some of the region’s earliest natives. And once the history is done, modern Makassar awaits, booming forth from bubbling Panukkukang in streams of modern shopping malls and sprawling indoor theme parks. What’s more, if you’re looking to do a little of that ubiquitous Indonesian beach hunting, then there are the paradisiacal stretches on nearby Pulau Samalona and remote Pulau Khayangan to explore, not to mention the bustling food courts and earthy local warungs of Laguna closer to town.