Highway 11 Road Trip in West Java

In the Sundanese language Gunung Halimun Salak means 'The Mountains of the Mist.' These  ancient volcanic mountains are just 40 kilometers (distance as a crow flies) from CIFOR at Bogor, West Java.

Mist enshrouds foothills of the Mountains of the Mist.

Around these peaks, mushrooms glow in the dark. Javan leopards stalk their prey in the jungle. The image of yellow eyes of black panthers in the night took possession of my imagination. It's a miracle that these creatures exist right next to one of the most densely populated regions on our planet! That is why I could not resist the chance to experience even one day in the forest of these amazing creatures.

From a Canadian perspective, Taman Nasional Gunung Halimun Salak is real close to Bogor. However, I was soon to learn that a 40 km trip that could take as little as 30-60 minutes in Canada could take half a day in Indonesia.

During the day long road trip, I took a dozen videos and almost 100 still photos. The photo album for the July 21'13 trip consists of 16 of the best still images for the day. Many of the photos were taken from the taxi while we traveled through the villages and countryside.

Road trip along Highway 11


At the red gravel view point in the album below, the road surface was too rough and difficult. So, the taxi could not go higher up the mountain. We stopped at this location to enjoy the view. Then we retraced our route back to Bogor. Thus, I didn't get to see the magic mushrooms and leopards. Yes, Highway Eleven does not pass through seventh heaven, but its definitely my way to more travel adventures!

Cheerful Muslim gentleman collects alms from me for mosque construction or repair. A common sight in Indonesia.
Boss! It's been a hard day's night: kitchen appliance shop.
Yes, texting while driving can be a problem in West Java too!

Javanese man directs traffic for a tip from passing motorists. 

Rest break.

Not all women wear Muslim dress in West Java!

Typical house in West Java.

Rice paddies near Leuwiliang, West Java.

Young woman offers road information and directions to the national park.

Young, romantic couples gather at this viewpoint in the early evening.

Auto body repair shop
.
Rice paddy in West Java.

Motor cycle and scooter repair shop.

Entire families can ride on a motor scooter!

Elderly man works in front of a toy shop.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Road trip on Tanzania's TanRoad A7

Image
Travel date: June 4'14 Route: Dar Es Salaam (Dar in short) to Morogoro Tanroad: A7 Distance: 194 km Goggle Map:  Click here to see a map of the route Travel Time: 2.5 h according to Goggle Maps, however, it takes almost five hours.  Introduction: In early June'14, I was a participant at an international meetings for Africa's indigenous people at Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. After the first meeting at Dar Es Salaam, our delegation travelled by bus to Morogoro, 200 km to the west, to meet with Parakuiyo Maasi. As a result, the objective of this post is to provide glimpses of Tanzanian life along Tanroad A7.   The Swahili coast of East Africa: When I was a boy, I had seen and enjoyed names of Africa on maps. My first image of Africa came from Tarzan movies. They gripped me in wonder but terrified me too! Thus, Dar Es Salaam was so exciting and exotic to me! Yet, most visitors today rush past it on their way to Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti. ...
Read more

My Safari to see the earliest human art of East Africa!

Image
Site B1 at the Kolo sites. June 10, 2014 Tanzania, East Africa You can know the universe Without leaving your house. You can see the ways of heaven Without looking out of your window. The further you go The less you know. The Tao (about 500 BC) Introduction: Indigenous rock paintings appear  in hundreds of  rock caverns around the Kondoa region of central Tanzania.  As a result of Mary Leakey's 1983 book, "Africa's Vanishing Art: the Rock Paintings of Tanzania", the spectacular rock paintings of the Kondoa area became the subject of international attention The rock art portrayed hunter-gatherers of the stone age and wild animals in mainly reddish-brown colours in their paintings. Pastoralists added their paintings later. Their portrayals were cattle herds, tools and weapons, spears and shields, in black and grey colours (Bwasiri 2008). Later, in July 2006, the World Heritage Committee decided that the rock art of Kondoa was truly a World He...
Read more

Fast train to Frankfurt

Image
Introduction: Memories of my father's work life sparked my imagination and love for trains. When he was a young man during the early 1950s, he shoveled coal into steam locomotive fireboxes! The steam engines pulled trains for the Canadian National Railway (CNR) through the mountains of northwestern BC. Although trains are not important for tourism in Canada nowadays, trains, have become an important way for me to travel elsewhere in the world. This post will focus on train travel in other countries from 2005-2015. It will emphasize German high speed train travel between Siegburg/Bonn and Frankfurt Airport. My train travel (2005-2015) My love affair with trains was rekindled in 2005-6. CNR passenger service between Ottawa and Montreal was very enjoyable to me as I made my way to the Kyoto Accord Talks. This train travelled at 90-100 km/h, slow in comparison to modern train systems elsewhere. In 2006, through a national aboriginal organization, I had represented Canad...
Read more