I spent the last half of spring break in the city of Bandung (located in West Java, a few hours drive from Jakarta), also known as Paris Van Java. Legend has it that back in the days of Dutch rule, a Dutch noble came to Indonesia, and declared Bandung to be just like Paris, but on Java!
I’m not sure that I’d go that far in my praise of Bandung, but it is a great place to visit. It definitely has the big city feel so stereotypical of Southeast Asia, but at the same time, it has its own unique experiences to offer, one of my personal favorites being the plethora of factory outlets. Go look in your closet, check the tags, and I can just about guarantee you that plenty of your clothing is labeled “Made in Indonesia”. When the garment factories here have a surplus, or if there is a small error in the product, stuff gets sent to Bandung. There are literally HUNDREDS of outlet stores. I was there 2 years ago and got a pair of American Eagle jeans for just under $10 and a pair of Atticus (skate brand) skinny jeans for about $15. Sadly, the boys weren’t so much into shopping, so we only got to visit 3 outlets, and I found no new jeans (all I have remaining are the two pairs I bought there 2 years ago. I was hoping to be able to avoid paying American prices for new jeans this summer). But I did find some awesome deals, the top 3 of which are a Gap skirt – original price tag $134 but bought for $15, a Gap long sleeved button down shirt – original price tag $46 but bought for $10, and an Abercrombie and Fitch cardigan.
Once I got home, I think I realized the defect which allowed it to be so cheap ($12). Can you spot the errors in the picture below taken of the tag sewn into the cardigan? And now that I look, there’s some in the original pricetag in the photo above as well!
However, I know it’s not a knockoff due to the actual tag sewn into the neck, seen below. They got it right on this one! Interesting that this one was made in China, yet still somehow ended up at the Bandung outlets...
Some other awesome experiences we had while visiting Bandung were eating in a “Blind restaurant” – one of those newfangled restaurants that are so overwhelmingly pitch black inside that they supposedly cause your other senses to be heightened. We mostly just felt claustrophobic and really hot, due to there being no AC or any other air movement at all in this pitch black room. Then we all (including some of the guys!) got groped by the waiter as he “helped” us find our way out. We also ate at an all you can eat shabu-shabu restaurant, which was DELICIOUS, even moreso after I learned how to use the stupid cooker thing in the middle of the table and could stop eating my meat raw. (Just kidding! Didn’t eat it raw...)
HyeJi was an expert, and quite a good teacher! Eating with the Korean students was especially beneficial given that the only cooking utensils we were given were wooden chopsticks.
Though riding a cross-Java train full of fleas and cockroaches and traveling with 12 teenagers doesn’t come without its frustrations, it was a really great trip! One of the students has grandparents who live in Bandung, and they were so kind as to host us, provide all our transportation around Bandung (they rented a minibus and hired a driver, instructed to take us wherever we asked!), and to serve us breakfast and take us out for dinner every single night! Words cannot describe their hospitality, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they LOVE doing it.
In conclusion (can you tell I’ve been proofreading papers lately?), I’d like to mengingatkan you (because I can’t remember how to say it in English) of the toll road that I mentioned in a recent blog post. Remember how I wrote about how much I love driving on that road because it is so empty and traffic is so fast? I learned on the way back from Bandung that this is not always the case. We took the night train back, arriving in Semarang at 5 AM. From there, it is about an hour and a half’s car ride home. The last 20 minutes of the trip can now be completed in 5 thanks to the new toll road. Except for early in the morning, apparently. I guess the bewildered citizens of the toll road area really have no idea what to do with this wonderful piece of pavement the government slapped down in their back yard. So they’ve turned it into a morning market! The last five minutes of our trip, in which all of us desperately wanted nothing more than to be at home and lay our weary bodies in our beds, ended up being about 30, thanks to this:
I mean, do you even SEE at the very left, there is a guy selling BALOONS! And behind the green motorbike is a portable restaurant of which the people sitting on the median are customers. This is the TOLL ROAD, people! Ohhhhh.... Indonesia.
To conclude my conclusion, I leave you with a picture of the greatest toilet my hindparts have ever had the privilege of sitting on. It is RECTANGULAR! And oh, so retro! Get excited.
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