The Paris of Java
Written: Oct 27 '00 (Updated Oct 27 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Friendly people, great scenery
Cons: Very pushy "guides", getting ripped off (especially taxis)
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| cinimod's Full Review: Java |
Review Topic: Sights & Attractions
My last train journey was on the high speed, super comfortable ICE train in Germany. So it was with some trepidation that I stood with my girlfriend on the platform at Jakarta’s Gambir station, waiting for the train to Bandung. Indonesia was one of the countries hardest hit by the Asian economic crisis in 1997, and with a per capita GDP of around US$700, is still one of the poorest countries in Asia. There have been periodic riots and bombings in Jakarta, the most recent at the stock exchange last month claiming 10 lives. Across on the other platform, trains were coming in packed with people hanging out of the doors and sitting on the steps with their feet inches from the tracks.
I was therefore pleasantly surprised when the train to Bandung turned out to be quite different from the trains that I’d seen on the other platform. The wagons had comfortable looking seats and there were stewardesses waiting outside the doors. The train left on time, and the ride was smoother than I expected. We arrived in Bandung just before 10 p.m., about half an hour late. After the sticky, dusty heat of Jakarta, the air in Bandung felt distinctly cool and fresh. The town center is situated about 700 meters above sea-level, with hills and active volcanoes around climbing to more than 2000 meters.
Bandung (also known as the Paris of Java) has a small-town feel to it, even though it has a population of over two million people. There are many colonial style buildings and the streets are lined with leafy trees. An interesting place to check out is “Jeans street”. On Jeans street (I forgot the real name of the street), all the shops sell imitation brand name jeans and the whole street looks like a part of Disneyland. The shops are decorated like Wild West saloons and many have giant superhero figures mounted on the roof.
But for us, the highlights of Bandung were to be found in the surrounding countryside. Active volcanoes, hot springs, flower gardens and great views – we booked a private tour and made our way along the winding road to Tangkuban Parahu, an active volcano that looks like an overturned boat from a distance (Tangkuban Parahu means overturned boat). It was pretty crowded up there, being a Sunday. There were a lot of vendors selling all kinds of overpriced trinkets. The volcano last erupted in 1969, and is overdue for the next eruption.
Something that we did not expect was that immediately upon getting out of the car, we were accosted by people claiming to be guides. Even though the trails are fairly straightforward, the guides insist on escorting you for an exorbitant fee. We wanted to walk to the hot springs, for which the entrance fee is Rp.1000 (about 10 cents US) per person. However, the guides insisted that we need to use a guide and pay Rp.30,000 (US$3). We knew from local friends that it was not necessary to use a guide, so we refused and walked the trail on our own. One of them then proceeded to follow us all the way, and kept “guiding” us, even though we tried to shake him off by waiting at a hut for 20 minutes (he just waited as well, getting drenched by the rain). So here’s a tip – go in a big group and have someone who speaks Sundanese (the local language of the Bandung area) if you want to avoid paying for a “service” you don’t need.
After Tangkuban Parahu, we went to Ciater, where the hot spring water is directed into various pools and lakes for people to bathe in. This was again too crowded for us, but there are private baths that you can go to for an additional fee.
At night, we went to an amazing restaurant in the hills above Bandung called “Kampung Daun”. The restaurant is entirely outdoors, every table is like a little hut without walls. Cooking is done outdoors too, so you can see (and smell) each dish before ordering. A mountain stream runs by the side and there is a real waterfall in the middle of the restaurant. There are candles covered in translucent paper everywhere, giving the whole place a magical and very romantic atmosphere. Definitely one of the most interesting restaurants I’d ever been to. Prizes are reasonable too – we each had a drink and a main course and the total came to less than US$4 per person. Very highly recommended!
Unfortunately we had only one full day in Bandung, and had to take the 6 a.m. train back to Jakarta the next morning. This time we could see the scenery as it was bright outside. The terraced rice fields with volcanoes in the background was just like on the postcards. Looking at all the mountainous land makes it hard to imagine that Java is one of the most densely populated places on earth, with well over 100 million inhabitants sharing an area smaller than Nepal or Florida. We arrived in Jakarta after a smooth and uneventful ride. I learnt that evening that the same train running a few hours later hit a lorry on the tracks killing 6 people.
I can’t say that I like Jakarta – although the nightlife is quite good, the place is just too big, congested, polluted and hard to get around (without being ripped off) for my taste. If there’s one positive thing I can say about Jakarta, it’s that people think you’re a hero for being there. In the 5 days that I was there, there was a violent demonstration, an earthquake (measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale), the train accident I mentioned earlier, and several other less dramatic events, such as the closure of the US embassy. But then, I come from a country that is often misreported in the press, so it didn’t feel out of place to see Jakarta as a perfectly normal big city while other people were wondering whether I was insane to go there. One thing that did catch my attention was the incredible proximity of the wealthy neighbourhoods to the slums. There is this road by a small lake that we traveled often. On one side are houses like you’d see in Beverly Hills. On the other side are wooden shacks that make an inner city slum in America look like a classy area. They are separated by not more than 200 feet of brackish water.
Coming from Malaysia, it was interesting to note the similarities and differences in our languages – Indonesian and Malay are the same language, but there are some words that are totally different. For example, the word “bisa” means “venom” where I come from, but in Indonesia it means “can” (possible). “Kerajinan” means “being hard working” in Malay, “handicrafts” in Indonesian. Many other examples, but I won’t go into details. I just found it fascinating that the same word can have such different meanings in two versions of the same language. But come to think of it, there are such cases in American English and British English too.
Anyway, I digress. Since my girlfriend had to get back to work, we were not able to spend as much time as we’d have liked outside Jakarta. But the next chance we get a few days off, it’s off to Surabaya and Mt. Bromo, in East Java.
More information
A review of Kampung Daun restaurant:
http://articles.ibonweb.com/magarticle.asp?num=343
Guide to Bandung:
http://www.cyberlifestyle.com/guide_to_bandung/index.asp
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cinimod
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Member: Dominic Lim
Location: World citizen (in an ideal world)
Reviews written: 42
Trusted by: 53 members
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