Alteration Artisan

An alteration artisan at work on Jalan Cihampelas, Bandung.

Alteration artisans are quite easy to find in markets and places that sell ready-made or ready-to-wear apparels in this city. They work fast too. You can wait while your apparels are being altered or mended.

Lawn Trimmer

A worker trimming the lawn at the northern garden of Vila Isola or Bumi Siliwangi in the Indonesia University of Education (UPI) campus in the north of Bandung.

A Leisurely Game of Chess

A Malaysian visitor observing how often he found people playing chess on the streets of Bandung once commented in his blog post that the people of Bandung seem to like playing chess a lot. I don't know if it is true, but his observation is quite accurate.

These two men are leisurely playing a game of chess after the busy morning is over in front of their shops at Ciroyom.

'Sol Patu' - The Traveling Cobbler

This is a traveling cobbler at work with a customer in an alleyway.

A cobbler is called 'tukang sol sepatu' here. A traveling cobbler usually travels from place to place shouting "sol patu!" touting the service he's offering. A customer who needs his/her shoes or sandals repaired would then halt him and both negotiate the fee for the work that needs to be done.

Most traveling cobblers in this city come from Garut, a regency about 60 kilometers to the southeast of Bandung.

Chinese Checkers

Contrary to popular beliefs, the Chinese Checkers actually has nothing to do with China. In fact it is just a version of Halma, a board game invented by George Howards Monks, a Harvard Medical School's surgeon, in 1883 - 1884.

The name Chinese Checkers was given - in 1928 - by Bill & Jack Pressman, the owners of J. Pressman & Co., the company that popularized the game. Previously, the game was called Hop Ching Checker Game. It was first patented by Ravensburger, a German games company, under the name Stern-Halma in 1892, only a few years after Halma appeared.

Like any board games, the Chinese Checker is a mind-engaging occupation. It's fun to play when you have nothing important to do like these men.

Window Cleaner

A window cleaner/washer at work at my office building.

Cooperative Learning

For a teacher like me, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing our students enthusiastically learn what they want and need to learn and become successful in life.

A variety of techniques, methods, and strategies are available to teachers. Cooperative learning is one of them. It is basically a teaching strategy where the teacher groups students of different levels of achievement in small teams and encourage them to engage in different kinds of learning activities to improve their mastery of a particular topic or subject. The objectives of the group activities are, as the name indicates, to encourage students to help each other (i.e. cooperate) to accoplish the task at hand.

Cooperative learning is good in that it usually creates an atmosphere of togetherness and common fate and that - like that of real life situations - an individual's success is made possible only with cooperation and helping one another.

Bandung Countryside: The Grass Collector

I don't know if there is such a phrase as "grass collector". But this is what this man does. He havests and collects elephant grass that is especially grown for cattle from a nearby field and take it home to feed his cows.

There are a lot of small cow farms around Bandung, especially in the northern and southern parts of it. These cow farms are the main producer and suplier of milk for dairy product factories in the area.

According to the association of Indonesian Milk Cooperatives (GKSI), as of 2008 West Java produces an average of about 430,000 liters of milk per day, of which 110,000 of it comes from Bandung and its vicinities.

City of People # 22: Twins

It's been a while since I posted my last photo of "City of People" series. Today's photo is of cute baby twins on a bike with their father. I took this photo on one of my street photography hunting sometime ago on Jalan Braga (Braga Street).

It is estimated that only about two percent of the world's population are twins, and less than a half percent are identical (or monozygotic) twins. In that regard, I think, twins are very special people.

Learning Democracy

As a newly emerging democracy, Indonesia still has a lot of things to learn about its nature and decent practices. Just a little more than ten years ago, we did not use to have or enjoy what we do now. Direct and free elections of government officials and the freedom of speech and the press, for example, were only a dream when I was a student. Demonstrations - except if they were in support of the ruling regime - were strictly forbidden in the name of "national security" and "political stability" and for the sake of "economic development and progress," the polical jargons that the New Order regime under President Suharto often used to defend its undemocratic practices.

We did enjoy a remarkable economic growth then, and Indonesia was named as one of the emerging economic tigers of Asia. However, a government without transparency and public accountability tends to become corrupt and abusive of its power. And that is exactly what was discovered when the economic crisis of 1997-98 hit the region. A large portion of the wealth of this country was found to have been circulating only in a limited circle of people, mostly those closest to power and their cronies. Collusion, corruption, and nepotism were rampant that what appeared to be progress and prosperity was nothing more than a shell that was hollow inside.



