Garden Center that only sells orchids

On a mountain near Bandung

Near Bandung is a mountain that has the Da' Ranch. You guessed it - covered wagons, country western music, tepees, digging for gold.....the whole faux Americana - it was very interesting

Eating in Bandung

Just two of the many eating/cooking tools found at the market

Outdoor market in Bandung

While going to eat noodle we went through the outdoor market. Bandung is in the mountains so it was cool and wonderful to walk around.

Selling wares at a market in Bandung

If it's Saturday, it must mean a trip to Jakarta

As the days are quickly winding down, I'm trying to get as much in as possible. Regina and I headed up to Jakarta early Saturday morning (5:15 train) and went to the art and craft show at the convention center. Here is an example of beautiful batik and here are two practitioners of the very delicate and intense craft.

Musical Interlude

During the craft exhibition there was a gamelan performance. The sign said you could come up and join for free. I thought better of it!

The craft show in Jakarta

The colors, the patience, the beauty! There were many booths selling beautiful handcrafts from all over Indonesia.

Craft Show Participants

Artisans taking part in "Kridaya", an annual exhibition showcasing fine Indonesian handicrafts.

Kampung Naga

No television for this village- only a radio and generator. However with its thatched-roof houses nestled next to a river and surrounded by beautiful mountains it is breathtaking.

Kampung Naga

Kampung Naga translates roughly as village of the dragon. This is a traditional village of Sudanese architecture and village life. It is home to about 110 families who preserve the old ways of life.

Candi Cangkuang

One of the few stone Hindu temples found in West Java. Dating from the 8th century some of its stones were found to have been carved into tombstones for the Islamic Cemetery. Most of this temple is restored and not original. It is no longer a place of worship since almost all of West Java is highly Muslim.

beautiful scenery

Our trip to the Hindu temple, Candi

Cangkuang.

boat/raft to Candi Cangkuang

I don't think these pictures give you a really good idea of how long this "raft/boat" was to cross the very shallow lake. The young boy was pushing with the pole all the way across. Although somewhat of a tourist trap it still was a lovely boat ride and day.

View from my bungalow Garut

Garut is an old Dutch hill station, surrounded by volcanoes, mountains and crystal blue lakes. The Dutch called this area the Swiss van Java because of its beautiful landscape, cool fresh air and hot springs.

Kampung Sumber Alam, Garut

Alam, is a traditional resort using the “village” concept. It is artistically designed speciality of “Sundanese architecture” with building on the top of “balong” covered with injuk (thatched–roof) and “teras ngapung”. Each room comes with a hot spring tub

Looks like chicken, taste like chicken....

I finally tried frog legs! Although Muslims will not eat frog, many Indonesians and other Asian countries do love their frog legs. We had this for dinner the other night, and while I tasted it, I couldn't help but think of poor Kermit!
There is a restaurant in town that serves nothing but frog.......

Meidy's Son

Cay is enjoying his first day at nursery school.

Jason's New Do

Exhibition at NAS

The focus of the artists from 22 countries refer to Earth's fragile state.

North Art Space Ancol, Jakarta

This art complex is situated in the midst of Ancol Dreamland which is Jakarta's massive resort. Although the main attractions to this resort are the amusement rides and Sea World. This part of the park was built to house artist making and selling their wares. This art space opened in 2009 and is currently exploring art from 35 artists around the world, entitled "Reconsidering Earth"

Musicians and Dancers

A beautiful day to spend outdoors in Jakarta. We enjoyed music, dances and a comedy routine (alright, I didn't get any of the jokes)

Betawi Dancers

In Jakarta, the Orang Betawi - the natives of the city - are considered to be the hosts of these cultures, having emerged from the melting pot of races, ethnic groups and cultures of Indonesia in the 19th century. Today they constitute one of the city's main ethnic groups along side the Javanese (from Central and Eastern Java), Sundanese (from West Java) and Chinese.

Betawi culture is a treasure trove of color, tradition, song, dance, clothing, cuisine, language and dialect. The culture thrives today due to government policy to enhance the cultural identity of the original inhabitants of the city, and prevent their traditions being buried beneath a tide of modernization.
We were able to watch performances by various dance troupes at the Art Center

One of Jakarta's main roads

I didn't know whether to be nervous or laugh. Here were two large military tanks stuck in the horrific Jakarta traffic. They were beeping the horn - just like all the other drivers!

Brunch at Le Granduer Hotel

We went to Jakarta to buy items for the school, but of course we needed to nourish ourselves before we went into the mall. The main dining room was packed so they seated us in the lounge. We ate to our hearts content - both Eastern and Western food and then we entered the labyrinth of the Chinese mall.

Es Soda Gembir

Literally means Happy Soda in Bahasa Indonesia, this drink is very popular on the Island of Java. Most would agree that the drink originated from Surabaya – the island's second largest city.

Basically, the drink is really sweet. Gives you a high like when you have had too much sugar and keeps you going the whole day. It's made from sweetened condensed milk, thick sweet strawberry syrup (or strawberry soda) and club soda. I could only watch as they poured soda in a glass filled with the condensed milk. Too sweet for me!