Friday, March 23, 2012

We recently spent a few days in   
Bandung---the capital city of West Java, and the third largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. Nicknamed Parijs van Java (Paris of Java)by the Dutch for its resemblance to Paris and European atmosphere back at the colonial times. Bandung also earned another nickname as Kota Kembang, literally meaning the Flower City since Bandung used to have a lot of flowers.


Located at the altitude of 768 m with the surroundings of lush and beautiful Parahyangan mountains makes the climate mild and pleasant. The city has been well known for the universities, apparel products and a great place for gastronomic adventure. Nowadays, Bandung has become a very popular weekend escape for Jakartans, who would crowd the city on weekends and national holidays.

Following are some pictures of the few buildings left from the Dutch era---most are in need of serious renovation.  The Dutch lost control of Indonesia in the 1940s.

These pictures were taken within two blocks of were we stayed.
Enjoy!
The center point of the city
This is were we stayed, The Homan Savoy, the oldest operating hotel in Bandung.

The sidewalks in the old section of town.  Sister Beaman got some very "bad" ideas for her sidewalks at home!










Sister Meredith and Sister Beaman

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Year of the Dragon

2012 is the Chinese Year of the Dragon.  There is a large Chinese population in Jakarta so the celebration of the Chinese New Year in January was interesting—lots of fireworks and colorful decorations.  One of the very high end malls is Pacific Place which is a major shopping center for the Chinese, who control a very large portion of the wealth in Indonesia.  Following are some pictures of the decorations in the Mall.

The Mall is eight stories, the dragon is the length of about six stores!
The dragon is made of nylon and is lighted from one end to the other.