bali and java 2011!

[paulgila]

thanks for the ID mr.expert guy!

"is there more?" he asks

[MattyB]

We're gonna try and do Thailand 2012! By we I mean Jen and I and Paul and Jess. That's 4 people. Unless our leaking roof repairs end up costing us too much, then we might have to settle for Tieland a nice little thrift store in Spring Valley. That was 4 sentences (not counting this one)

[ariscott]

hhmmm... I wonder whether Paul will stop by at Darwin this time....

[paulgila]

keep wondering!

[RainForestt Robert]

Paul, really loving this thread. There is a high quotient of spectacular, must see palms.

Robert

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Just had another look at this thread paul ! some very nice palm candy !

[paulgila]

thanks,gents! atill not done with the bogor botanical garden.

[paulgila]

i like these.

arching bamboo as we near a bridge.

oil palm fully clothed in ferns.

some local kids wanted a picture with the bule( or is it spelled "bule?" ari?)

[paulgila]

then a passing gaggle of girls wanted to get in on it!

in the right background you can see the lady who wanted her picture taken when jes

was taking the kitty pix. i chatted with her husband a bit as we strolled across the bridge.such genuinely friendly

people!

the river was mildly trashy,not as bad as i thought it would be.

the sound of rushing water seemed to cool me of for about .3 seconds.

[Jeff Searle]

Were there any locals watersking in the river? Just asking...

[paulgila]

if by "locals" you mean "plastic bags" then the answer is "yes."

[paulgila]

some local kids wanted a picture with the bule( or is it spelled "bule?" ari?)

[paulgila]

we cross the bridge & now can see out immediate goal: the gardens restaurant where we shall sit in the shade &

drink cool beverages!

here i am waving to ANOTHER group of schoolchildren screeching "HALLO" at the tops of their lungs.

this MAY be the biggest grassy area i have ever seen.

its certainly in the running.

when i got to the resto i turned & took this shot to document our path.

[paulgila]

heres jes' shot of our approach to the resto. much nicer!

ironically we had the balinese sampler plate,and ironically it was really good!

we sat around for a while in the shade to cool off,sipping cold water & watching the bus-loads of javanese business

people come to the restaurant for lunch & a quick powerpoint motivational presentation.

after a nice respite we head back through the garden.

here are the big ceiba(?) trees that someone(ari?) mentioned recently.

(?)

[paulgila]

we had to walk back thru the palms.

oh darn.

tallest latanias--ever.

this is likely oncosperma.

[paulgila]

white leaf undersides catches the light.

pigafettas,perhaps?

a lonely chameadorea.

"look thee upwards & thou shalt be rewarded,verily" sayeth the book of

olden palm wisdom that i just made up.

[paulgila]

wow,this is the ID of the palms in previous pic.

pinanga.

random roadside corypha. look close & you will see jes for scale.

tree stump that has been concreted over.

[paulgila]

"this is hard work."

more kitty pix.

waiting for our ride at the front gate.

[paulgila]

hanging around with nothing to do but take pix while we wait for our driver.

hmmmm,this would really jazz up my entryway at home.

i could use a few of these,too.

[paulgila]

and finally we saw the notice for the corpse flower--didnt you see this,ari?

[ariscott]

some local kids wanted a picture with the bule( or is it spelled "bule?" ari?)

it is 'bule', Paul... it actually means albino in Indonesian

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

here are a few pix of the accomodations at novotel.

the long hallways reminded us of the movie "the shining."

small room but we called it home for 3 days.

it was vaguely japanese-styled with sliding wooden panels.

it was haunted.

[updog]

Thanks Paul and Jes, Great thread, keep 'em coming.

[paulgila]

late afternoon was spent by the pool til it started raining right on cue.

mmmmm,stilty.

festive drinks with dinner.

[paulgila]

texas & mexican night at the dinner buffet?

no siree,not for us. we opted for the traditional javanese dinner.

i like the "variety plates."

jes had a whole grilled fish,usually a good choice,& this was no exception.

mine came with small dried fish--mmmmm,just like mom used to buy!

[paulgila]

breadfruit tree at night.you gotta love the large,handsome leaves.

the large,airy restaurant pavillion was a pleasant spot for dinner or breakfast.

i spotted a clump of c.renda nearby.

while i was taking pix i was approached by a member of the insonesian secret

service who just wanted to chat. of course no pix of him were allowed.

[paulgila]

more c.renda.

after more pool time lunch was in order.

i had nasi goreng & chicken satay.

yum!

[paulgila]

after lunch were joined by my friend sofi. we met on facebook. the dewd is her brother. nice folks.

sofi works in a bank in jakarta but is originally from bogor.

i snapped a pic of the hotel entry after our guests left...

while jes checked facebook.

[paulgila]

arm rest of the patio swing in the hotel lobby.

tall travellers palms.

these palms were very cool & i saw all over the hotel grounds.

now time for a few more hours by the pool before our next visitors arrive.

[paulgila]

"colonial-esque."

ahhhh heres what i needed!

jes approves.

the pool was inviting but the water was freezing cold!

[ariscott]

Wow.... you had fun in that 3 days in Bogor!! I am glad you went .

Regards, Ari

[paulgila]

thanks,ari!

[Walter John]

that hotel grounds palm, now what is that ? V.splendida ? No ?

enjoyableous thread as per...

[paulgila]

is it? i looked in the encyclopedia of palms but never found a definitive match.

"as per..." what?

thanks for stopping by,wal!

[paulgila]

more pix of novotel pool area & grounds:

"i am slice you!"

tall l.rotundifolia.

[paulgila]

that evening we had MORE visitors.

brothers yus & yuda. they worked at the sushi bar that i frequented in san diego.

now they both live in jakarta.

yuda.

yus & his new wife. she is from china.

me 'n yuda.

adult beverages were in order.

[paulgila]

"quote-unquote" appears to be the same the world over.

i cant decide which group shot is better.

tix from bogor botanical garden,just in case you wondered what

they looked like.

[paulgila]

the next morning it was time to head back to bali.

hitting the road at 6am.

lots of newly planted bizzies on the side of the highway.

more corporate colonialism.

jakarta skyline. the traffic was pretty horrendous but the driver skirted the

worst of it in downtown jakarta.

[paulgila]

well you have to give it to em for having more colorful churches than ours.

the only way to make up time for all the traffic is to go amazingly fast

when there isnt too much,which is what this driver did.

luckily he slowed down enough for me to get this shot of some latanias

near the airport.

in order to do our bit for starbucks overseas operations we availed ourselves

of their services at the airport.

what a grind.hahaha haha ha......h...

[paulgila]

mmmmmbeans...

& what they do to the casual,unsuspecting tourist/palm enthusiast.

the jakarta airpot from the jakarta airport.

waiting for our flight back to bali was frustrating. there were no screens to tell us if we were

in the right place & the airline reps at the gate where our alleged flight was embarking from were too busy

counting receipts from the previous flight to be of much help when we asked if we were really in

the right place.