EF #22: A Failed Trip to Kebun Raya Bogor

Being a mother makes me want to visit as many parks as possible. Of course, I want my son to experience playing in the parks more than he does at malls. So, last month we went to Kebun Raya Bogor. It wasn’t a well planned one since our main destination was staying in a hotel. If we went to Bogor before check-in time, which was at 2 pm, we would definitely be trapped in a traffic jam. So, before 10 am we left for Bogor already and that means we had more than 3 hours to spend somewhere. Then, Kebun Raya Bogor was our choice.

When we arrived at Kebun Raya Bogor, we were confused. Where should we park? We kinda missed the entrance gate. I saw Gerbang 4 or 2, but that’s without parking area. A lot of cars parked on the shoulder of the road and we didn’t want that. After driving one more loop, we asked a parking attendant and he said that the parking area was not opened during holidays so parking outside is the only solution. Ookayyy..that was weird. In total, we needed more than 30 minutes just to find the gate, find where to park, and parked. It was 11 something and my son successfully took a nap right after my husband successfully got a parking spot!

I never woke my son up during his sleeping time when we travel because it was proven to be a cause of illness. What we did then…waited in the car. Green lifestyle says turn off the engine when you stop. So I opened the door and turned on the engine and AC after 30 minutes because the hot weather might make my son awake. It’s okay, I and my husband had a quality time by chatting about many things. What’s not okay was: the parking man gave us a Rp 15.000 parking ticket! I couldn’t stop thinking about how could this famous tourism object in Indonesia has an awful parking system like this? Ckckck.

After an hour, my son woke up and we walked to the entrance gate. The ticket was only Rp 14.000/person and it was free for children under 3 years old (or two). It was crowded enough. Some groups of people held events there while the rest came with families and friends. It was 12 pm and you know where the sun is. Near the entrance, I saw the map on a big board and thought, “Hmm..will my son be interested in this?”. The area may be as big as Ragunan but there are not many animals to keep him walking spiritfully. We’ll see then.

We walked and it’s really hot. My husband bought a Rp15.000 plastic ball for my son to play. We didn’t buy a mat to sit because we didn’t think we needed it. When we sat on the grass, we got wet stain from the dew on our jeans haha.. It’s okay, just a little. We took picture in front of the presidential palace then walked again to the left, found a shady place where my son could play the ball and watched people played badminton. We then walked again and arrived at the gate again! Somehow I  felt tired..

I told my husband that I was hungry and couldn’t walk anymore. We should’ve brought a stroller so we’re not tired carrying our son. We should’ve brought a mat, more snacks, drink, and lunchbox. We should’ve come earlier so it wouldn’t be too hot. The other reason why I failed to enjoy this parkventure was…my brain was set to a cool place to lazy around called hotel, haha..

Finally, we decided to leave. It means, we were there for less than an hour. The shortest parkventure ever! I wished for a more beautiful visit to Kebun Raya Bogor though…

This post is a part of English Friday challenge by Blog English Club.