Visit a shipyard

Building wooden vessels is in Indonesia still big business. The modern pinisi, the KLM, are mainly build on Sulawesi and Kalimantan, by people famous for these skills; the Bugis, Konjo and Mandar. Although the yards were traditionally on the island of Sulawesi, the builders increasingly move to places with the necessary hardwood is more readily available, especially to Kalimantan. The yards are fascinating places with the potential to be travel destinations for tourists in itself.

Here only the most important  shipyard in Indonesia for pinisi:

Tana  Beru, near Bulukumba, South Sulawesi

The traditional centre of boatbuilding for Middle and Eastern Indonesia. (nearby hotel Bira Beach)

Panrang Luhuk, South Sulawesi

The building yard here had been set up by a Frenchman for a western model schooner, and then some other Westerners joined for their vessels. If you have to choose do not go to this one but to Tana Beru, which is more spectacular.

Batu Licin, South East Kalimantan

Here you can find the same people as in Tana Beru, they migrated there in the 1950s. Maybe the best place to go to when you want to see real big ships being built.

Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan

Banjarmasin, south Kalimantan, more or less the same situation as in Batu Licin, here are migrants from South Sulawesi (Tana Beru) who moved here around fifty years ago. This is a place where you can also find truly big ships (nearby hotel Swiss Belhotel Borneo, Banjarmasin). 

Rawajitu Selatan, near Lampung, South Sumatra