Bandung, Indonesia . . . An Unforgettable Mountain Retreat

Tags

Bandung, Coffee, Indonesia, Jakarta, Kampung Daun, The Lammars

 

Me.

Bandung, Indonesia, is the main city of West Java Province. It’s about 150 km from Jakarta. Tia, my Indonesian friend, suggested we go to Bandung for a few days . . . A perfect suggestion, as this mountain retreat is undeniably a wonderful place to chill out from the chaos of Jakarta. Bandung is part of Lembang county (within the Bandung Regency). The city is surrounded by mountains, with Tangkuban Perahu mountain being the main tourist attraction. In fact, the cost is extremely high for foreign tourists to visit – $25 per person versus $2.50 for an Indonesian. Yikes! Bandung is mostly a “get-a-way” for Indonesians escaping Jakarta for the weekend, and consequently, this mountain was especially crowded. The line of cars and buses stretched for almost a mile . . . In any event, Tia and I decided not to visit this mountain park – other then the outskirts beyond the pay booth – due mostly to the park being so crowded and the entrance fee. 

My Trip to Jakarta, Indonesia

Tags

Batik, Dayak, food, Grand Indonesia Mall, Indonesia, Jakarta, Monas, Old Jakarta, Sambal sauce, Sarinah, Satay, Tahu

MONAS or National Monument at night.

Okay, let me be clear . . . Jakarta, Indonesia is very, very hot and humid; the traffic is unbelievably congested; there is way too much poverty, which in fairness, is contrasted by an emerging middle class; and the population is a staggering 10,000,000 souls (28 million if you count the suburbs). Yikes! Not much to like in my opinion. Nevertheless, I did enjoy 5 things: 1. My friend Tia, who was my guide during this trip; 2. Indonesian food is delicious; 3. The plentiful shopping malls; 4. Seeing where Barack Obama went to elementary school; and, 5. The outsanding museums.  

Indonesian Batik

Tags

Angkor Wat National Museum, Batik, Cambodia, Indonesia, Jakarta, Java Island, Siem Reap

My prized possesion. Why? This is a representation of Wayang klitik (pronounced why-young klee-teak) – They are carved and painted two-dimensional wooden puppets with jointed arms, most popular in East Java. They are used to tell the story of a handsome prince who ruled the Javanese Madjapahit kingdom in the 14th century.

I have been in Jakarta, Indonesia for 3 days and yesterday was especially a fun day. More important, I accomplished a “goal” I have had since visiting Siem Reap, Cambodia nearly two months ago. Way back then I did a post on the Angkor Wat National Museum, where I first observed a type of artwork called Batik . . .

https://aroundtheworldwithblade.wordpress.com/2014/09/21/angkor-wat-national-museum-siem-reap/

I found this type of artwork to be beautiful and I wanted to purchase a print at the museum, but I thought they were too expensive. I also thought I would have an opportunity to find Batik prints which were just as beautiful, but less expensive during my trip to Siem Reap. Alas, I did not find what I was looking for. Likewise, upon my visit to Phnom Penh, I also was unable to find exactly what I wanted.