I had a short trip to Indonesia (again) in November. Was planning to go alone, visiting my cousin who was stationed to work in Senayan for 2 weeks but ended up making a “fun family trip” with my Mum & uncle along.
Managed to get Pak Chechep from Bandung to drive us around. He’s a friend of my uncle’s, and a driver. A nice man who recommends good places to eat, shop & sightseeing. If you’re visiting Indonesia & wants to hire a driver, drop him a line on his Facebook account, here.
And so he brought us to Bogor, as Mum wanted to visit her friend who lives there. They served awesome local food, in which I ate all & did not manage to snap a shot of ’em and of course, forgot the name. Afterwards, we went to Kebun Raya. It was awesome for somebody who loves trees like me. There’s all sorts of trees, mostly old.. and HUGE! It’s like giving a shopaholic a gold card & shop at KLCC.
I went crazy.
So that’s a shot of me, feeling happy surrounded by trees. If I could hug all of ’em in one giant hug, I would. And below is just a sample shot of a tree among thousands others.
Here’s the link to Kebun Raya Bogor’s website. Entrance fee is at Rp 25.000 per person & Rp 30.000 per car (around USD 5 for a total of both).
It’s a nice break from the busy & hectic Jakarta, to be close to nature in Bogor.
After Portugal conquered Malacca in 1511, the Portuguese wanted to build a lighthouse to guide its ships. Tanjung Tuan was chosen and the cape was named Cape Rachado by them. Subsequently, a lighthouse was built between 1528 and 1529. As Malacca switched hands to the Dutch and later to the British in 1641 and 1824 respectively, so too did the possession of the structure.
(Source : Wikipedia)
There’s a forest reserve that surrounds the area. It was a refreshing walk for us. Calm & quiet. Not too quiet tho, you can hear the birds chirping.
It was quite a walk through the forest & up the hill. The view from up above was nice. I wouldn’t say magnificent, tho. But you’ll be staring out at the open sea, and down below you’ll see the white waves hitting the shores.
After all the sweats, the best way to end your day is to have some “air batu campur” or ABC, with a bowl of “rojak” & “pisang goreng” by the roadside, with a bunch of crazy cousins. The Malaysian culture.
Had an opportunity to go to Bukit Tinggi, Indonesia in March of 2013, with a very dear friend of mine. Landed as early as 8am @ Minangkabau International Airport, greeted by another dear friend of mine, Ade.
The drive from Padang to Bukittinggi took around 2 hours. Along the way, lush green trees are seen. There’s 2 mountains here – Mount Silanggang (non-active) & Mount Marapi (still active).
It was a relaxing trip, just the 3 of us friends, chilling out eating, drinking & sightseeing. Food was good, the sights are awesome.
Thanks to Ade, we had the chance to drop by a local wedding. Met a few locals, experiencing the Minangkabau culture.
