Friday, April 13, 2007

Bogor, Indonesia

We had a wonderful day trip to Bogor on Monday 2nd April.
Bogor is in the foothills of the Parahyangan Highlands south of Jakarta. The main attraction here is the Kebun Raya (Botanical Gardens), started by the British in 1817.The elegant Presidential Palace called Istana Bogor, constructed by the Dutch in 1856, stands at the northern end of the gardens.
We did at trip here last October on our orientation visit and had a great time.
This time we were fortunate enough to be able to bring the car inside the park; the heat and vast amount of walking would have been a lot for Janny. Our favorite section would have to be the Orchid house. The misting machine came on half way through the tour which gave it a magical feel and created a great backdrop for lots and lots of photos.
After a leisurely lunch at the café it was time to hit the handbag factory…….
I might of mentioned before that handbags, purses, belts etc aren’t my thing, BUT the same does not apply to my sister or mother; they were positively foaming at the mouth in delirious joy at the factories filled with more handbags than one could possibly imagine.
The main factory was well prepared, it had a park and play equipment for the kids, a food and drink stall section for the men and heaps of bus parking for the women!
The shops weren’t air-conditioned, but if you are on a handbag high it doesn’t seem matter.
The last time all three of us were together overseas was 14 years ago in Hong Kong where a similar handbag frenzy took place (Tan informs me that she is still using some of the bags purchased there). We have decided not to wait another 14 years for the next frenzy; I am to source new locations for their next trip to Jakarta (hopefully at Christmas time).


The Orchid House

A pair of Lions guard the front gates








The markets outside the front gates

In the background is the Presidentail Palace

A school field trip

The streets of Bogor


Handbag heaven starts now.......



I am going to be in big trouble for posting the group photos of the handbags, but I wanted to show the handbag aficionados what is available. If you are not aficionado, don’t look, don’t count and don’t comment! LOL
BTW, I did purchase some bags, Tan and Georgia (yes she has the HB gene) helped pick me out a few suitable multi purposed bag.


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