Roadside Newspaper

A motorcyclist stopped by the road side to by a newspaper from a newsstand on Jalan Alun-alun Timur, Bandung.

A Woman with Two Children

A woman with her two children in the crowd watching the Cap Go Meh carnival on Jenderal Sudirman Street some time ago.

Socks

Being a busy market street, Jalan Dalem Kaum offers a lot of things to see. And for a photo enthusiast like myself, this is a perfect place to do street photography. But if you have keen photographer's eyes you can get more than what you can imagine. Like this one: how a street vendor displays the socks that he sells.

So, this place may feel like a chaotic place for some; but isn't there always an orderly beauty in chaos? All you need to do is to have a pair of keen, observing eyes and the right attitude.

Mechanical Toy-Bird

A father is trying to help his son set a mechanical toy-bird to fly at the Alun-Alun, Bandung's city square.

Ciroyom Railway Station

Passengers waiting for the train at Ciroyom Railway Station.

Ciroyom is one of the smaller railway stations in the city of Bandung. Located about three kilometers to west of Stasion Hall - Bandung's main railway station - Ciroyom mainly serves economy class and commuter trains that connect Bandung with its suburban areas and neighboring towns.

Ciroyom is also the name of one of Bandung's largest central wet markets, which is located just behind the station. Many farmers from the neighboring towns and villages often use the train to carry their produce into the market.

Theme Day Post: Waiting

Waiting is probably one of the most boring things to do. To "offset" their boredom, people do different things to get themselves occupied. Some read books, magazines, or newspapers. Some play games, listen to their MP3 players, or do things with their cell phones. But there are also people who feel comfortable doing nothing while waiting.

Here's my photographic interpretation of this month's CDPB theme day: waiting. I took this photo at Gado Bangkong, a small suburban railway station in the west of Bandung.

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

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.

Sunday at the Park

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

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.

Tukang Buah Potong (Sliced Fruit Vendor)

Don't have time to peel and slice the fruit? Don't worry! This vendor (and manly like him) have it done for you.

Street Documentary: Hauling A Motorbike

This is how a motorbike is hauled onto a truck and transported from the shop to the buyer here.

Indonesia, by the way, is one of the largest motorbike producers and markets in Asia. According to the chairperson of Indonesia motorbike Industry Association (AISI) Gunadi Sindhuwinata, Indonesia currently has an installed production capacity of 7.5 million motorbikes per year. As of last year (2008), the domestic market absorbed about 6.3 million units or about 84 percent of the total production capacity. Due to the crisis, however, it is expected that the demands for motorbikes in the domestic market will drop to only about 58 percent of the total production capacity or about 3.8 to 4.4 million units this year.

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.

Banana Vendor at Cipaganti Street

This banana vendor is selling the fruit on the sidewalk of Jalan Cipaganti (Cipaganti Street). Vendors like this usually carry the fruit from the countrysides in the northern parts of Bandung on a scale-like carrier with bamboo baskets on both ends (called "rancatan" in Sundanese or "pikulan" in Indonesian - see picture) in the morning and waits for buyers on the street side all day. Jalan Cipaganti is a favorite place for these vendors because it is very shady with old-growth mahogany trees and a one-way and strategic street that connects the busy commercial parts of the city in the south and upscale residential areas in the north. As these vendors carry the fruit directly from their gardens/orchards, the price here is usually cheaper than that in the market or supermarket.

Bandung Street Documentary # 9: Dangerous Street Act

This is one of the things I can't be proud of Bandung. These men were sitting and standing on top of a moving open pick up truck carrying a pile of boxes of electronic goods on a busy street. What they were doing was of course against the law (not to mention endangering their own lives) but there was no police officers around. I wish they realized how dangerous it was to do that.

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.

Street Photography # 9: Bandung's Youth Culture

Look at the T-shirt this young man is wearing.

Terrorism is horrific, but to fight it and fall into that other thing written on his t-shirt is like escaping the mouth of a tiger and falling into the mouth of a crocodile.

However, I don't think this young man is serious about smoking the homegrown thing (I certainly hope not). Like any young people anywhere, the t-shirt he has chosen to wear may just be a rebellious expression of his young mind.

Rebellious and out of the league expressions are one of the many distinctive features of youth subculture. These expressions can be found in their behaviors, fashions, choices of music genres, vehicles, and even the slangs and language they use.

There are many theories that have been proposed or used by experts to explain about youth subculture. Among them, Stuart Hall's and Tony Jefferson's (1993) and that of the Frankfurt School of Marxist Theory are, I think, most interesting. According to the former, youth subcultures are the symbolic and ritualistic manifestations of attempts to defy the hegemonic power of the bourgeois by a deliberate adoption of symbolic actions that challenge the establishment. The latter theory, meanwhile, suggests that the intrinsically consumerist characteristics of the youth subculture is an inseparable part of the divide-and-rule strategy of capitalism.

I took this photograph at the HELAR Fest held in Bandung last August. The HELAR Fest, as I mentioned in a couple of my previous posts, is an annual event that celebrates Bandung as an emerging creative city. Creativity, as well as the HELAR Fest itself, is the domain of the youths. They are the powerhouse of the future.

Street Photography # 8: Street Percussionist

Although Bandung has quite a number of street percussionists performing on the streets for tips, this particular street percussionist does not normally perform on the street. He and his group usually perform on stage. His street performance pictured here is part his group's participation in Braga Festival last year.

Percussion, any musical intruments that produce sounds by means of vibrations and are played by hitting, shaking, rubbing, scrapping, is believed to be the first musical intrument ever created.

There are many musical instruments that can be categorized as percussion. Classified according to how the sounds are produced, the persussion would include:

- Idiophonic instuments, i.e. musical instruments that produce sounds by the vibration of the whole instrument's body, such as bells, chimes, etc.

- Membraphonic instuments, i.e. musical instruments that produce sounds by the vibration of some sort of membranes. All kinds of drums belong to this category.

- Chordophonic instruments (also called string instruments), i.e. musical instruments that produce sounds by the vibration of their string elements, such as the piano and the guitar.

- Aerophonic instruments (also called wind instruments), i.e. musical instruments that produce sounds by the air passing through the instruments, such as the saxophone and the flute.

- Electrophonic instruments, i.e. musical instruments that produce sounds by electronic signals or pulses, such as the electones and MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface).

Bandung Street Documentary # 8: Jaywalkers on Merdeka Street

An American friend of mine who visited Bandung once commented that, unlike the traffic pattern he's used to experiencing in his home country, the traffic here seemed to be "oozing" - flowing just like that: without following strict rules, everybody seems to know what to do. There is some sort of tacit negotiation going on among the street users that tolerate each other's "erratic" traffic behaviors. Well that may be true. Traffic behavior, just like any other public acts, is a cultural phenomenon.

Jaywalking like this may be frowned upon where you are, but here it's just a day to day reality. We do have rules about road crossing, but most of us seem to choose just to ignore them, especially when there are no police guards around. Do they cause a lot of traffic accidents? Amazingly no. Traffic accidents in places like this is surprisingly very low.

I took this photo - yes, ironically - from a crossing bridge. This scene took place on Merdeka street, one of Bandung's commercial and busiest streets, where Bandung Indah Plaza (BIP) is located.

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.