Selasar Sunaryo Art Space (SSAS)

Top photo: Channel News Asia (CNA) television crew I was working with in the making of Boomtown Asia Documentary inspecting an art work at Selasar Sunaryo Art Space (SSAS).

Selasar Sunaryo Art Space (SSAS) is one of quite a few private art galleries -- and probably one of the most prominent -- in Bandung. The art space was officially opened in September 1998 following a four-year construction that began in 1993. (It was completed in 1997, but was not officially opened until 1998.) Occupying an area of 5,000 square meters in the scenic northern hills of the Dago area, SSAS is the dream child of Mr. Sunaryo, a prominent Indonesian artist and sculptor who was also a lecturer at Bandung Institute of Technology.

To get more information about it, you can follow the link I have made above.

Motorcyclist Masks, Gloves, and Rain Jackets

A street vendor selling masks, gloves, and rain jackets for motorcyclists on the road side of Jalan Supratman Street.

You can find this scene in many parts of the city. Street vendors (or the Kaki Lima as we call them) are an important part of the city's economy. They provide livelihood for those who would otherwise be left unemployed because they could not find a job in the formal sector. As such, they become a significant social and economic safety valve against potential social unrest. However, their existence can also be a threat to the pedestrians' safety because they occupy the sidewalks and prevent pedestrians from using them. Pedestrians are often forced to use the body of the street to get around because of their existence.

Regulations and law enforcement dealing with the kaki lima are generally week weak in the city. I really wish that the government could be more responsive about this issue. They should find a way to balance the need of providing employment and livelihood to those who can not make it to the formal sector and the convenience and safety interests of pedestrians.

'Bubur Sumsum'

A street vendor selling 'bubur sumsum' serving a customer at Jalan Geger Kalong Girang in the north of Bandung.

Bubur sumsum literally means bone marrow porridge. However, this local sweet delicacy has nothing to do at all with bone marrow. It is a porridge, yes. But it is entirely made of rice flour and other ingredients derived from plants, like coconut milk, palm sugar, etc. It has no animal ingredients whatsoever. The name was probably given because of its look: white and smooth like marrow.

Bubur sumsum is usually eaten for breakfast or afternoon snack. Because of its savory and sweet taste, however, this light meal is often served as a dessert to fit in the Western style of dining and translated as rice pudding.

If you want to know how it tastes, you may try to make it yourself. Here is the recipe written in English that I found on the web.