Our second day with a driver started late as he was sick and a new one had to be called in. This proved lucky for us because ‘Nana” knew more English than our first driver.
We were off to a safari and the botanical gardens in Bogor, west of Bandung. Somewhere in my research I had read about Puncak Pass, a road that wound its way through hills and tea plantations, promising spectacular views, so of course I wanted to take it. On the weekends, it would be impossible due to traffic congestion as many flock to the cooler hills for a break from the city.
To be honest, the road proved disappointing. We went through several small villages but many views were blocked by buildings, vendors, and food stalls. We stopped at a tourist spot for a photo, but that proved a let-down because of the garbage, smell of cigarette smoke, and vendors trying to push their wares. I regretted my decision immensely, especially when we took the highway home and it proved to be much faster.
Our plan was to head to Bogor first to see the Botanical Gardens and then hit the safari zoo – however, our driver informed us that the zoo closed early so we should hit it first. On the road up to the entrance, we passed vendor after vendor selling carrots and bananas, and Nana asked if we wanted to buy some to feed the animals. Of course we did, so we pulled over and our driver haggled with a young boy over the price. Typically drivers say nothing – I think there is a code of some sort – so we were thrilled that he helped us out.
Digression – one thing we have learned here in Indonesia is that few do anything for free and everything costs money. Every single store, mall, coffee shop, bank, grocery store, etc. charges for parking; if someone stops traffic to help you cross the road, it will cost you; if someone lifts one of your bags, it will cost you; if someone waves to you and gives you directions, it will cost you – after awhile, you can’t help but become suspicious of anyone offering help. Remember my story of the retired soldier who gave us directions to Gedung Sate? The entire time he spoke to us, I kept waiting for him to ask for money – but he never did. This was a first for us. So the fact that our driver actually said something to that boy selling carrots was remarkable.
We bought our carrots and continued on our way. You might be surprised that we were going to a safari but Tim had encouraged us to visit, saying it was well worth the drive; and it was. The car follows a well laid out path winding its way through many animals clearly used to being fed by drivers. Our first turn around the bend brought us face to face with zebras.
It was astonishing how many animals begged for food. Here is an elephant in the water with its trunk stretched as far as it could go – hoping for a carrot or banana.
The animals were in great health, at least from what we could tell. None of them looked emaciated and seemed to have adequate areas – although not as large as the Toronto Zoo – but not tiny either. In this picture, Nana is holding out a carrot from his window and the hippo opened its mouth wide waiting for it to be dropped in.
Imagine feeding a carrot to this beast:
The park itself was really neat – it reminded us a little of Jurassic Park. Every once in awhile we had to drive through ‘flooded’ areas of water or large doors and high gates. One set of doors brought us to the lion exhibit where this lion planted itself beside our car.
We saw otter, bears, bison, panthers, cheetahs, rhinos, giraffe, etc. Some animals were in areas enclosed by moats, deep pits, or electric fence, while others were free to roam the park. One corner we turned revealed an emu hanging out a hippo:
Next stop was Bogor and the gardens. Bogor is located south of Jakarta and is home of one of the 6 Presidential palaces in Indonesia. On route, we passed the Presidential palace and the grounds where hundreds of deer roam the 28 acres.
Running beside the palace are Kebun Raya, the Botanical Gardens, but when we arrived, a guard was locking up the gates. Our driver pleaded with him saying he had driven all the way from Bandung and we had come all the way from Canada to see the gardens. Finally, he agreed to let us in but for a price. He locked up the gates and climbed into the car taking us through a separate entrance where we paid him (about 6 dollars) instead of an admission fee. We only had an hour so instead of walking around the 80 acre park; we drove - past stands of bamboo, water gardens, various trees, large lawns, etc., making quick stops as we went.
The above photo is a tree over 100 years old – you can just make out Ian to the left. We missed many things at the garden because they were closed but still, it was nice driving through such a lovely area.
The next few days were our last at Tim’s house so we played it low key. Tim took us to a really neat restaurant just on the edge of the city for lunch. The restaurant consisted of private huts spread out over a large area with streams and man-made waterfalls; it was a spectacular setting to eat a meal in.
That night we took Banyu to his first movie – Kung Fu Panda II. The cinema was small with large plush seats for about 2.50 each. Tim sat on the aisle in case Banyu fussed but once the movie started, he was riveted, eyes wide. Tim swore he never blinked once. It was amazing to see his fascination with that film. The next day we went to a going-away party for one of Tim’s colleagues – and that night, ate at restaurant on a hilltop with an incredible view of the city. It was a super week with Tim and both Ian and I had to admit, we were going to miss him.
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