Vespa MP3 250

I snapped this photo on the road side parking of Jalan Braga sometime ago.

Vespa MP3 250 is a real beauty among the ordinary motorbikes and scooters parked beside her.

As the name indicates, MP3 250 is packed with 244.3 cc single cylinder QUASAR 4 stroke engine that enables it to comfortably run at 120 kilometers per hour. It is also equipped with CVT automatic transmission which makes it easier to handle in frequently congested city traffic. Its emission and exhaust noise, according to its manufacturer, is also quite environmentally-friendly. It meets Euro 3 standard. The price tag, however, is not very friendly to many Indonesian motorbike and scooter users. Priced at about IDR 110 million (USD 11,000) this Vespa model is about 4 times more expensive than its Japanese counterparts with the same engine capacity. But for fashion and comfort, I don't think I would mind paying more for this beauty.

Museum Piece Tricycles

I don't know how old these children tricycles are. My wildest guess is that they are from the late 19th or early 20th centuries. Considering their age, I could not help but marveled at their condition. Except for the missing rubber tires, everything else seems to be intact and in their original condition, including the paint.

These tricycles could very well be museum pieces, but they are not. They are part of a private collection of old bicycles and tricycles owned by a member of Bandung's Paguyuban Sepeda Baheula (old bicycle community). These old tricycles together with quite a number of old bicycles are part of the exhibits that Paguyuban Sepeda Baheula displayed at Braga Fest last December.

It was already dark when I discovered these tricycles, so I had to use flash light to photograph them - something that I usually avoid in my photographic practice unless it is necessary and unavoidable.