What are Bandung's most favorite hangout places?
That depends on a lot of things: age groups, economic groups, etc. But like in any other big cities around the world, the trend for a favorite hangout place here, especially among the youths, has been cafes and malls, and more specifically, those cafes and mall where there are cozy rooms with sofas and hotspot internet access like the one on the above photo.
This cafe on Jalan Purnawarman (street), Bandung, is locally owned. Modelled after the worldwide success story of that American coffee shop francise (you know what I mean), this cafe offers more local varieties of coffees and other beverages and foods at prices more affordable to the locals than that other one. That is one thing that makes this place popular. The amenities of cozy spaces, comfy sofas, and high speed hotspot internet access add more value to the money you'd want to spend in a place like this.
Globalization may have created a cultural and economic hegemony that benefits huge multinational corporations, but it has also nurtured local creative forces and economic potentials through the adoption and local adaptation of ideas coming from different corners around the globe.
Nice photo. Looks like a great place to hang out. I'm all for the local business to undercut the big corporations.
ReplyDeleteThat's the central point, as you well stated. We should be skeptical of wholesale global cultural "instructions", and be very selective about what we use and adapt in our own creative way, keeping in tough with our own unique heritage, whatever and wherever that is.
ReplyDeleteFor Europeans, the opening of the Silk Road changed the lives of the wealthy by creating a market for textiles, food, and consumer luxuries that hadn't been imagined until then. But they were free of the constantly available electronic messages of "how they should be." So the silks were fashioned very differently in Italy than they were in China. The wheat pasta of Italy was adapted from the rice noodles of the East.
So with modern marketing saturating every corner, every page, the challenge is to step back from the false "stories" of normality and experience, and make our own creative world. This challenge is especially difficult for teens and young adults, because (I believe) they are biologically programmed to absorb all the clues presented to them about fitting in with the "herd" that populates their lives. That survival instinct has been exploited fully by the powerful advertisers.
Yes Eki, since I visit your blog I feel the effects of globalization. Bandung looks like any European big city on a matter of Art, moderniszation, daily way of life, youth activities...
ReplyDeleteI realize that in Internet there's Inter and that strong link makes people closer, and more open-minded. Then, later, people adapt to new things with their own way of life.
Hope your local coffee is better than the you-know-what! : ) We, French, also stuck to our usual 'café', cheaper and better taste.
Kuching youth prefer hangout at starbuck & coffee bean outlets.To me I prefer mamak stall(Teh tarik & roti canai).
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day.
Universal...places where people go and just hang out...
ReplyDeleteNew Rambling Woods Site
this gives us another reason to visit bandung.
ReplyDeleteOh...I like these contrasting colours!! Well spotted, Eki!
ReplyDeletenice shot sir.
ReplyDeleteby the way that is my brother office. ^_^
I'm not the social type so I tend to spend 99% of my lifetime in my bedroom. ;)
ReplyDeleteFriend a beautiful this is the place.Greetings.
ReplyDeleteWell, Bandung loves any cheap and cozy place.
ReplyDeleteWell, Bandung loves any cheap and cozy place.
ReplyDeleteI like the lightings in this cafe. Looks really cool in your photo.
ReplyDeleteWould love to find out where are the good place to visit, shop and eat in Bandung coz my family and I are heading there for New Year. Will check out your blog to find out the cultural (I love most) things to see.
Like Uncle Awang, my favourite hang-out place is at the Mamak stall ~ for a nice plate of Nasi Lemak and Kopi-O! Even when I go to some cafes here, I always ask for my strong Kopi-O!!
ReplyDeleteThe place looks really cool and your photo is great!
ReplyDelete