A couple weeks ago Agung and I went on a little day trip to Bogor. Although the town is located very close to Jakarta and our respective dwellings, we had never gone there together. Out of sheer impulsivity, we decided to stop by Bogor Botanical Garden one weekend. This place is widely known as the biggest botanical garden in Indonesia and functions as a conservation site for various flora of Indonesia—including the world-renowned Rafflesia Arnoldii. Not only that, it is also one of the locations of our president’s palace—and is our current president’s main dwelling. The palace keeps a herd of deers, which I have always wanted to see.
Personally, this was my first time setting foot in the garden. While I have been to Bogor before, it was usually for weddings or so—I don’t think I had ever explored the city. Agung, on the other hand, had been to the garden once before with friends from college, but that was ages ago and the place has changed significantly since then. We were really excited about the trip too. Uncharacteristically, we departed rather early and took the commuter line from Lenteng Agung Station at around 10 AM and arrived at Bogor Station give or take an hour later. As it were, we ended up spending almost the entire day in Bogor.
📷 Fujifilm X-T100 with Fujinon Aspherical Superb EBC XC 15-45mm lens
A couple weeks ago Agung and I went on a little day trip to Bogor. Although the town is located very close to Jakarta and our respective dwellings, we had never gone there together. Out of sheer impulsivity, we decided to stop by Bogor Botanical Garden one weekend. This place is widely known as the biggest botanical garden in Indonesia and functions as a conservation site for various flora of Indonesia—including the world-renowned Rafflesia Arnoldii. Not only that, it is also one of the locations of our president’s palace—and is our current president’s main dwelling. The palace keeps a herd of deers, which I have always wanted to see.
Personally, this was my first time setting foot in the garden. While I have been to Bogor before, it was usually for weddings or so—I don’t think I had ever explored the city. Agung, on the other hand, had been to the garden once before with friends from college, but that was ages ago and the place has changed significantly since then. We were really excited about the trip too. Uncharacteristically, we departed rather early and took the commuter line from Lenteng Agung Station at around 10 AM and arrived at Bogor Station give or take an hour later. As it were, we ended up spending almost the entire day in Bogor.
Welcome to the Grand Garden
From the train station, we sought the guidance of a local vendor and took the number 02 microbus to the Botanical Garden gate. It was so much more majestic than I had anticipated and I was in awe before even purchasing the tickets. Speaking of which, the tickets can be bought on site and costs IDR 25,500.- each—before admin fee and vehicles cost extra.
Aside from the ticket stall, the entrance is filled with numerous vendors selling local snacks and picnic mats made out of leftover tarpaulin. We saw a lot of people buy the picnic mats—and, when we went inside, we saw that they actually used it. Maybe next time we would bring our picnic mat with us too.
The first thing that struck our minds when we entered the premises was the abundance of people inside. Not only were there a lot of people, but they seemed to be zooming here and there in various vehicles—from bikes, electrical bikes, scooters to even tour shuttles, you name it. Apparently, you can rent these vehicles to explore the premises. The tour shuttles even come with a guide to talk you through the history of various landmarks in the Botanical Garden.
Since the place was huge—and I mean HUGE—it’s pretty easy to get lost inside. Thankfully, the numerous maps and wayfinding signs posted in various places inside make it easy to find our way.
From the train station, we sought the guidance of a local vendor and took the number 02 microbus to the Botanical Garden gate. It was so much more majestic than I had anticipated and I was in awe before even purchasing the tickets. Speaking of which, the tickets can be bought on site and costs IDR 25,500.- each—before admin fee and vehicles cost extra.
Aside from the ticket stall, the entrance is filled with numerous vendors selling local snacks and picnic mats made out of leftover tarpaulin. We saw a lot of people buy the picnic mats—and, when we went inside, we saw that they actually used it. Maybe next time we would bring our picnic mat with us too.
The first thing that struck our minds when we entered the premises was the abundance of people inside. Not only were there a lot of people, but they seemed to be zooming here and there in various vehicles—from bikes, electrical bikes, scooters to even tour shuttles, you name it. Apparently, you can rent these vehicles to explore the premises. The tour shuttles even come with a guide to talk you through the history of various landmarks in the Botanical Garden.
Since the place was huge—and I mean HUGE—it’s pretty easy to get lost inside. Thankfully, the numerous maps and wayfinding signs posted in various places inside make it easy to find our way.
The garden started as a collection and conservation site for herbal plants native to Bogor and its surroundings as initiated by Prof. Caspar George Carl Reinwart, who was appointed as the Director of Agriculture, Art and Education of the Dutch Indies in 1816. By 1817, as the British Kingdom entered the region, the place was officially declared the Botanical Garden by William Kent. A total of 47 hectares was prepared for the building process and and plant species collection from 1817 to 1822—housing a total of 900 types of plants. Due to lack of funding, the building process was halted for a while, until it was finally resumed in 1831. Today the Botanical Garden spans a total of 87 hectares and houses 15,000 different species of plants.