With the crises, came the Reform movement, and democratization programs were speedily instituted. The 1945 Constitution has since been ammended four times to make rooms for democratic institutions and practices, and avoid abuse and misinterpretations by those in power.

Government officers and members of the legislative bodies are now freely and directly elected and, with the abolition the regulations that gave the government control over the press, the press is now as free as those in any democratic countries. Citizens are also free to stage protests and demonstrations and to petition the government for redress of grievances. The establishment of the all powerful Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (Corruption Eradication Commission) particularly has made the efforts to get rid of corruptive practices a crowning jewel of our efforts to have a clean and accountable government and get back on track to prosperity. A lot of high ranking public officers, including a substantial number of the members of the legislative bodies, have been captured, tried, and indicted for embezzlement of public funds.




Although relatively new, the spirit and practices of democracy are well-embraced by Indonesians from all walks of life, as these photos show. The top photo is of a small group of Indonesia University of Education students who - like a lot other students from around the country - recently protested a new legislation passed by the DPR (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat) - the Indonesian parliament. They considered the new law, which would require that all Indonesian schools and universities be made into Badan Hukum Pendidikan (Legal Educational Body), as an effort to privitize education and a betrayal of the Constitutional rights of the citizens to get an affordable education for all.

The second, third, and fouth photos are of students giving their votes for Students Legislative and Executive Bodies.

City of People: Knife Sharpening Man

One of the convenience of living in Bandung (and in Indonesia or other developing countries, for that matter, I think) is that you have different sorts of services available at your door steps whenever you need them. Everyday (well, nearly everyday), different sorts of tradesmen pass by my house touting their services. They offer services such as shoe or sofa repair, knife-sharpening, pruning out and weeding your garden, etc. All I need to do is call them in and they will happily give you the service you need for a small fee. This man passed by my house one Sunday when I was working on my front yard garden. He was touting knife-sharpening service, which I conveniently happened to need. The machete and garden scissors I was using were getting too dull for the pruning work I was doing. So, I called him in and voila, a few minutes later I had a sharp machete and scissors.

Jeans Doctor

One of the disadvantages of buying ready made clothes or trousers is that sometimes they don't really fit your body size. But that's usually not a problem as many shops now offer to fix them to fit your body size. In Bandung, this service is not only offered by big department stores, but also by street jeans doctors like this one. You can find them in places where there are clothing shops like on Cihampelas Street (Bandung's Jeans and Fashion street), Pasar Baru, etc.

A Bit of History of Jeans and Blue Jeans

Made from tough fabric called denim, Jeans trousers, as many of you may already know, was originally designed for work. It was initially worn by man and woman workers of the Second World War before it became popular as a casual dress among teenagers in the 1950's.

Jeans, especially blue jeans, are often associated with cowboys and the American Old West. What many of us may not know, however, is that the name "jeans" is not of American origin. The term blue jeans - the original fabric and color of today's jeans - was derived from blu di Genoa or Bleu Genes (the blue of Genoa) because it is believed that it was the Genoese sailors who were the first to wear this kind of clothing in the 1860s. The denim fabric itself, according to Wikipedia, was first manufactured in the town of Chieri in Turin, Italy, during the Renaissance and became popular in the 1500s.

CDPB January 09 Theme Day Post: Best Photo of 2008

First of all, Happy New Year to you all. May this year be a peaceful and prosperous year for us all.

This month's CDPB theme is the Best Photo of 2008. Frankly speaking, I was having a hard time choosing which photo was the best for 2008, but after much consideration, I came to the decision that the above photo should be Bandung Daily Photo's best for 2008. And here's why ...

This photo was one of the three photos I put in my first post. The decision to start BANDUNG DAILY PHOTO is, I think, one of the best things I did in 2008. With this blog, I have come to know a good many friends from many parts of the world: you! With this blog, I've also played my part to help introduce to the world the city of which I am a proud citizen of: Bandung.

This photo, by the way, is of two child entrepreneurs selling pet rabbits at Gasibu Square (Lapangan Gasibu) Sunday market.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants of this month's CDPB theme.

City of People # 21: Music Students

I was heading to one of the university's canteens for lunch last Thursday when I saw this group of young men performing beautiful music and songs in front of one of the eating places. No, they are not ordinary street musicians, at least not in the ordinary sense of those performing on the streets for tips. These young men are the students of the Music and Performing Arts Department of the Indonesia University of Education (UPI), Bandung.

I don't know if their "street" performance was part of a course they were taking. The music and songs they performed were very fine and tasteful though. They performed a couple of jazz tunes and a popular Indonesian song before they left for another eating place on campus.

