Indonesia - so fortunate to see it again

For me, so much of the pleasure of heading to Indonesia is the food!

Not this sort...

Fish paste steamed inside a banana leaf + tempeh and tofu with peanut sauce

My main colleague from Nutrition International - a fellow Canadian - with random polar bears at a shopping mall...

The group I trained from 9 countries in Asia & Africa

Over the weekend, I headed to Bogor (a $25 cab ride from my hotel in Jakarta but $1 ride back on their fantastic train network) - I was there to see a lovely UNICEF colleague who I had met on a previous trip

Ali loves coffee. So he took me to his favourite spot.

And he is so proud and knowledgeable of the many cuisines within Indonesia

Gorgeously creamy and fruity gelato

Indonesians love crackers. This was just a small selection of what shops carry! All made and packaged for the local population.

with peanuts and chives

We headed to the 200 year old botanical gardens - where Obama had a coffee

The next day I headed to the province of West Java for 2 days. Without traffic, it's about a 2 hour drive. With traffic however....

On arrival, we were taken to a museum showcasing the many regional cultures within Indonesia. Here are some of the musical instruments.

and batik from each province

We found some good coffee!

These were the snacks at our meetings with local officials

We were treated like revered visitors at one school!

Just how green the area was (and how lovely the pool)

For our final lunch, we all feasted together. Yum!

some of the dining rooms

And then off to the final, fancy hotel before an early departure

except it wasn't - being based a busy highway and flight path!

Never swam next to incoming jumbo jets before!!

Fantastic bookshop at the airport - every departure lounge needs one of these!

My currency conversion website reminds me of all the travels I have been doing recently!