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Kalimantan in
Indonesia, occupying the southern two-thirds
of the island of Borneo, is an Eden-like
wilderness of almost continental proportions.
Unfortunately, Kalimantan's booming industry
is plodding ever inwards with timber and mining
interests penetrating deep into the jungles,
bulldozing and chainsawing at a worrying rate,
fouling rivers and leaving indigenous cultures
reeling from the social and economic disturbance
of the modern world.
While regional
authorities have now begun to restrict the
exploitation of Kalimantan's natural resources,
the pace of development seems to be
accelerating, as business seek to make the most
of slack legislation before the curtain finally
falls. Tourists will find out that Kalimantan
offers a special and unexplored world of its
own. Originally filled with the Dayak people,
now Kalimantan is home to over ten million
inhabitants with different types of culture.
Kalimantan is now made up of four provinces
which include the Central Kalimantan, East
Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and West Kalimantan.
Kalimantan's fast
vanishing, but spectacular flora and fauna and
traditional Dayak cultures remain the main
tourist attractions in Kalimantan. But you
will need time and energy aplenty. While the
buildings in places of interest in Kalimantan
such as Balikpapan, Pontianak and Banjarmasin
are headed slowly skywards, the deep interior
is becoming ever more distant and difficult to
reach for tourists.
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