fishing supply

A road side vendor selling fishing supplies near Padalarang toll gate. Padalarang is a satellite town about 18 kilometers to the west of Bandung.

invisible

A baso vendor is serving his customer at Jalan Gatot Subroto, Cimahi, a Bandung satellite town.

button tree

Buttons don't grow on a tree, of course. But on Jalan Cihampelas you can find them on some.

"ojeg payung"

Umbrella taxi children in front of Gramedia book store at Jalan Purnawarman.

"tukang parkir"

A parking man on Jalan Suniaraja.

easy going

A group of people were chatting under the pedestrian crossing bridge in front of Bandung main post office on Jalan Asia Afrika. The street looks quiet because it was a holiday. On a normal day, the street would be heavy with traffic.

don't worry!

A bicyclist is trying to cross the one-way street in front of Savoy Homan Hotel on Jalan Asia Afrika.

It looks scary, I know. But perhaps ..., just perhaps ..., if everyone knows what to expect and is sort of expecting it, they'd know what to do.

"market street"

A batagor vendor on Jalan Aceh occupying part of the street and the sidewalk, an ugly sight and a source of traffic congestion and discomfort for pedestrians.

In many places in this city, the boundaries between the two seem to have blurred as more and more streets are turning into veritable markets. This may be good for the economy, but the costs in terms of traffic hazards and congestions and the damages it causes to the public facilities may very well exceed the benefits. I can only hope that there will some some sort of just and equitable solution to this problem.

no title - NT 001

road side convenience

Another road side tire-patching service. This one is on the corner of Jalan Banceuy and Jalan Terusan ABC or Jalan Tamblong. It's convenient to have it when one has a punctured tire, but a source of street and traffic distress.

pedestrians have no rights in this city

The phenomenon is so pervasive. Any of these peds could have been hit by motorists.

Location: Jalan Merdeka and Jalan Aceh.

"Tukang Kue"

He sells cakes in those tin containers and bamboo baskets.

fixing a vespa

It's very unlikely that he was aware of the dangers he was exposing himself to. Like many (if not most) pedestrians in this city who are so used to walking on the street instead of on the sidewalk (because a lot of it is invaded by street vendors), this man was blinded from the danger out of habit.

how much courage? how much fun?

children need no helmets

The man might have thought that a helmet is unnecessary for the child riding with him.

"kenek"

That young man standing on the bus' door is a "kenek" - the bus driver's assistant whose job it is to tout the bus' route, get passangers, and collect the fares from them.

Don't ask him about safety. It's not in his vocabulary. It's not in the driver's and some of the passangers' either. I don't think it's in the government's vocabulary either. There is no law prohibiting this yet.

punks and murals

crossing rush

Two security guards helped motorists cross the street at UPI northern gate. Motorists behind the crossing could not wait till those from the campus direction get to the other side safely.

Motorists at this city seem to always be at rush, unwilling to give way to others, afraid that they will not have enough time and street space for themselves. This may be because their number grows faster than that of the roads' and because the streets are getting more crowded and congested every day.

joyful madness

Getting on the roof of a moving train is not cool. These youngsters seem to think the opposite though. These suburban kids are the fans of PERSIB (Bandung's beloved soccer team). They were on their way to watching their favorite soccer team playing in town.

past and present

The past is pushed into the background, stylized, preserved, and mythicized to create grandeur which we do not have much left today. The present is a story of survival.

crossing

"tambal ban cubles"

Who owns the streets?

"Tambal ban cubles," by the way, means punctured-tire patcher/patching.

friendly potato peelers

Happy and friendly people are said to be one of the many charms of this city.

trying to fit in a 'becak'

Two women are trying to fit in a 'becak' (pedicab) at Pasar Baru area.

safety at the back seat

A family of four on a motorbike. Don't ask them about safety. They might not understand it. All they know is that it's the cheapest, fastest, and "most convenient" way to get around, never mind the dangers and risks. This city of almost three million people, occupying an area of 167 square kilometers, has no working mass transportation system.

stream of the street

A stream was forming on Jalan Stasion Timur after the rain. The street was partially flooded. The drainage in this area looked bad. Water was overflowing from the gutter and sewer.

road side repair station

A road-side repair station on the corner of Jalan Stasion Timur.

pedicab driver in the rain

A pedicab driver is plodding his way in the shallow stream formed after the rain on Jalan Kebon Jati south of Bandung railway station.

begging in the rain

A young girl, still wearing the red and white uniform of the elementary school, is begging her way in a rainy afternoon at the traffic light stop junction of Dr. Djundjunan (Terusan Pasteur) street and Drg. Surya Sumantri street near the Pasteur gate of the Padaleunyi toll road. It's a sad reality that can still be seen in many parts of the city.