View of Mt. Salak from the Hotel Belle Vue
The Javanese view was enjoyed for hours, as a heavy rain prevented our afternoon ride, and the letters that should have been written were somewhat neglected, owing to the view described.
One shrinks at being called at four o'clock in the morning, at having breakfast at five, and at taking a train at six, but such was our experience on February 19th. One leaves Buitenzorg for Garoet as the first streak of dawn appears; as we sped along, we realized more and more what tropical vegetation and abundant rain could produce, for the vivid greens and dewy freshness of the foliage surpassed even Ceylon's landscape, which in its turn had surpassed anything before seen, even our own South and Southern California not excepted; Java is indeed the garden of the world! With remote mountain views on either side of us and nearer aspects of palms and trees bearing names unknown, there were interspersed rice plantations, unlike the flat fields of Burma, cultivated in terraces rising one above the other on hilly slopes. An occasional tea plantation lay here and there, and some traces of coffee plantations; the cultivation of the bean has been partly abandoned owing to the blight about ten years since.
As the train climbed upward, our destination being Garoet, two thousand feet above the sea-level, the scenery grew less marked, but we were still encircled by the Gedeh Mountain range. The great Garoet plain consists of wide level stretches and extended rice-fields, less marked by terraces than those we had seen before; therein is situated the quaint village of Garoet, a favorite hill resort, where we found the noted Hotel van Horck with its reputation for neatness and restful hospitality. The one-story building has suites of rooms looking out on a spacious garden, conventional in style, with its wealth of trees, shrubs, and flowers, also busts and statues. A large oval bed of brilliant crotons on one side of the garden, and another foliage bed that formed the base of a pyramidal vase on the other side, were especially admired.
The pretty little village of Garoet seemed to breathe a spirit of contentment, and it is quite a resort for people from a lower altitude. It is also the starting-point for various excursions, some of which we took, but the daily rains proved an obstacle. The afternoon of our arrival we drove to a pretty lake, but a sudden rain prevented a sail to the island in an exceedingly quaint little kiosk, which rests on two long boats. The bad weather also prevented a visit to the Hot Springs, where baths of a rather primitive character are furnished.
A village scene in Garoet, Java
The most noted excursion is to the crater of Papandajang. We departed on this quest, about five in the morning, driving eleven miles to the rest house at Tjiseroepan, where ponies and sedan chairs were furnished for the ascent, a distance of about six miles. Four of our party selected saddle horses, and four preferred sedan chairs (I took the latter). The chairs are carried by four men, two in front and two in the back, supporting on their shoulders long bamboo poles on which the sedan is placed. They were similar to those used in the ascent of Tiger Hill, at Darjeeling, but seemed to be more like palanquins, for one could half recline therein.
The ascent once begun, our eyes were riveted first on one side of the narrow roadway and then on the other, so diversified was the view: first patches of bananas, then palms and bamboo which formed an archway. Such was the continued landscape, while intervening spaces were devoted to the cultivation of coffee. The chichona plant, from which quinine is made, was also seen, and one or two patches of tea plantations. A picturesque feature of this ride was a double hedge made of two rows of bamboo poles with an occasional horizontal support, between which were vines, low palms, and unknown plants; as we ascended farther low ferns formed a fringe at the base of the hedge. Never have I seen anything lovelier than this trellis of Nature, which extended about half-way up the ascent; then the way grew narrower and we were in the real jungle. Here surprising wonders awaited us, towering palms and other trees, vines and giant ferns, some of which had taken root in crevices of a tall palm, producing a round basket effect. This was three times repeated on the trunks of several palms, a stray seed having, perhaps, settled there. It seemed to me as though the palm, if it could, would utter a protest.