It can also be said that the Botanical Garden’s construction kickstarted the development of science in Indonesia as the place serves—to this day—as a hub for scientists, especially in the field of botany, which was well-organised from 1880-1905. Since then on, several scientific institutions were also born here, such as Bibliotheca Bogoriensis (1842), the Herbarium Bogoriense (1844), the Cibodas Botanical Garden (1860), the Treub Laboratory (1884), and the Museum and Laboratory of Zoology (1894)—the last two you can still visit in the Bogor Botanical Garden today.
Thrifted dress + purse // hand-me-down jumper // APA earrings // Merchfirare tote bag // old shoes + socks //
photos of me by Agung
The garden started as a collection and conservation site for herbal plants native to Bogor and its surroundings as initiated by Prof. Caspar George Carl Reinwart, who was appointed as the Director of Agriculture, Art and Education of the Dutch Indies in 1816. By 1817, as the British Kingdom entered the region, the place was officially declared the Botanical Garden by William Kent. A total of 47 hectares was prepared for the building process and and plant species collection from 1817 to 1822—housing a total of 900 types of plants. Due to lack of funding, the building process was halted for a while, until it was finally resumed in 1831. Today the Botanical Garden spans a total of 87 hectares and houses 15,000 different species of plants.
It can also be said that the Botanical Garden’s construction kickstarted the development of science in Indonesia as the place serves—to this day—as a hub for scientists, especially in the field of botany, which was well-organised from 1880-1905. Since then on, several scientific institutions were also born here, such as Bibliotheca Bogoriensis (1842), the Herbarium Bogoriense (1844), the Cibodas Botanical Garden (1860), the Treub Laboratory (1884), and the Museum and Laboratory of Zoology (1894)—the last two you can still visit in the Bogor Botanical Garden today.
Thrifted dress + purse // hand-me-down jumper // APA earrings // Merchfirare tote bag // old shoes + socks //
photos of me by Agung
Exploring the Terrains
And, just like that, somehow we were back where we started. That’s when I started to think that the Botanical Garden was rather small. Agung scoffed at that and drew my attention to the map, where we picked our next stop—all the way on the other side of the garden: Griya Anggrek.
To get there from the south entrance—which is where we were—we had to make our way through half of the Garden. On the way, we passed by the Pandanus Collection and the Mexico Garden, where different types of cacti are displayed in an area that reminds me of Joshua Tree in California. Then we continued on to the Jembatan Gantung Merah to cross the river—and, I kid you not, it looked like Jurassic Park from up there, especially when all the birds were flying in. Go ahead, try it!
Before we actually went to our destination, we made a pit stop at the famous Rafflesia Arnoldii. The interesting thing is that the flower is placed out there in the woods—protected only by cages.
We started our exploration by making our way to Istana Bogor, which is where our president resides at the time. On our way there, we passed by several landmarks, such as the Treub Laboratorium and the Zoology Museum—which have the cutest European architecture—the Teijsmann Garden, the Bamboo Collection and the Old Dutch Graveyard.
Unfortunately, by the time we reached the palace, we were told by the guards to keep away. When we got back to the main road, we saw that the palace area has been taped off. Our visit just coincided with HUT Bhayangkara—the anniversary of our national police force—and I believe our president was away, so the palace was probably off limits until his return. Normally, we could’ve visited the palace gardens and probably seen those deers I mentioned before. But, since we couldn’t, we decided to just stop by Kolam Gunting, which houses a number of beautiful giant lotuses—and where most people were.
And, just like that, somehow we were back where we started. That’s when I started to think that the Botanical Garden was rather small. Agung scoffed at that and drew my attention to the map, where we picked our next stop—all the way on the other side of the garden: Griya Anggrek.
To get there from the south entrance—which is where we were—we had to make our way through half of the Garden. On the way, we passed by the Pandanus Collection and the Mexico Garden, where different types of cacti are displayed in an area that reminds me of Joshua Tree in California. Then we continued on to the Jembatan Gantung Merah to cross the river—and, I kid you not, it looked like Jurassic Park from up there, especially when all the birds were flying in. Go ahead, try it!
Before we actually went to our destination, we made a pit stop at the famous Rafflesia Arnoldii. The interesting thing is that the flower is placed out there in the woods—protected only by cages.
We started our exploration by making our way to Istana Bogor, which is where our president resides at the time. On our way there, we passed by several landmarks, such as the Treub Laboratorium and the Zoology Museum—which have the cutest European architecture—the Teijsmann Garden, the Bamboo Collection and the Old Dutch Graveyard.
Unfortunately, by the time we reached the palace, we were told by the guards to keep away. When we got back to the main road, we saw that the palace area has been taped off. Our visit just coincided with HUT Bhayangkara—the anniversary of our national police force—and I believe our president was away, so the palace was probably off limits until his return. Normally, we could’ve visited the palace gardens and probably seen those deers I mentioned before. But, since we couldn’t, we decided to just stop by Kolam Gunting, which houses a number of beautiful giant lotuses—and where most people were.
