This city is getting to me.
I admit it, I am a country girl. Because trust me, in comparison to Jakarta, Hobart is a small village in the middle of the countryside.
I am getting over the headaches, the coughing from the pollution, the noise, the smells, the smoggy skies, the traffic. But I am still having a good time. I just need to rant sometimes.
The best solution for a city hangover is an escape to the country. Or a Jakartan version of the country.
A few weekends ago we went on a trip to Bogor to visit CIFOR, an organization that focuses on the world’s forest and their destructions impacts to climate change. We went into the forest and skipped among the trees with our umbrellas.
It was like a breath of fresh air. No really, it was a breath of fresh air. No pollution in my lungs. Yes!

A group of us decided to spend the night in Bogor and have a break from the city life, my country brain was about to burst. So we stayed in these sweet little cottages next to a waterfall of rubbish. Quite delightful. But that night we had a great dinner and drank a truckload of beer. It was good. And although in the morning my head was not the clearest, I felt fresh and fit and happy.
I also took some nice photos. I tend to get my best shots when I am under the influence of bintang. I think a little bit of alcohol goes a long way in my photography skills….


Craving fresh air, we went back to Bogor last weekend and frolicked through the grass like children. i will never again take for granted wide open spaces and green grass!
We trawled the streets looking for country goods - I wanted to shop but instead I just looked at the beautiful Indonesian people.


I might add that I have been working here at the Jakarta Globe. Haha, that is why I am here. And I have been getting published. My first story was the other day and I (kind of) got front page. My puff daddy, as they call it here (how cool is that?), was front page, getting readers to read my story. so yeah, read it!
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/health/experts-call-on-indonesian-public-to-swat-dengue-fever/494975