It's amazing just how many tea plants there are up in Puncak. The drive from the rain forest to the Westmore's house took about an hour along a road which doubled back on itself every 500 yards or so because the descent was so steep. Squeezed in the coves of land created by the road's meandering path were forests of tea trees, none of which stood more than 2 feet tall. The area around the house was covered with tea plants too. This is a picture of the hill across from the Westmore's porch. The greenery on the nearest hill, right above the palm tree, is all tea trees. The larger tree which is sticking up in the center of the picture had bright red flowers which unfortunately didn't turn out very well in the photo. These flowery trees were found throughout the plantations. My guess is that they are markers of some sort, although I could be wrong.
The tea trees also provided a great playground for the neighborhood
kids. In the very center of the next picture You might be able to
make out the figures of three kids who are squatting among the trees.
They're very difficult to see though, so don't get mad if You can't
make them out. In the tree on the right You'll also notice a few
white trapezoidal things. They're actually kites which got caught in
the tree. These paper kites are flown by kids all around Jakarta. If
You're downtown and up high in a hotel or big building, You can find
dozens of these things flying.