If you thought the journey was closing in after this, you are gravelly mistaken. We still had to walk a pretty long way—I daresay around 1 km or so—passing by the Astrid Garden, which is located right in front of the biggest restaurant in the area, Raasaa. This is the widest area in the Garden, aside from the palace, and many people used this space to lay down their picnic mats and have fun with friends and family. We also passed by the Ecodome, where you’d find the bike and scooter rentals nearby.
At long last, we finally arrived at Griya Anggrek and the place was majestic. It is divided into four greenhouses—two gigantic ones, two small ones. Honestly, I thought we would be able to enter all four. It turns out, however, that the big ones aren’t open for public—I believe they were only for research purposes—and we could only enter the small ones. The place still looked beautiful, though. By the time we were done, our stomachs were rumbling and it was finally time to look for lunch.
If you thought the journey was closing in after this, you are gravelly mistaken. We still had to walk a pretty long way—I daresay around 1 km or so—passing by the Astrid Garden, which is located right in front of the biggest restaurant in the area, Raasaa. This is the widest area in the Garden, aside from the palace, and many people used this space to lay down their picnic mats and have fun with friends and family. We also passed by the Ecodome, where you’d find the bike and scooter rentals nearby.
At long last, we finally arrived at Griya Anggrek and the place was majestic. It is divided into four greenhouses—two gigantic ones, two small ones. Honestly, I thought we would be able to enter all four. It turns out, however, that the big ones aren’t open for public—I believe they were only for research purposes—and we could only enter the small ones. The place still looked beautiful, though. By the time we were done, our stomachs were rumbling and it was finally time to look for lunch.
Walking Down Surya Kencana Lane
Out the main exit of the Botanical Garden you’ll find the Chinatown rolling off for kilometres onward—known as Surya Kencana Lane. The whole street is lined with numerous vendors of various categories—from stationery and homeware goods, to clothing and food. It’s basically a market taking up the entirety of the street. Agung knew of this place first and told me about it—after which I researched the best places to eat here as reference. Although in the end we didn’t end up trying any of the places I’d marked down, we tried the dishes I discovered—and then some.
For lunch, we opted for Soto Kuning Si ABAH Pelipur Lapar. Soto Kuning was a dish that neither of us had tried before, and we were curious enough to seek it out. This wasn’t actually the recommended vendor for this food, but we were too hungry to walk all the way to the place that I’d marked down. Agung ordered the meat-only option, while I chose to have it mixed with innards. In the afternoon, we got ourselves refreshed by trying out Es Bir Kotjok Bogor Si Abah—contains no alcohol, mind you. It was really nice! Afterwards, we stopped by Bacang Panas Pak Hadi for an afternoon snack. It was super crowded by people even pushing close to sun down, so our curiosity was piqued. It was really good and we enjoyed it immensely!
Afterwards, we simply spent the rest of the afternoon at a small café nearby. The place and menu weren’t very impressive, so I’m not going to mention it here. We stayed there until after sun down to charge our phones, before we decided to catch the microbus again back to the train station. We took the train back to Jakarta and was welcomed with a huge rain. As far as day trip goes, this one really took the cake. I loved explored a little slice of the town that I got to see. The Garden was massive and beautiful, Surya Kencana was so up right my alley—and the food was great. There’s still a lot of food and drinks we haven’t tried yet, so we’ll definitely get back here sometime.
Where else should we do a day trip to?
Out the main exit of the Botanical Garden you’ll find the Chinatown rolling off for kilometres onward—known as Surya Kencana Lane. The whole street is lined with numerous vendors of various categories—from stationery and homeware goods, to clothing and food. It’s basically a market taking up the entirety of the street. Agung knew of this place first and told me about it—after which I researched the best places to eat here as reference. Although in the end we didn’t end up trying any of the places I’d marked down, we tried the dishes I discovered—and then some.
For lunch, we opted for Soto Kuning Si ABAH Pelipur Lapar. Soto Kuning was a dish that neither of us had tried before, and we were curious enough to seek it out. This wasn’t actually the recommended vendor for this food, but we were too hungry to walk all the way to the place that I’d marked down. Agung ordered the meat-only option, while I chose to have it mixed with innards. In the afternoon, we got ourselves refreshed by trying out Es Bir Kotjok Bogor Si Abah—contains no alcohol, mind you. It was really nice! Afterwards, we stopped by Bacang Panas Pak Hadi for an afternoon snack. It was super crowded by people even pushing close to sun down, so our curiosity was piqued. It was really good and we enjoyed it immensely!
Afterwards, we simply spent the rest of the afternoon at a small café nearby. The place and menu weren’t very impressive, so I’m not going to mention it here. We stayed there until after sun down to charge our phones, before we decided to catch the microbus again back to the train station. We took the train back to Jakarta and was welcomed with a huge rain. As far as day trip goes, this one really took the cake. I loved explored a little slice of the town that I got to see. The Garden was massive and beautiful, Surya Kencana was so up right my alley—and the food was great. There’s still a lot of food and drinks we haven’t tried yet, so we’ll definitely get back here sometime.
Where else should we do a day trip to?