Jakarta 'The Big Durian' and Bogor, Indonesia

A very nice record dealer

Monka Magic

I left Bengkulu after two day and took the last great leg of my bus trip  on the island of Sumatra.  The roads are really terrible here, although newly paved and smooth in some parts the road is extremely narrow and can't fit two large trucks or buses.  I took a large comfortable big bus with air con and a smelly toilet.  I give full credit to the driver and his two helpers who at times risked bodily harm to warn oncoming buses or our intentions because my life was in this mans hands I did not bring up the fact that there was a large no smoking sign in the bus but that the three men seemed to smoke at an alarmingly high rate during the entire journey.  This was my home for the next 30 hours as we drove south along this twisty little highway to reach the port of Bandar Lampung.  Here the bus took an industrial ferry to the island of Java the most populated island with the capital Jakarta. 
Once you reach the island of Java you see the tentacles of Jakarta.  Jakarta is a mega city of mega cities.  I have lived and traveled I many cities but I have to say the size of Jakarta is staggering.  I can't even have an opinion a city this big except to say the parts that I saw were lessons in dichotomy.  This city is like LA or any other city where the population has increased faster than the infrastructure.  The city is trying with dedicated lanes for buses and plans for a subway but when I visited I witnessed some incredibly bad traffic that would make an Angelino cringe.  On the other hand I found incredible records and met a group of young crate diggers in city who showed me not only the best spots, but took me to their store in a very nice and hip section of town where we listened to Indonesian funk and other good sounds, please check their place out, Monka Magic Vinyl. After only a couple of days in Jakarta I got out of the city by taking a light rail to Bogor about 60 km outside of Jakarta.  This is now considered an outer-burb of the city with workers commuting to and from this city.  Sadly Bogor has been cut off from the city of Jakarta.  What was once an easy train ride to the main station in Bogor is now about twice as long.  The month before I arrived there as a landslide and the entire last part of the track leading to the city was destroyed.  So I got off three stops before and got in a mini mini van and rode the rest of the way there.  There were no tourists in this small city and the botanical garden was as good as any that I have been too.  The Bogor Botanical Gardens are world class with 15,000 species in just one space.  Although I did not see the famous Rafflesia I did see the Amorphophallus titanium which is an incredible plant. 

Besides the freaky flowers there was an orchid house and other great plantings of palm trees.  A must visit, and a great way to get out of the city for a day or two. 

Another day with the sun shining brightly I walked into the market area and discovered one of the best market experiences of the trip.  Not only was the variety of stuff dizzying but the people were as surprised as a I was to be there.

I like the hand painted signs in this country

electric pickles

Mango and Chili

This pod had the taste of garlic and was really popular, I tried it cooked and liked it much better

The chili

Pandan leaves and the fixings for curries

Not your store bought tempeh

Garlic, shallot, ginger, and curry pastes ready to go.  The smell here was heavy

Padang and Bengkulu, Indonesia

The fort

One of my favorite photos of the trip

After a couple of night sin Padang I made my way south along the coast line of Sumatra.  This country is gigantic and has very little infrastructure.  A drive that would have taken half the time again was an overnight trip along windy roads.  I should mention right now, this is a country stuck in those old 1940s Hollywood movies.  All the protagonists are smoking.  The driver was literally lighting his clove cigarettes one after an another.  So with constant smoke in the van I opened the window and tried to sleep for the 16 or so hours it took to get to our destination. 
I arrived during a torrential rainstorm in Bengkulu, a large city that was having a very important Muslim festival.  The locals were really excited to see me and again lots of people photos were taken, people posing for me and generally happy to be captured on camera.  Bengkulu as has a wonderful well preserved  fort called  Fort Marlborough built by the British as an outpost of the English East Trading Company in 1714.
The fort reminded me of the Castillo de San Marcos fort in Saint Augustine that I used to visit as a child.  Although it rained almost the entire time I was in the city, the people still came out to the festival and clogged the street in front of my hotel.  I also got to eat some great grilled chicken, fried chicken and this great dish of blanched or raw vegetables with a light peanut sauce.  The dish was then topped with shrimp crackers to add a crunch.

The uniquely fried chicken, tender and covered with a fried powder for extra crispyness

Best vegetarian food, peanut, a little palm sugar, sweet soy sauce, and lots of fresh veg.

Sambal

Prawn snacks

Eating here was like eating inside the grill but it made the food taste better

Don't look back in anger

The houses of Sumatra are unique with roofs in this U shape.

Sugar water in a variety of flavors, kind of like shaved ice.

Muslim floats

A savory pancake made with a egg and dried unsweetened coconut shavings