As a jakartanais, when I imagine a quick tour out of this hectic city. I usually imagine going on one of the islands in the archipelago of the 10000 islands
When the jakarta think of Puncak or Bogor, all they think about is traffic jams, corn on the cob, or just enjoy the view of the mountains while enjoying the fresh air. But what I wanted was an adventure, something other than just eating or enjoying the view. So we left on Friday afternoon to puncak.
Well, yes the traffic was terrible as we had chosen to travel during a long weekend in Puncak, which is not recommended. But once arrived at this charming little bed and breakfast called Papof Restaurant Bed & Breakfast, the stress of traffic has flown.
View of Papof”s entrance the next morning
When we arrived at about 10.30pm, exhausted and hungry, we were literally the only guests of the hotel that night. Whatever, the reception staff, which consisted of only 2 people, was super friendly, extremely attentive and insisted on getting us a meal even though the food was supposed to be closed since much earlier.
And the Dutch-inspired food was super delicious! Apparently, this restaurant belongs to the same group as the typically Dutch restaurant in Kemang; The Dijan’s.
Gehak Met Hut Spot (Dutch meatballs in mashed sauce)
Dutch steak Tenderloin
We also had poffertjes, which is a kind of mini Dutch pancake, for dessert, but we devoured everything before we had the chance to take a picture.
Exhausted and full belly, we decided to go straight to bed that night so we could start early in the morning. And believe me, we were happy to wake up to a splendid view of the mountains, the blue sky and dazzling greenery.
Morning view from my room
The next day I had so many items on my to-do list, but unfortunately due to traffic, we had to cut down the list and choose priority activities, so we chose to go paragliding I was ridiculously afraid of the summits, so I challenged myself to face my fear) and of course the Taman Safari Zoo !!
Before we left, however, we had to take a last walk around the Papof because it was an adorable little bed & breakfast with a beautiful flowered and green garden.
Front view of the Papof from the garden
Rear view of the Papof garden on the pool and the rooms
Interior of the Papof (restaurant / reception)
To avoid traffic, we decided to take breakfast again at the hotel and go directly to paragliding. Unfortunately, it was a fiasco because the wind was too strong and was blowing in the wrong direction.
So at the zoo we went !! Although I have been living in Jakarta for over 15 years, I have never been to the Taman Safari Zoo despite my love for animals. My favorite? White tigers and lions! A lion even approached our car while we visited the zoo! It took us about an hour to browse the entire zoo and we finished just in time to see an entertaining elephant show.
After our tour of the zoo, we decided to go straight to Bogor for dinner in a restaurant where many people had spoken to us in glowing terms; The Lemongrass. When we arrived, we were not disappointed by the unique ambience of the restaurant. The food, however, was ordinary.
Lemongrass
After eating a full course plus a dessert, we were once again so tired that we decided to shorten the evening and go back to bed to recover our energy for another adventure the next day.
Written by Rafika Soegarda
