Adventures living as expats.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Malabar Tea Estate

Last weekend Jeff and I needed to clear out our lungs with some fresh air so we hit the road for Malabar Tea Estate.  We got an early start to the weekend, leaving Jakarta just after lunch on Friday. Our drive out to Bandung was smooth; it amazes me that we now consider 115 miles in 5 hours to be "making good time".   We arrived before dark, just in time to take in some of the gorgeous scenery and cool crisp air that reminded me of fall back in Oregon.  Our driver got out of the car and instantly bundled up and started shivering from the cold mountain air.  Jeff and I weren't far behind as we realized that 65 F is pretty dang cold when you're used to the mid 90's every day.
Jeff with Pak Karyadi who's trying to stay warm
Our cabin for the weekend
View from our back porch 
Testing out my new lens (thanks Jeff)
Every time we leave Jakarta we're reminded of how beautiful and lush Indonesia is.   The next morning we had leisurely breakfast of nasi goreng (fried rice) and eggs to fuel up for some trekking through the tea fields.  Along the way we passed several schools full of smiling children.  Indonesian children are adorable and always excited to practice their english with a "hello mister" and pose for pictures.
Very enthusiastic!
What a view!

Go America!
Our final stop for the day was the tea factory where we saw the cleaning, drying, grinding, bagging, sampled a few varieties of tea.  





It was a great weekend escape and much needed break from the city.  We've both been feeling a bit homesick so next up we'll be heading home for Christmas to catch up with family and friends.  Here we come America!