Post by smadelinker on Aug 2, 2008 17:21:35 GMT -5
Here are a few pictures I took of local rock vendors on a recent trip to the Indonesian volcano Tangkubang Perahu, which is above the capital of West Java (Island), Bandung.
You can park at the rim of the crater and look down into it. Signs are posted to warn you of poisonous gasses. A small museum is there, with lots and lots of shops selling junk, but also a few rock and bead shops.
Most of the rock shops near the rim don't have any rough, and if you don't speak Indonesian, forget about talking to a vendor in detail. Lots and lots of petrified wood on sale; pieces tend to be large and already polished--looks like it was polished by hand, some of it. Here you can see photos of some vendors:
In case you were wondering, the stools in this photo above are made from polished logs of petrified wood.
I saw a lot of pieces of obsidian for sale here, most of it blue and green. The vendor we spoke to said there was no obsidian to be found at the volcano Tangkubang Perahu, although the Geological Museum in Bandung had black obsidian pieces from West Java. The pieces of obsidian are very large, already polished, and have inclusions that look like clear bubbles--air or water?
This last photo is one my son wanted me to post--he took it:
Hope you enjoyed looking! In the past, we have hiked down to some hot springs in this area; there are two paths back up, one along a river. I did not do the hike this time because I was concerned about the mosquitos--there is an outbreak of dengue fever in Indonesia this year. The vendor we talked to the most said agate and pet wood and jasper are easy to find. My son also picked up a piece of pumice along the path. The rocks I was able to find were orangy and the sulfur smell was extremely strong.
smadelinker
You can park at the rim of the crater and look down into it. Signs are posted to warn you of poisonous gasses. A small museum is there, with lots and lots of shops selling junk, but also a few rock and bead shops.
Most of the rock shops near the rim don't have any rough, and if you don't speak Indonesian, forget about talking to a vendor in detail. Lots and lots of petrified wood on sale; pieces tend to be large and already polished--looks like it was polished by hand, some of it. Here you can see photos of some vendors:
In case you were wondering, the stools in this photo above are made from polished logs of petrified wood.
I saw a lot of pieces of obsidian for sale here, most of it blue and green. The vendor we spoke to said there was no obsidian to be found at the volcano Tangkubang Perahu, although the Geological Museum in Bandung had black obsidian pieces from West Java. The pieces of obsidian are very large, already polished, and have inclusions that look like clear bubbles--air or water?
This last photo is one my son wanted me to post--he took it:
Hope you enjoyed looking! In the past, we have hiked down to some hot springs in this area; there are two paths back up, one along a river. I did not do the hike this time because I was concerned about the mosquitos--there is an outbreak of dengue fever in Indonesia this year. The vendor we talked to the most said agate and pet wood and jasper are easy to find. My son also picked up a piece of pumice along the path. The rocks I was able to find were orangy and the sulfur smell was extremely strong.
smadelinker