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Entries by Dr. Jeff Harper (342)
Indonesian Street Peddlers' Carts
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 7:09PM 
I love street carts. I freely admit it. Indonesia must be the street cart capitol of the world. Never have I seen so many carts selling so many items. They completely fascinate me. In Indonesia they are known as kaki limas, which literally means "five legs."
The types and varieties of items for sale staggers the mind. A very few were new, like this ice cream cart.
Cart location seemed critical. Sweets carts are found near tourist locations, or where school children frequent.
Jakarta Coffee and tea carts all displayed racks of packets.
Congregations of carts were often seen . . .
. . . as well as solitary carts.
Cart men and woman came in all shapes, sizes, and genders. This seaport cartman repaired to the shade of a truck for his morning's shave.
Most of the cart proprietors in Jakarta were well dressed and clean.
Carts were not just places to purchase coffee, tea, or fruit; they are places for friendship and social interaction . . .
. . . a place for a laugh among friends . . .
. . . a place in the shade to take a break from your job . . .
. . . and to enjoy life.
There were carts everywhere I went in Indonesia, of course, like this cart outside the wet market of Yogjakarta.
A Yogjakarta cart portrait.
I wasn't sure if this Yogjakarta street peddler was selling door-to-door, or was on the way to his regular 'corner' somewhere.
Here is a slide show of more carts for those of you, like me, who love street arts.
Jakarta, Java, Indonesia
Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 10:46AM 
I recently spent eight days in Indonesia, three days in and around the capitol Jakarta, and five days in and around Yogyakarta, in Central Java. This young Indonesian tourist was in Jakarta. Modern Jakarta. I was as much a curosity as was this young Indonesian girl.
It was my first time in Jakarta, so a quick look through a borrowed Lonely Planet Guide to Indonesia led us to the old colonial Dutch quarter. There is not much left of the Dutch influence in Jakarta.
One can rent a bicycle and ride around the old Dutch settlement. Interestingly, you also rented a matching sun hat.
There was a charming Old World feel here.
We went to a small cafe on the square and another waiter insisted I see the upstairs renovations. Nice light, no?
Our waitress was as efficient as she was beautiful.
I was very interested in the carts, as usual. These carts are the subject of another entry elsewhere.
I am a big fan of photogenic dilapidation; Jakarta abounds in this particular subject matter.
Our driver dropped us off at a very, very local electronics mart - in old Chinatown. We went looking for coffee and asked for directions everywhere until we found what we were looking for. These people yelled in unison, "No Coffee Here!"
We were finally directed to a long, hot workmen's "luncheria" where, I am sure, there had never been a tourist before. We were the sudden entertainment . . . and the object of much curiosity and rib jabbing among the Indonesian customers.
Jakarta is a huge sprawling city with monumental traffic snarls . . . "What, me worry?"
Every square inch of Jakarta is filled with somebody doing commerce . . . . some more happily than others.
It was my first trip to Jakarta, so I went to some of the "tourist spots" . . . and ran into other tourists there . . . duh! My visiting friends from Oregon, Jeff and Sharon are in the background.
Dr. Jeff Harper
Day Trip: The Bogor Botanical Gardens
The Bogor Botanical Garden was an hour (60km) or so outside of Jakarta, . . . in the direction AWAY from the awful traffic. What was most interesting about this three-legged horse was that it had no head either.
The area outside the Botanical gardens was bustling. The New Year was approaching and the sales of colorful noisemakers were brisk.
One could buy plant bulbs nearby. Avocados too.
The Bogor Botanical Garden was well kept and nicely laid out.
It was a school holiday in Jakarta, so many families came out for a day trip.
Beautiful flowers everywhere.
This yellow orchid, appropriately called Giant Orchid, was over one foot from edge to edge. Huge!
Wonderfully subtle colors on this Bird of Paradise flower.
This giant banana bloom is another one of my candidates for extraterrestrial origin, along with the Durian.
Not all bananas are the of the long yellow Chiquita variety. Bananas come in hundreds of varieties. like these miniature red bananas.
Like everywhere on earth, Grandma was loaded into the car for a reluctant stroll in a Botanical Garden.
The Bogor Botanical Garden had plants from throughout Indonesia. I was most impressed with the young Giant Lilipads (Nymphaeaceae, Victoria).
The Giant Lilipad had examples in every stage of growth on a single pond. A lilipad and a lotus is the same plant.
The textures of the growing lilipad were incredible.
The lilipad was edged with sharp spines.
Nice defense against who-knows-what.
The various lilipad bits and pieces . . . new lilipad and new lotus flower bud.
The Tropics
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 8:59PM 
Took a soothing long-tail boat trip up the rural canals (klongs) of Samut Songkhram recently. Wish you were here.
Samut Songkhram Salt Pans
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 7:24PM 
If you have ever driven from Bangkok to the beaches of Hua Hin, you will have driven by the salt pans of Samut Songkhram.
Sometimes when you drive this road you see workers out in the salt pans preparing the salt for harvest.
The pans are flooded with sea water, from the nearby Gulf of Siam, and left to evaporate.
As more and more sea water evaporates, and more is added, the salt in solution becomes so saturated that it crystallizes.
To help the process, the salt crystals are raked up into rows and piles.
Working in that briny water all day in bare feet . . . . .
After all the salt has been removed, it is prepared for flooding again by a rolling machine.
These salt pan rolling machines are unique.
Wind mills are used to power the pumps that supply the sea water.
Dr. Jeff Harper
I took this photo eight years ago (2003) at the same salt pan during salt harvest time. The salt workers cover themselves against the harsh reflected sun and the ravages of the salt.
Borobudur, Indonesia
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 1:21AM 
Borobudur Temple Complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As such it is visited by many tourists, 99% Indonesian, every day.
Boroburdu Temple is one of the great archeological wonders of the world. Built in the 8th century, it was abandoned not long after it was completed, covered with a heavy ash fall from a nearby volcano, and covered with thick jungle vegetation until it was discovered in 1901. It is te Pompeii of the Buddhist world.
A panel from the Borobudur Temple in Central Java, Indonesia . . . one of the wonders of the ancient world. I will post more of these amazing panels depicting the life and lessons of The Buddha soon.
In addition to chronicling the Life of the Buddha, the panels that completely cover the temple also depict the lives of the elite, royal class.
The workmanship and artistry are of the highest order.
The views from the steps of Borobudur over the tropical landscape of Central Java was breathtaking.
The name "Lost Temple of Borobudur" certainly fits: it lay hidden beneath ash and jungle for 1300 years before it's rediscovery in 1901.
We saw what must have been the most beautiful sunset of our lives on the way back to the Phoenix Hotel in Jogja.
