Travel Photographer - Dr. Jeff Harper Photo Blog

I recently spent eight days in Indonesia, three days in and around the capitol Jakarta, and five days in and around Yogyakarta, in Central Java. This young Indonesian tourist was in Jakarta. Modern Jakarta. I was as much a curosity as was this young Indonesian girl.

It was my first time in Jakarta, so a quick look through a borrowed Lonely Planet Guide to Indonesia led us to the old colonial Dutch quarter. There is not much left of the Dutch influence in Jakarta.

One can rent a bicycle and ride around the old Dutch settlement. Interestingly, you also rented a matching sun hat.

There was a charming Old World feel here.

We went to a small cafe on the square and another waiter insisted I see the upstairs renovations. Nice light, no?

Our waitress was as efficient as she was beautiful.

I was very interested in the carts, as usual. These carts are the subject of another entry elsewhere.

I am a big fan of photogenic dilapidation; Jakarta abounds in this particular subject matter.

Our driver dropped us off at a very, very local electronics mart - in old Chinatown. We went looking for coffee and asked for directions everywhere until we found what we were looking for. These people yelled in unison, "No Coffee Here!"

We were finally directed to a long, hot workmen's "luncheria" where, I am sure, there had never been a tourist before. We were the sudden entertainment . . . and the object of much curiosity and rib jabbing among the Indonesian customers.

Jakarta is a huge sprawling city with monumental traffic snarls . . . "What, me worry?"

Every square inch of Jakarta is filled with somebody doing commerce . . . . some more happily than others.

It was my first trip to Jakarta, so I went to some of the "tourist spots" . . . and ran into other tourists there . . . duh! My visiting friends from Oregon, Jeff and Sharon are in the background.

Update on Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 11:19AM by

Dr. Jeff Harper

Day Trip: The Bogor Botanical Gardens

The Bogor Botanical Garden was an hour (60km) or so outside of Jakarta, . . . in the direction AWAY from the awful traffic. What was most interesting about this three-legged horse was that it had no head either.

The area outside the Botanical gardens was bustling. The New Year was approaching and the sales of colorful noisemakers were brisk.

One could buy plant bulbs nearby. Avocados too.

The Bogor Botanical Garden was well kept and nicely laid out.

It was a school holiday in Jakarta, so many families came out for a day trip.

Beautiful flowers everywhere.

This yellow orchid, appropriately called Giant Orchid, was over one foot from edge to edge. Huge!

Wonderfully subtle colors on this Bird of Paradise flower.

This giant banana bloom is another one of my candidates for extraterrestrial origin, along with the Durian.

Not all bananas are the of the long yellow Chiquita variety. Bananas come in hundreds of varieties. like these miniature red bananas.

Like everywhere on earth, Grandma was loaded into the car for a reluctant stroll in a Botanical Garden.

The Bogor Botanical Garden had plants from throughout Indonesia. I was most impressed with the young Giant Lilipads (Nymphaeaceae, Victoria).

The Giant Lilipad had examples in every stage of growth on a single pond. A lilipad and a lotus is the same plant.

The textures of the growing lilipad were incredible.

The lilipad was edged with sharp spines.

Nice defense against who-knows-what.

The various lilipad bits and pieces . . . new lilipad and new lotus flower bud.