Bandung

Contents

• [+] Understand
  • History
  • Orientation
• [+] Get in
  • By plane
  • By bus
  • By shuttle bus
  • By car
  • By train
• [+] Get around
  • By angkot
  • By taxi
  • By bus
  • By car
• [+] See
  • Architectural Jewels
  • Art & Science
• [+] Do
  • Cinema
  • Outdoor Activities
• [+] Buy
  • Local Handicraft and Souvenirs
  • Shopping Malls
  • Factory Outlets
  • Distros (Distribution Outlets)
• [+] Eat
  • Local Delicacies
  • Legendary Eateries
  • Chic Restaurants
  • Sundanese Restaurants
  • Asian Restaurants
  • Western Restaurants
  • Mexican Restaurants
  • Seafood Restaurants
  • Ice Cream and Pastry
• Drink
• Sleep
• [+] Contact
  • Tourism Promotion Office
  • Emergency
  • Consulate
  • Hospitals with 24 hours emergency rooms
• Get out

Bandung [1] is 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 768m 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.

Map of Bandung. Click for larger version.

Understand

History

Although the oldest written reference to the city dates back to 1488, there were numerous archaeological finds of Australopithecus (Java Man) that lived on the banks of Cikapundung river and the shores of Bandung's Great Lake.
In the 17th-18th century, the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) created small plantations in Bandung, with a road to Batavia (today's Jakarta) completed in 1786. In 1809, Louis Bonaparte, the ruler of the Netherlands and its colonies, ordered the Dutch Indies Governor H.W. Daendels to improve Java's defenses against the threat of the English, who occupied the nearby Malay peninsula. Daendels responded by building the Great Post Road (De Groote Postweg) that stretched about 1000 km between the west and the east coasts of Java. Because north coast was in the form of impassable swamps and marshes at the time, the road was diverted through Bandung along what is now Jalan Asia-Afrika.
Daendels liked Bandung's strategic location so much that he ordered the capital to be moved there. Military barracks were built and Bupati Wiranatakusumah II, the chief administrator of that area, built his dalem (palace), Masjid Agung (the grand mosque) and pendopo (meeting place) in the classical Javan alun-alun (city square) near a pair of holy city wells (Sumur Bandung) and facing the mystical mountain of Tangkuban Perahu.
Powered by its cinchona (for malaria drug quinine), tea, and coffee plantations, Bandung prospered and developed into an exclusive European style resort with hotels, cafes, and shops. Many of Bandung landmarks, including the Preanger and Savoy Homann hotels, as well as the shopping street of Jalan Braga, are still available today. The Concordia Society building, now Gedung Merdeka, was built with a large ball room as a club for rich Europeans to spend their weekends.

Pasopati bridge flyover, a new landmark of Bandung.

In 1880, the first major railroad between Jakarta to Bandung opened, boosting small industries and bringing in Chinese workers. The first of Bandung universities, the Technische Hogeschool (TH) was established on July 3rd, 1920. One of the its alumni members is President Soekarno himself. That university is now known as the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB)
In 1942, after Japanese soldiers landed in coastal areas of Java, the Dutch retreated from Jakarta to Bandung, but were driven out from there as well and surrendered soon after. After the end of the war, the Dutch came back with a vengeance and on March 24, 1946, during the struggle for Indonesian independence, the city of Bandung was burned down by its residents (Bandung Sea of Fire/Bandung Lautan Api) as a sign of refusal to surrender. Over 200,000 people fled the city during the incident.
In 1955, the Asia Africa Conference (Konferensi Asia Afrika) was held in Bandung, paving the way for the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961. The Indonesian parliament was located in Bandung from 1955 to 1966, but was moved back to Jakarta in 1966.

Orientation

Today's Bandung is a sprawling city of 2.7 million people and suffers from many of the same problems as other Indonesian cities. Traffic is congested, old buildings have been torn down, and once idyllic residences have turned into business premises.
Jalan Asia-Afrika, the former Grote Postweg, still remains as one of Bandung's main thoroughfares and connects together the alun-alun (city square) with many of the city's colonial landmarks.

Get in

Map of Bandung in detail.

Alone among Indonesia's large cities, Bandung is not by the seaside, but in the central highlands. Direct transport links are thus limited, and the easiest way to go to Bandung is via Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. On the upside, the connections are excellent and the trip up through the Parahyangan mountains is quite scenic, especially route Jakarta - Bandung via Puncak (means Peak), but the traffic jam frequently occur in Saturday and Sunday.

[edit] By plane

Bandung's Hussein Sastranegara (IATA: BDO airport has a difficult location among the mountains and has only limited services with small planes. The airport is located at the end of Pajajaran Street, 4 km from the centre of the city. A metered taxi costs approximately US$2, but most hotels provide a free airport transfer services.
Some airlines serving Bandung:

• Air Asia [2] - operates thrice daily flights from Kuala Lumpur and daily from Singapore , plus Denpasar/Bali and Medan once a day (no-frill airline)
• Merpati [3] - Balikpapan, Batam, Denpasar, Palembang, Surabaya, Tarakan and Ujung Pandang.
• Sriwijaya Air [4] - operate daily flight from Surabaya
• Malaysia Airlines [5] - operate daily flight from Kuala Lumpur
• Lion Air [6] - operate daily flight from Jogjakarta
• Susi Air [7] - operates daily flight from Pangandaran and Jakarta(Bandar Udara Halim Perdanakusuma)

Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport is about 3 hours away (plus any traffic jams). A number of companies offer direct shuttle services; see the next section for details.