Mobile Skateboarding Boutique

A mobile skateboarding boutique parked near Bandung Skateboard Park. A place where a community meets is also a marketplace for their needs -- a proof that the existence of themed parks is good for the city's economy. :)

Bandung Skateboard Park at Balubur

Photo caption: Bandung's skateboard park at Balubur last Saturday night.

Bandung Skateboard Park is one of the newest parks in Bandung. The park, which is located under the Pasupati flyover adjacent to 'Taman Jomblo' (single's park), was dedicated on 4 January 2014. This park is said to be the first instalment of a more extended facility promised to Bandung's skateboarders' community. A more elaborate facility that meets international standard is to be dedicated later this year, according to the current mayor.

Bandung has quite a significant number of skateboarder communities. Prior to the construction of the park, many skateboarders used to practice their skills at the road sides, which of course was unsafe.

From Spaces to Places

Photo 1 caption: Pidi Baiq, a prominent multitalented artist from Bandung, performing at the launching of "Bandung From Spaces to Places", a photo book by a photographer friend of mine Galih Sedayu, last night.

Last night I was invited to "Bandung From Spaces to Places" photo book launching by Galih Sedayu, the author of the book, a photographer friend of mine and one of Bandung's leading creative community activists. The launching took place at a community park under the Pasupati overpass at Balubur area.

Galih Sedayu's book can possibly be called a pioneering work of his generation of photographers working on the topic of Bandung.

Old Brievenbus at Bandung's Main Post Office

An ornamented steel 'Brievenbus' (the Dutch word for mail box) like this used to be quite a common sight in many places in the city when I was a child. It's where we drop our stamped mails to post. Now we don't see them much. Many of them have long been replaced by a simpler mail boxes or disappeared all together as fewer and fewer people send snail mails these days.

Some of these ornamented mail boxes have become a museum exhibit, some -- like this one -- have become a decorative ornament put at some post offices as a reminder of the past.

Location: Bandung's main post office on Asia-Africa street.

Satpol PP Patrol Motorbikes

Patrol motorbikes used by Bandung's Satpol PP (Municipal Police) to enforce municipal regulations and public order. These motorbikes are parked near Dalum Kaum street that I told you about yesterday.

The Orderly Dalem Kaum Street

This is what Dalem Kaum Street looks like now: green and more orderly.

Not long ago, this street in the center of the city was notorious for its crowded and chaotic look. Unruly street vendors known locally as 'pedagang kaki lima'(PKL) occupied both sides of the streets and the sidewalks making the already dense and narrow street congested, dirty, and unsightly.

The revitalisation of the street was part of our new mayor's program to regulate more stringently the city's street vendors and make the city cleaner and more orderly.

This banner at the end of the street reminds everyone that it is against the city's regulation to buy from street vendors in this area. This banner reads:

"It is forbidden to buy from street vendors in the red zone." The fine for violators is 1 million rupiah (about US $80).

Garbage Recycler at Work

A middleman collector sorting out garbage for recycling in his small workshop in West Bandung.

Unlike in developed countries, garbage recycling is a labor extensive business in Bandung and in Indonesia in general. Recyclable garbage -- that with plastic, metal, or glass components -- is collected from homes or the streets by traveling scavengers. These scavengers typically sell their 'harvest' to a middleman who then sell them to a wholesale collectors. These wholesale collectors do the sorting, cleaning, and packaging before selling it to the recycling factories.

The government is not involved in the process. Everything is done by individuals and private entrepreneurs. Garbage recycling is a big business that provides a source of income to many who are involved.

Twin Boats at Situ Ciburuy

Two row boats that look like twins parked by the side of Situ (lake) Ciburuy in Padalarang, West Bandung Regency.

I have previously posted another photo from this lake here.