I am not a big fan of Bogor or Puncak despite its beauty, fresh air and cool weather mainly because you can never judge what the trip there or back will be like if you go by any means of transport from motorbike to train. Also once there, you have to rely on minibuses to get round or motorbike taxis and whilst that's not a really a problem it become more problematic with a small child. However, if there is a chance to overnight then sure count me in. And so last weekend with everyone at EF who I work with we all jumped on a bus and headed into the foothills behind Bogor for our annual outing.
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| Our Bus |
This year it was decided not go to the sea because for the previous 3 years that is all we have done and so after realising Bandung was a bridge too far, the villas and peace of Puncak over looking the city of Bogor was the place to go.
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| Ready for the off |
We had given ourselves 3 hours journey time which should have been enough, considering its only 70km away and even on a bus it should not take much more time. But, as soon as we got on the toll we faced traffic and delay. The 3 hour trip ultimately took just over 6 hours. Still, everyone was in pretty good spirits after the traffic and the traffic was awful and the huge rain that fell did not do anything to help matters. I managed somewhere along the way to grab a Starbucks so that cheered me up some but ultimately the journey was fine.
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Traffic waiting to pass a toll gate
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There is always a risk of traffic when you head into the Puncak on a weekend because it is one of the most visited places by people from Jakarta. The road up into the area is also over crowded and the police often close the road in one direction to allow traffic to either go it quicker or come down it quicker. The police had this in place on Saturday but still we got there.
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| Traffic |
The evening was cut short by the late arrival but we had time to eat and chat and play some games before being ushered off to sleep around 1 am. Our rooms were all sharing and the rooms were pretty good. I was sharing with 3 others. We all had beds and the room was big with good AC as well as hot water from the shower so it was nice.
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| Add caption |
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| The room |
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| Hot water, always welcome as well as a western toilet |
In the morning there was no real hurry to get up and most of the 30+ people were at breakfast before 8.30 am. It was an all Indonesian food affair but the rice and noodles were good although the coffee was pretty weak and lifeless and only really started to kick in after 4 cups!!!
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| Our villa |
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| Nice pool |
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| Views from the venue |
As it was an official group outing, games ensued in the Outbound area. Everyone seemed to enjoy them and everyone won a prize of some sort which was good. After the games were done, it was time for more photos (there were far too many photos as normal taken) and some time to relax before lunch of random fish and rice and then back on the bus for the trip home.
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| The complete view |
We left just after 2 pm and got onto the toll before 3 which was good but the traffic heading into Jakarta was pretty horrendous again so by 6.30 pm we were in the middle of the city but not at the final destination. I was lucky enough to be able to get off and catch the Transjakarta back to my home where I met by a very excited 3 year, a wife bearing pizza and the chance to catch up on my sleep.
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| The team who I am proud to work with |
It was a short trip out but a fun one and now I have been and stayed in Puncak twice in 9 years.
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