Fresh Air

The air quality in Jakarta is pretty bad most days.  From the tallest hotel in the city, it's rare to see the volcanoes that are just 20 miles away.

 

It's an addiction of mine to check the air quality every morning...

...and then convert it into cigarettes.  Not a nice thought.

Because of that, it's pretty nice to get out of the city and get some fresh(er) air.  It's still a gamble because of traffic, but totally worth it for the green space.  I found some stables in Sentul that would take us on a "ride out" horseback ride so we jumped at the chance to give it a try.

The kids were very excited to ride horses but unfortunately, we got a shower just before we went out and were told that it would be too wet to go out.  Bummer :(

Instead, the kids and I just took a lesson in the covered pavilion.  It was interesting because I'd never ridden English style or taken a horse to a trot.

Maybe not exactly what we'd hoped for, but still good fun and experience on horses.

The kids were disappointed because they never got to steer the horses on their own but they loved being on horseback.

(We have since been back for a real "ride out" and we did indeed ride out of the stables...into a neighborhood...with each horse hand led by a groom the entire time.  You never know what you're going to get here!)

My golf ladies and I went back to Sentul to play 18 holes on a lovely day.  Again, a great day out of the city enjoying some fresh air and open spaces.  It's worth it to golf here just for the scenery.

This course was beautiful and had lots of flowers and landscaping, plus big wide fairways that were a little more forgiving to players like me.

My favorite hole was the one where you had to hit over the rice paddy to the green.

We'll remember this place if we have Weedding plans any time soon..ha!