My most current blog entry:
Central Java, Indonesia
Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 10:32AM 
After Jakarta we flew to Yogyakarta (variously pronounced JogJakarta or simply JogJa) in Central Java and based ourselves in the wonderful Phoenix Hotel. In Jogja we hired a van and driver and took day trips to the many fascinating and beautiful sights in Jogja and Central Java, the "center of Javanese culture," as all the guidebooks correctly stated. This is a scene from the very beautiful Losari Coffee Plantation (now known as MesaStila) we visited, during an afternoon rain.
The countryside around Jogja is verdant tropical agricultural and surprisingly densely populated.
The rice paddy is worked with skill for maximum yield.
The city of Yogyakarta has many markets. We woke early one morning and walked through the local side streets, many of which were morning markets. The light was perfect and the subject was superbly photogenic . . . I took hundreds of photos . . . What to do with them all? I will post some here, and the rest in a photo gallery elsewhere on this site. GO HERE.
People were friendly i the market. We asked people if we could photograph them - only a few refused. I guess that is to be expected when your market is around the corner from a hotel full of foreigners.
By the look of what's on sale in the market, I'm guessing the local cuisine is hot and spicy.
In addition to the peppers, fruits, vegetables and meat of all kinds were on sale.
The market is also a place to be with family and friends.
Dr. Jeff Harper
Road Trip: Mt. Merapi Volcano and Losari Coffee Plantation
Every day we would load up in the van and the driver would take us out of Jogja. Indonesia is very densely populated and modern . . . along the main highways. Leave the highway a few miles and you go back a hundred years to Old Javanese Culture.
Mt. Merapi dominates the countryside around Jogja
We drove to a public viewing area about half way up Mt. Merapi.
The day we went to a coffee plantation the sky was a bit threatening. It cleared up, then rained in the afternoon.
Our driver suggested a traditional Indonesian buffet in a small town on the way to the plantation. The selection was huge, tasty . . . but greasy.
Mt. Merapi, the volcano that towers over Jogja erupted only a year ago (11/2010). All the rivers we crossed were full of volcanic debris and the remnants of pyroclastic flows. This small riverside village was nearly buried.
We came across this woman who said that she was digging out her home after it was inundated with ash and volcanic debris.
Not more than 100 meters away from the woman digging out her home was another woman selling DVDs of the Mt. Merapi eruption!
We arrived at the beautiful Indonesian-style Losari Coffee Plantation just before it rained.
Indonesian style is very colorful and seems to have a strong Chinese influence. Coffee plantation.
The plantation was still decorated for Christmas . . .
. . . with some very creative ideas about what passes for a Christmas tree.
Reflections of a bygone era.
We had cups of coffee grown at the very plantation and delicious cakes before taking a walking tour of the coffee growing areas.
It had started to rain by the tine we began the plantation tour. The rain enhanced the sense of remoteness and the topicality of the beautiful surroundings.
We first toured the beautiful Old Dutch Colonial-style planter's home (1925).
Our walk took us through lush bamboo jungle punctuated by an occasional outbuilding. These are coffee bushes in the foreground.
Wood smoke wafted through the hot, humid, rainy afternoon.
The plantation settlers laid out a remarkable garden and roads all around the coffee patches.
The ponds were breathtakingly beautiful in the smoky rain.
The founders planted a large variety of fruiting trees to supply their own needs. It's good to see they enjoyed the Durian as much as I do.
But this is what it is all about: coffee beans . . . what we crave from every street corner in the world! Java!
The modern plantation is also a guest house, restaurant, and spa (of course). They run a small coffee processing facility to supply their own needs. If you are wondering, yes, their coffee (robustus) was delicious.
Loading honey into bottles.
We walked back by way of misty vistas of the Central Javanese hill country.
We ended our tour at the plantation office, bought some of their home produced coffee and a few knick-knacks, and drove back to Jogja in the dark in the rain.
Indonesian Street Peddlers' Carts
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 7:09PM 
I love street carts. I freely admit it. Indonesia must be the street cart capitol of the world. Never have I seen so many carts selling so many items. They completely fascinate me. In Indonesia they are known as kaki limas, which literally means "five legs."
The types and varieties of items for sale staggers the mind. A very few were new, like this ice cream cart.
Cart location seemed critical. Sweets carts are found near tourist locations, or where school children frequent.
Jakarta Coffee and tea carts all displayed racks of packets.
Congregations of carts were often seen . . .
. . . as well as solitary carts.
Cart men and woman came in all shapes, sizes, and genders. This seaport cartman repaired to the shade of a truck for his morning's shave.
Most of the cart proprietors in Jakarta were well dressed and clean.
Carts were not just places to purchase coffee, tea, or fruit; they are places for friendship and social interaction . . .
. . . a place for a laugh among friends . . .
. . . a place in the shade to take a break from your job . . .
. . . and to enjoy life.
There were carts everywhere I went in Indonesia, of course, like this cart outside the wet market of Yogjakarta.
A Yogjakarta cart portrait.
I wasn't sure if this Yogjakarta street peddler was selling door-to-door, or was on the way to his regular 'corner' somewhere.
Here is a slide show of more carts for those of you, like me, who love street arts.
Jakarta, Java, Indonesia
Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 10:46AM 
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.
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.
The Tropics
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 8:59PM 
Took a soothing long-tail boat trip up the rural canals (klongs) of Samut Songkhram recently. Wish you were here.
Samut Songkhram Salt Pans
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 7:24PM 
If you have ever driven from Bangkok to the beaches of Hua Hin, you will have driven by the salt pans of Samut Songkhram.
Sometimes when you drive this road you see workers out in the salt pans preparing the salt for harvest.
The pans are flooded with sea water, from the nearby Gulf of Siam, and left to evaporate.
As more and more sea water evaporates, and more is added, the salt in solution becomes so saturated that it crystallizes.
To help the process, the salt crystals are raked up into rows and piles.
Working in that briny water all day in bare feet . . . . .
After all the salt has been removed, it is prepared for flooding again by a rolling machine.
These salt pan rolling machines are unique.
Wind mills are used to power the pumps that supply the sea water.
Dr. Jeff Harper
I took this photo eight years ago (2003) at the same salt pan during salt harvest time. The salt workers cover themselves against the harsh reflected sun and the ravages of the salt.