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.

Rubber Plantation in The West of Bandung

I was driving back from Jakarta yesterday. Instead of taking the Cipularang toll road all the way to Bandung, I got out at Cikampek exit and took the ordinary road from there. The trip took longer time wise, but the view along the road was worth the while. I could also drive at more leisurely pace without having to worry about the minimum speed limit and could stop the car whenever I wanted or found anything interesting.

The Cikampek - Padalarang route is a meandering road with paddy fields and rubber, cocoa, and tea plantations along the way.

About half way enroute I spotted a road-side coffee shop by a rubber plantation and stopped to have a coffee and take some photos.



As you can see in the bottom photo, the rubber tree sap (the natural rubber latex) is tapped and collected by making a diagonal incision into the bark. The sap would then be let to drip into a small container through a spout planted into the bark. The plantation workers would then collect the latex from the containers and bring it to the processing plant.

Indonesia currently produces nearly 3 million tons of natural rubber annually from about 3,4 million hectares of plantation areas. This production is equal to about 26.5 percent of the world's total natural latex production.

Theme Day: Save Energy and Be Green

A garbage bin with a green message attached onto it that says "Conserve Energy and Save the Earth". The garbage bin was put on an old bicycle parked on Dago street during the Car Free Day which is held every Sunday morning here. This campaign was sponsored by PT PLN - the state-owned Indonesian Electricity Company.

The old bicycle, the green sticker on which the message was written, and the event in which they are place all speak about being green.

This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation in this month's City Daily Photo's Theme Day. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Photo by Alda Agustine, a Bandung Daily Photo contributor.