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The Sunda Kelapa harbour with its Buginese schooners had not changed much from when I last saw it in the
early nineties. It was still very hard labour for the wharfies; it was hot and dusty, and the gangplanks were very
narrow.
As a botanist, I was very much looking forward to visiting the Botanical Gardens [Kebun Raya] in Bogor again. It
seems more like a pleasure park than ever which is confirmed by being carted around in mini buses and by the
warnings of avoiding it over the weekend when the gardens are really crowded. We did see the first oil palm tree
brought to Indonesia, and the splendid orchids which are always a joy to behold. And we saw the Dutch graves
which have links with families we know.

The trip to Puncak Pass Hotel was most memorable since we had police escort which helped greatly with getting
there on this narrow, very crowded road. Our masterful chauffeur must have been so pleased to be able to drive
safely on the wrong side of the road. Our fantastic Indonesian guide, Untung told us that it was quite easy to hire
a police escort for a fixed price, and that rich people in Jakarta do it all the time to get through that incredible
Jakarta traffic. What concerned me on the way to the hotel, was Untung telling us that a lot of Muslims from
Arabic countries had settled on the road to Puncak. I hope they are not of the extremist category, helping to
radicalise Indonesians; that’s the last thing we need for that nation, our nearest Asian neighbour.

Meeting a school party at Kebun Raya, Bogor

Puncak Pass Hotel was extremely pleasant and COOL, so it is no wonder that
people have come here for ages to escape the Jakarta heat and humidity. The
views were also most impressive. From there, we travelled to Bandung and
came past several marble quarries which generated clouds of dust, so it did not
bear thinking about the working conditions there. We also visited the tea
plantation where one of the group had lived when she was from 3 to 9 years old.
She was overwhelmed. That the chauffeur got us there [and back] was another
example of his masterful driving.

In Bandung, we missed out on seeing the Malabar tea plantation, because Ros
had a severe headache which needed attention, so thanks to the Deputy
Manager of the Grand Preanger Hotel, we were taken to the Santosa
International Hospital. This was an absolutely first-class hospital where Ros
even got a plastic card [of credit card size] which shows that she is now in their
books. That makes it so much easier if we ever need to go back! The service
and efficiency were inspiring, and we even got our medications at the pharmacy
in the hospital; they were more expensive than the doctor’s visit. And when we
got the total bill, it was less than the excess on our travel insurance. So don’t let
people tell you that you have to go to Singapore for good medical care.

The rubber factory at Cikumpay was just as I remembered the instructions about
rubber tapping and processing from my Deventer days, but the smell was
something else. They did not tell us about that in Deventer. We were given a
very informative tour and had pleasant refreshments in the board room, which
also had good toilets which is always a bonus, especially when you have tummy
rumblings. The board room had plastic chairs, tastefully covered with blue satin, Tapping rubber tree
and the water cooler had a pretty, hand-made lace cover which impressed Ros. at Perkebunan, Cikumpay

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