Parking Booth

A parking booth in front yard of a Honda motorcycle dealer in Cibeureum in the west of Bandung. The signs are universal. The writings underneath them say "Please open your car window/helmet visor" and "Submit your parking ticket."

Pos penjagaan parkir di depan dealer sepeda motor Honda di Cibeureum.

Parking Fees at Stasiun Bandung

Here is the list of parking fees currently applicable at Stasiun Bandung (Bandung Railway Station):

Cars: Rp 2,000 per hour or Rp Rp 24,000 max for overnight or 24 hour parking.

Motorcycles: Rp 12,000 max for overnight or 24 hour parking.

Box/trucks: Rp 5,000 per hour or Rp 10,000 max.

Buses: Rp 50,000 flat.

The list raises some questions: How much is the hourly charge for motorcycles? How long can a truck or bus be parked there?

Parking Man at Work

A parking man at work - in the rain - directing a car to a vacant slot at a shopping area on Jalan Doktor Setiabudi street. A parking man like him is really helpful when the parking lot is packed with cars.

Parking in The Wrong Place

Oh oh, what's going on here?

A car is parked on the sidewalk in the corner of Purnawarman and Wastukencana streets blocking pedestrians from using it.

Parking is a big problem in many parts of this city especially those near commercial areas and during the weekend and on holidays. The car was parked there on a busy Sunday afternoon. The owner was probably going to Bandung Electronic Center (BEC), could not find a place to park his car in a nearby parking lot, and decided to park there so that he did not have to walk very far from the mall. It's very sad that he did not realize that what he did endangers pedestrians who had no option but to step onto the road and risk being hit by a motorist to pass this corner.

When I took this photograph, an illegal parking man was busy directing stray cars to corners and road sides that were not supposed to be used for parking and took parking fees from them.

Bicycle Parking

A newly designated bicycle parking at Paris van Java.

Dragon Parking

Does a dragon aslo need a parking space?

It apparently does, this one at least.

I took this photo sometime ago at the basement parking of BeMall, one of Bandung's shopping centers specializing in cell phones, computers, and electronic goods and gadgets.

BeMall, by the way, is located on Jalan Naripan (street), Bandung.

Reading Signs #1: Courtesy or Incompetent Lady Drivers?

Signs tell a lot of things about the society in which they are found. This one I photographed at the parking lot entrance of Bandung Electronic Center (BEC) on Purnawarman street, for example, may look simple and innocent. But if we read it carefully, it actually may not be as simple and innocent as it looks.

On the surface, the message of this sign looks like a courteous and privileged treatment for lady drivers. Underneath this surface, however, this sign also implies that lady drivers are being considered not as competent as their man counterparts. It is therefore both a statement of courteousity and inequality between men and women.



The fact that this sign is written in English may escape the scrutiny of native English speakers who live in a country where English is its first or second language. When read against the fact that English is neither the first language nor second language in Indonesia (read: Bandung, where this sign is located), a different set of conclusions may be drawn. First, we may conclude that there may not be a sufficient equivalence for the term in the Indonesian language (the conclusion of which, of course, is not true as the Indonesian does have a perfect match translation for it). Second, English is considered as a more prestigious language by the owner/management of this mall/business premises in particular, and the society in general. To the dismay of may patriotic and nationalistic Indonesians, this conclusion may be true. English has become a more and more prominent language in our daily life to the detriment of our own national language, Bahasa Indonesia.

As simple as they may look on the surface, signs do tell a lot about the condition of a society. Therefore, beginning today, I'm going to take you on a tour of sign reading in the city where I live: Bandung. This series of posts on sign reading, hopefully, will make us more aware of the complex nature of signs and represent the current state of a society, despite their simple and innocent look.

Text and picture by Eki Qushay Akhwan, all rights reserved.

Helmet Boxes

I have probably come accross this quite so often, but never really paid attention to how interesting it is photographically for its colors and patterns, that is until recently.

These boxes are available at what we call here "Tempat Penitipan Helm" or helmet deposit counter. You can find them in almost any motocycle parking lots in major shopping malls in Bandung.

Leaving your helmet on your motorbike in the parking lot is generally safe, but as a precaution and for your convenience, it is advisable to leave your helmet at a helmet deposit counter like this. The parking lot management charges you extra for this, of course. But this is more convenient and a lot cheaper than having your helmet wet (in an open parking lot and when it's raining) or stolen, especially if you have an expensive helmet. The charge is usually about 1,000 rupiahs (less than 10 cents dollars).

I took this photograph at the parking lot of Bandung Electronic Center (BEC), a mall specializing in selling electronic goods, on Purnawarman Street, a couple of weeks ago.