Unseen Bandung: Kampong Party at The Cikapundung River Bank

This is a scene that many visitors to Bandung would not probably see:

Just across the river where I took the fishing photo (see previous post), I saw a small party going on. The party, with dangdut music and dancing, was apparently part of a political campaign held by a candidate of the municipal legislature who sought votes from the slum river bank community in the recently held general elections.

As you can see from the picture, sanitation at densely-populated kampongs along the Cikapundung river is a big environmental issue in Bandung. Open sewer and garbage flow into the river which in turn flows into one of the dirtiest river in the world: The Ciliwung.

Fishing at Cikapundung

Photo caption: a group of men fishing in a makeshift pond set at the bank of the Cikapundung River.

The Cikapundung is the main river that cuts across the city of Bandung from the north to south. It flows and merges with the Citarum, the longest river in West Java, that flows to the Java Sea.

Ballot Casting

Caption: A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in West Bandung in today.

Today Indonesian voters went the polling stations to elect their representatives in the regional and national legislative councils. "Pemilu Legislatif" (Legislative General Elections) is the first of the two-phase elections. In the second phase, Indonesians will cast their votes to elect their president and vice president for the next five year term.