Exploring an Old District

Day 4, January 14

Woke up this morning generally refreshed. We are supposed to meet Arief at 8 AM in the lobby for the day’s adventures. We got down to breakfast at about 7:40. Certainly was not a traditional US breakfast but was still filling and quite delicious. There was curried rice, baked chicken, little strips of something. bok choy, fried tofu, juices, coffee, tea, and many other things. On TripAdvisor people complained about the food but not sure why.

Supposed to meet Arief at 8 AM and here it is almost 10:30 and we haven’t heard from him. Hopefully nothing is wrong. Suppose we will find out later. We decided to go and get a SIM card for the extra phone we have. The front desk called a cab for us and we were off. We asked the driver to wait for us and he actually helped us with the purchase. I’m really glad he helped us out because the lady we were working with understood no English. The purchase was made and tested. All seems to be well with our new Indonesian phone number and internet account. The cost for 2 GB of internet access and a huge number of minutes and text messages, $6.53. All can be renewed for the same price. I think the US carriers should get a message from this.

Shortly after we got back to the hotel we did hear from Arief. He was up very late working on an assignment for his classes at the university and over slept. We finally got together just shortly after noon. We went to a historic district in downtown Bandung. Many of the building dated back more than 100 years and some back to when the Dutch were the country of “ownership” for the Indonesian archipelago. Some of the overhead electrical lines dated back for some time as well. Indonesia has been occupied by the Dutch, English, and the Japanese. Shortly after the end of WWII Great Britain granted independence to Indonesia.

In 1955 there was The Asian-African Conference the link is to the 2015 commemoration of the conference. Many nations from Asia and Africa got together to discuss the colonialism that was still widespread on the two continents in the 1950s. We went through a museum that is established on the site of the conference here in Bandung. Once a week the children in schools in Indonesia still recite the 5 points that we established during the conference.

At about 2:30 we had lunch in this area. We ate at The Kiosk in an area of town called Braga. The very cool thing was the menu had pictures so you could see what you were ordering. You maybe couldn’t tell what it was but at least you could see what it looked like. I had a beef dish with white rice and was absolutely wonderful. We also had an appetizer that was delicious. Bonnie and Arief had the same dish, chicken, rice, and something else. Both said their meals were very good as well. Three meals at the outrageous price of $9.

As we walked back in the direction of the hotel to hale a cab it struck me that there are a lot of motorcycle and scooters in this city. If all of the motor "bikes" were cars no one would be going any where. The "single" passenger, two wheeled vehicles take over the road.  Single is in quote because I have seen as many as four people on one bike. This evening I even saw one holding the bridle of a horse and leading it while riding the bike. There are parking lots full of cycles and scooters as well as hundreds maybe even thousands parked on the roadways in orderly rows.

Once we got back to the hotel I found that I had a text from Melanie checking to see if we were okay. Didn’t even know there was an attack in Jakarta. So we turned on the TV to get some news on the situation. I also made a post on FB so that people who might be concerned about our safety would not worry about us. Once we got caught up on the news we did a little TV watching, the end of two movies. Bonnie took a nap. Then I did some writing on this document and messed with the phones some.

Arief called at 7:30 PM asking about dinner. So the three of us went to a place called the Lawangwangi Cafe. Not the greatest meal we have had in Indonesia but the view was fantastic. There was a panorama of the city below and in the distance. Pictures turned out badly so you won’t see any.  The view in the daylight must really be fantastic and very green. The meal was okay but not as good as lunch and certainly a lot more expensive. I say expensive but it was a little less than $11. I had a

The taxi ride on the way back to the hotel was uneventful. Of course, that’s the way taxi rides are supposed to be. We will meet up in the morning to stroll around the University Arief attends and then go to a cultural event at 3 PM. Have no idea what it will be.
dinner, Bonnie had soup, and Arief just had a milk shake. But the view was spectacular.

Speaking of taxi rides, once again by US standards taxis are cheap and probably the best way to get around if you don't have a guide. The hotels are great about helping you with taxi rides. The "blue" cabs in Bandung are metered so they won't jack up the price on you.

I will come back and edit this putting in links and pictures as soon as I get things together.