Becak

A becak on Jalan Kebon Jati, south of Bandung railway station.

Becak is officially banned from many parts of the city. But in this part of the city, it is still operating.

If you are into black and white or monochrome photography, you may want to check out similar posts from other participating photo bloggers at this weekly meme The Monochrome Weekly.

The Blooming Flamboyant

This flowering tree is called by many different names in different places, e.g. Royal Poinciana, Krishnachura, Gulmohar, Peacock Flower, Flame of the Forest, Malinche, and Tabachine. In Indonesia, it is called "flamboyan" or "bunga flamboyan" (delonix regia). Here it normally blooms between September and October during the seasonal change from the dry season to the rainy season.

Flamboyant is originally from Madagascar. More information about this flower can be found here.





I took these photos at Monumen Perjuangan Rakyat Jawa Barat plaza sometime ago.

Mie Sumpit

Mie Sumpit (lit. noodle chopsticks) is a local restaurant specializing in noodle dishes. Recently it opened an outlet at Pasteur (kilometer 1) rest area of Padaleunyi toll road. The tent-shaped roof of this road side restaurant looks interesting.

I took this photo one late and rainy afternoon a few days ago when I stopped by and had a meal at a restaurant next to it.

Sacrificial Animals

Tomorrow moslems in Indonesia as are those in other parts of the world are going to celebrate Eid ul Adha - a festival to commemorate the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God. On this day muslims who can afford it are expected to sacrifice their best domestic animals (usually sheep, but also camels, cows and goats) as a symbol of Ibrahim's sacrifice. The meat of the sacrificed animals are to be distributed to the poor and needy.

Unlike in the Middle East where Eid ul Adha is the larger and more festive holiday than that of Eid ul Fitr (the other major moslem holiday), in southeast Asia Eid ul Adha is not as festively celebrated as Eid ul Fitr. Therefore, Eid ul Adha generally feels like the smaller holiday for us.

Pictured above are the seasonal street vendors selling sacrificial sheep and goats. They usually come from the villages and begin selling the animals a week before the D day, and make use any empty lot of land they can find and even the road side to keep the animals.

My World Tuesday: Durian Season

Picking up on my yesterday's post about tropical fruit season, durian is also beginning to appear. It's not durian peak season yet on Java island so we don't see many of it here at this time of the year, but a friend of mine on the island of Kalimatan says that it is there.

Today's post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation in My World Tuesday meme. Please check out other participants' posts by following the link.

Tropical Fruit Season

The rainy season, which - in the Indonesian archipelago - takes place between October and April, is also the fruit season. Opening the season is usually guava (jambu biji/batu). Then Mango, rambutan, durian, and a host of other tropical fruits are available in abundance.

In the photo is a street vendor selling mangoes at Jalan Raya Barat Cimahi in the west of Bandung.

Sunday at the Park

A couple of senior citizens enjoying a Sunday morning at the Monumen Perjuangan Rakyat Jawa Barat park near Gasibu.

Fish Eye in The Sky

Fish eye, another name for convex or diverging mirror, has a reflective surface that's buldging towards the light source. As a result of this, it has wider angle of view and is called fish-eye (because the eyes of a fish have wider angle of view). Fish-eye mirror also makes the objects it reflects look distorted, smaller, and farther than the actual distance.

Convex mirrors have a variety of uses. One of them is like the one in the picture. Installed at a blind corner or junction, it can help drivers see other vehicles coming from around the corner. This one is at the end of the housing block where I live.

This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation for the Skywatch Friday. Please check out other skywatchers' posts here.

Warung Internasional

It may be just a small kiosk, but it's international.

Warung Internasional (Internasional Kiosk) is a small convenience store on Jalan Rangga Gading, near Flexi Park, at Dago area. It started as a small convenience cart kiosk. Over the years it has become very popular - especially among night owls - because it has nearly everything, opens 24 hours and 7 days a week (24/7), and is located at one of Bandung's most popular hangout places.

I had not passed the area for quite a long while and was surprised to see that it had now turned into a relatively big convenience kiosk. The owner has even put a couple of "sofas" in front of it for customers to sit, relax, have a cup of coffee, or just chat with other hangouters.

I think this kiosk has done remarkably well despite the competition it's facing from a giant international rival, a 24/7 American convenience store chain that opened an outlet near it a couple of years ago.

NOTE: I set my camera to 16:9 aspect ratio (also known as panoramic format). That's why the picture looks elongated. I did not crop it.

Bandung Beggars #1

"Beggary" (forgive my deliberately inccorect English diction for begging or panhandling) has many forms in this city (as does anywhere else). But all beggars essentially do the same thing: they ask for donation in one supplicating manner or another and do so in public places.

The man with the guitar in the photo is "officially" called "pengamen" (a street performer who performs for tips), but the music/performance is often so bad that it has now become meaningless and secondary to the tip. Practices like this has therefore become a form of beggary than street performance. (See also how he's doing it in the traffic light junction when cars are stopping. It's very unlikely that a good piece of music can be performed in this manner.)

