A Perfect Day (except for the very end)

This goes back a few days to our time in Jakarta. I'll post it on top now but move it back in the blog to the correct chronological order in a few days. I'm very much behind on these blog posts so time may seem a bit warped for a while.

Junizir in the cactus garden.

We'll go back to Monday, two days after the wedding. Daniel had gone home the day before so Dale and I were the only remaining guests. The family wanted to take us to Bogor, a place we knew nothing about. We went in two cars--Nana, Eko, Dale, Nana's Mama and Papa, Iin, Reza, Kiki, and me. It was about an hour to Kebun Raya, 87 acres of amazing botanical gardens that opened in 1817 with more than 15,000 species of plants/trees. There is much more that we didn't have time to explore, including important plant research and a zoological museum. Dale and I were in heaven and could have stayed for days but it was hot and we knew that not everyone in the group shared our passion for all things biological. We stayed about 3 hours but we filed this gem away as a place to visit our next time Jakarta, maybe even at the end of the trip.  A few highlights: flying foxes high in a tree, a plant (Amorphophallus titanum ?) related (we think) to the giant Rafflesia (smaller, not in bloom, but still fun to find), the cactus garden, a palm forest.

Flying foxes at rest.

Bogor has a climate all its own and is cooler than Jakarta--very nice. We headed up the mountain amid some rain showers. On the way we stopped at a Sundanese restaurant for lunch where we sat in a beautiful wooden stall on the floor around a large table in a building open to the outside. The wonderfully delicious meal wasn't as spicy as Padang food, but was rich with flavor like all the Indonesian food we've had. (Dale and I have been cautious about eating spicy food just because it is so different from what we are used to but so far our stomachs have been happy.) The meal came in many dishes that covered the large table and included whole fish (Bapak always gets the head), vegetables, and brown as well as white rice. We ate happily with fingers. Very cozy meal with lots of laughter and joking.

A note on languages: Eko speaks Sundanese so he was right at home here. Indonesia is a land of countless cultures and just as many languages. While Bahasa Indonesia is the official language, it is the native language of only about 10 percent of the population. Nana's parents speak Padang and Bali has its own language. Most people here know multiple languages. 

Lunch in a Sundanese restaurant.

In the mountains overlooking tea plantations

After the lovely meal, we went on farther up the mountain to an area that grows tea. We couldn't go on the tea walk because of the rain but enjoyed the beautiful sight of tea plantations on the mountain. We drove to a great vantage point for photos and went to an open-air cafe for hot drinks. I got both tea served in a special ceramic pot and a ginger drink that is much stronger than a tea and quite delicious. While the rest of the family went into the mosque to pray, Dale and I watched an amazing sunset.

Sunset in the mountains above Bogor.

The day ended at Kiki's house, where we all spent the night. Kiki was so generous to give up his bed to us so Dale and I had the best night's sleep ever. It's not possible to portray the mellow happiness of the day in a blog but we have very warm memories of our trip to Bogor.

Amorphophallus titanum as we saw it.

Amorphophallus titanum in its glory. It opens for 4 hours
each evening for 4 days every 3 years (?) and emits a
putrid smell to attract its fly pollinators.

The only damper--at the very end of the day Iin came down with a fever and was sick enough that she was taken to the hospital to make sure it wasn't something serious. We missed much of the excitement, tucked away obliviously in Kiki's bed, but I believe there was a lot of worry and they went to pick up Didid who had stayed behind at Reza/Iin's house during the day. Iin was quite sick for a few days but always told us she was doing better. I trust she's completely recovered now.