The botanical garden, with its palace
and the crowd and children on Sunday
Making of a gong
then polishing
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Before all, this city located some 60 kilometers away from Jakarta is famous for its botanical gardens. Comfortably nested on fresh hills, this estate was named Buitenzorg ("without a care") by a Dutch governor, and later became the country residence of Sir Stamford Raffles, and then the semiofficial capital. At present, it is one of the closest places to escape from the suffocating metropolis of Jakarta, even if it is the "bo" in the megalopolis nicknamed "Jabotabek". For me, it was the opportunity for my first time out of Jakarta, on a Sunday when Michel took the car to get some air. It is the day when the Indonesians go out,. so we were surrounded by heaps of groups from everywhere, coming to picnic, relax, play and walk through the 15,000 of trees and plants. Like everyone else, we looked up to see the big bats hanging in the trees, and we took a peak at the presidential palace which the Dutch governors and Sukarno used, with its deer herd. From this place rightfully called the capital of rain, we saw dozens of kids pop up with the first drops to rent their umbrellas for a few coins. We then went to a place with some magic: one of the last gong factories in Java. In front of the fire, I can still remember the wonderful sound of the hammers hitting the metal alloy in rhythm, before the final polishing. Another time, I came back one late afternoon with Jean-Robert and Indonesian friends, to walk around in the market, which is full of fresh produce, especially delicious fruits. Bogor is a place where it is nice to eat, as we experienced so when we sat on mats around a low table to enjoy local dishes, in particular fresh water fish. Without hesitating, I stopped by again with Fred and Indonesian friends to have dinner on the way back from Pelabuhan Ratu. So I guess I can say that Bogor is a pretty decent place.
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West Java 