Street baggery is one of the bad sides of Bandung. Unfortunately, the municipal government has not done enough to control it.

Bakso

Bakso (Indonesian meatball noodle soup) is a popular food here. There are several varieties of bakso. The most popular of them are bakso Bandung, bakso Solo, and bakso Malang. They are named according their places of origin. Bakso Malang is from the city of Malang in East Java. Bakso Solo is from the city of Solo or Surakarta in Central Java. Pictured here is Bakso Malang. As you can see, it consists of noodles, beancurds (tofu), 'siomay'(steamed meat dumpling), and 'pangsit' (crispy wonton). Indonesian bakso can also now be found in Malaysia. It was introduced into the country by Javanese people who migrated there.

Falun Gong (Dafa)

Members (practioners) of Falun Gong or Falun Dafa practicing meditation at Gasibu Park in front of Monumen Perjuangan Rakyat Jawa Barat on Sunday morning.

P.O. Boxes

To many of us, a P.O. Box (post office box) is an optional way of receiving mails. We rent it from the post office if - for some reasons - we don't want our mails to be deliverd to our door step. But I was surprised to learn that in some countries, particularly those in the Middle East and Africa, a P.O.Box is a must as there is no home delivery there. That's what uncle Wiki says. I don't know if it's still the case. Can anyone tell me?

KRDE Rencang Geulis and Baraya Geulis

With a population density of more than 13,000 people per square kilometer (2,364,000 plus population in area of about 167 km square), Bandung shamefully does not have a good and working mass rapid transportation system. There are commuter trains, buses, taxis, ojeg (motorcycle taxi), and the notorious angkot - all of which are loosely regulated and without an apparent systematic link to one another. As a result of this, traffic congestion is an everyday experience for Bandungese and visitors as people prefer to use their own private vehicles (motorbikes and cars) to get around. This situation is made worse by hodge podge spatial arrangement and commercialization. Malls and shopping places spring up rapidly without much consideration of the potential for traffic congestions they create.

Several attempts have been made to upgrade the city's mass transportation system. All of them failed because of the lack of funding and the pressure of interest groups - such as those of Angkot owners and operators - who are gaining advantage from the current situation.

In this situation, the launching of KRDE (Electric Diesel Train) Rencang Geulis commuter train in April this year is a good news. This clean and comfortable train that serves Cibatu - Bandung - Padalarang route is part of PT KAI (Indonesian Railway Company) efforts to help reduce traffic congestions in the greater Bandung area and provide better services for its commuter customers. Earlier, PT KAI had also launched KRDE Baraya Geulis that serves the route Cicalengka - Bandung - Padalarang, and Bumi Geulis that serves Bogor - Sukabumi.

As good as they, Baraya Geulis and Rencang Geulis are not a long term solution for the city's dire transportation system. For one, the commuter trains only serves points along the East - West axis of Bandung metropolitan area. They also have limited scedules and capacities. Baraya Geulis, for example, only runs twice a day during the peak hours and with a capacity of only 650 passangers.

By the way, Rencang Geulis are Sundanese words that mean "beautiful friend".

Photo caption:
The top photo is the interior view of KRDE Rencang Geulis commuter train.

Bamboo Fashions

These bamboo fashions are designed and made by a group of students of STSI or Sekolah Tinggi Senirupa Indonesia (Indonesian Higher School of Art) Bandung. They were exhibited at Paris Van Java at the occasion of the Bambu Nusantara Festival that I reported earlier.

Twelve pieces designed by nine different student designers were in exhibit. I'm showing you two of them here. The one in the top photo is entitled "Warrior" and the one at the bottom is entitled "Porcupine". Both are designed by Afridanessa Chita Dewi.

Images of Unity in Diversity

With about 300 ethnic units and 737 living languages, no other countries and territories are probably as diverse as Indonesia. Indeed, cultural diversity is this country's proud heritage embodied in the national motto "Bhineka Tunggal Ika" (Unity in Diversity).

The following pictures are only a small part of the pictures I took at Kemilau Nusantara 2009, one of the festivals that celebrates the Indonesian archipelago's (Nusantara) cultural diversity.

As I reported earlier, Kemilau Nusantara is an annual event organized by West Java Provincial Office of Tourism and Culture. This year's fest was attended by 14 (out of 33 Indonesian provinces) and 18 regencies and municipalities in West Java.

This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation in this week's My World Tuesday meme. Please visit other participating blogs by clicking on the link.



Pencak silat dance from the Province of Banten.



A bride and groom from the Province of Lampung in the southern tip of Sumatra Island. Lampung has several ethnic-based wedding traditions. This is one of them.



A Jaipongan dancer from West Java.



A folk art from Sukabumi, West Java.



The Kancet Ledo/Gong dancers from the Dayak Kenyah tribe in East Kalimantan.