As I said in at least one of my previous posts, Bandung is home to quite a few top Art and Perfoming Art schools in the country. The Music and Performing Art Department of the Indonesia University of Education (UPI) is one of them.

City of People # 19: Tukang Kue Bandros (Bandros Cake Vendor)

Kue bandros (bandros cake) is a traditional Indonesian cake. It's made of grated coconut, coconut milk, rice flour and a little bit of salt. The cake is usually sold by a street vendor like this, and is usually eaten for breakfast or at tea time in the afternoon.

This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation for the Monochrome Monday meme. To see othes black and white or monochrome photos of the other participants' please follow the link.

City of People in Monochrome Monday: Street Ventriloquist

This ventriloquist is performing at Braga Street, Bandung.

A ventriloquist, by the way, is a person who is skilled at speaking without moving his/her lips. Ventriloquism - the ability to perform ventriloquizing - which is now considered mainly as a stagecraft was originally performed by the Greek as a spriritual ritual whereby a prophet would speak to and interpret the voice of the dead who was believed to reside in his stomach. That is why ventriloquism is also called gastromancy or "belly speaker".

This photo is for my participation in Monochrome Monday meme. To see other black and white and monochrome photos of this meme's participants, please click the link.

City of People # 18: Street Cleaner

Who keeps Bandung streets clean?

Bandung Street Documentary # 8: Responsible Street Behavior

Can cell phones kill?

Yes they can, do, and have killed many. According to the results of a recent study published in the Journal of Human Factors and The Ergonomic Society, cell phone distraction on the road, i.e. talking on cell phones while driving, causes approximately 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year. The reasons, as found by the study, are actually quite obvious: Talking on cell phones while driving slows the driver's reactions and retards their alertness. It was found, for example, that cell phone use while driving makes the driver's reaction to brake light 18 percent slower.

One might argue that with the hands-free device, such a thing does not necessarily to be the case. However, two studies at least have found that hands-free cell phone use still do distract drivers. The reason is that the cell phone conversation makes the driver absent minded (they look but don't see).

There have not been any similar studies in Bandung - or in Indonesia for that matter - about how dangerous it is to use the cell phones while driving, let alone riding a motorbike. Referring to the above studies, however, it makes a lot of sense that such a street act is indeed very risky. Unfortunately, I have seen more and more drivers and even motor bike riders doing it here. In that regard, this guy on the photo, I think, deserves a thumb up.

I took this photo a couple of days ago on a Bandung street. I was walking from a bank to a service station when I saw this guy stopped his motor bike to pick up his cell phone and received a call just a few meters in front of me. I was very lucky that I had my pocket digital camera with me when this happened - and so, voila, another street photography photo op caputured.

Street Photography # 7: Courage and Determination

A junior high school student braving the rain and traffic on his bicycle on his way home from school. What's more inspirational than the courage and determination he shows?

A fresh from the oven (camera) photo, taken this afternoon on the street of Bandung.

This photo is my participation for the Monochrome Maniacs meme. Please click the link to see other participants' wonderful black and white photography.

Street Photography # 6: Street Camera

It was not long ago that a video camera (camcorder) was an expensive gadget that only a few could afford. Now, it's everywhere. Thanks to the revolution in digital technology, video cameras have not only become more affordable to more and more people, they have also become smaller, more versatile, and easier to operate.

Did you know who invented a video camera? When it was invented? How much the first video camera was sold for?

The first practical video camera - the early ancestor of today's camcorder - is said to be invented by a group of scientists working for the Ampex Corporation in the early 1950s. Three of them were credited for the invention: Ray Dolby, Charles Ginsberg, and Charles Anderson. The first model of this camera was introduced to the public on April 14th, 1956 and was offered for approximately US$75,000 (seventy five thousand US dollars) per piece. Because of its bulky size and price, only large television companies could afford to buy it.

The real camcorder (or video camera) that was designed for personal use began to be offered to the general public in 1980's. Even then, the size and price were still bulky and heavy that only serious and wealthy few could afford. Since then, and thanks to the revolution in digital technology, however, it has been possible to reduce the size and prize of this wonderful gadget. By the 1990's it was not only small and portable enough to carry around, but also cheap enough for the average people to want to have one. Who would have thought then that in slightly more than a decade, it has become so small that it can now be incorporated into a cell phone?

All that aside, I took this photo at a recent street festival held in Bandung. I was amazed at how many cameras - both still and videos, carried by pros as well as amateurs - were there to cover the event. This young man was busy trying to get the best angle for his shot. Amused by what he was trying to do, I snapped a couple of shots. Technically they were not good ones, I'm afraid, but I like the action captured here.