Bandung, located in Indonesia is the capital of the West Java province and is located 180 kms to the south east of the Jakarta the capital of Indonesia. The ‘City of Flowers’ as Bandung is often referred to is a popular weekend get away for the residents of Jakarta who come here to shop at the numerous factory outlet shops that dot the city and enjoy the relatively cooler weather of Bandung. Bandung is located at an elevation of 768 meters above sea level on a plateau in the Parahayangan Mountains. The terrain of Bandung is volcanic in nature and it has in its northern part an active volcano called Tangkuban Perahu Volcano. The city of Bandung is situated in the center of the Bandung Basin which is located on an ancient volcano called Mount Sunda. Apart from its factory outlet trade, Bandung occupies an important place in the educational sphere of Indonesia. The most renowned University in Bandung is the Institut Teknologi Bandung, it was established in 1920 under the Dutch who colonized Indonesia as Bandung Technisch Hogeschool. History of Bandung
The history and evolution of Bandung can be traced back to 1488. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Bandung like the rest of Indonesia was occupied by the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch realized the value of the fertile land in Bandung and indulged in much plantation activity. In the nineteenth century South American cinchona (quinine), Assam tea and coffee were some of the crops introduced by the Dutch colonists in Bandung. During the Dutch occupation important road and rail links were built linking Bandung to Jakarta and other parts of Java.
This was an important development in the history of Bandung as it aided Bandung’s rise to prominence. It was at this time Bandung was referred to as ‘the Paris of Java.’ The Dutch plantation owners, wanting to keep up their European lifestyle built several buildings, hotels, theaters and stores along Bandung’s Jalan Braga which became a quasi ‘Champs Elysées’. This was the golden age of Bandung , the Concordia society was built at this time and the grand ballroom of the Concordia society was the epicenter of weekend social activity. The city’s parks with their exotic tropical blooms flourished and led to Bandung being called the ‘City of Flowers’ or ‘Kota Kembang’.
The railroad which was built between Bandung and Jakarta to facilitate shipments to Europe brought the Chinese to Bandung . They came to run the light industries that had sprung up in Bandung and the origin of Bandung’s Chinatown can also be traced back to this period.
Bandung became a municipality in 1906. At this time the Dutch decided to move the capital of the Netherlands Indies from Batavia (Jakarta) to Bandung. This era in Bandung’s evolution is called ‘Bandung Tempoe Deoloe’ or the golden era.
Bandung was the center of this resistance and saw heavy fighting. Bandung was declared the capital of the province of West Java after the Indonesian declaration of Independence in 1945. The population swelled in Bandung rapidly after this event.
Today Bandung is a thriving if not somewhat chaotically developed city which is inhabited by two million people and is a popular weekend holiday destination.
The rains come to Bandung in the months of November to April. The month of January sees the heaviest rainfall in Bandung.
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Getting to Bandung
The Bandung Husein Sastranegara International airport located near the Dirgantara aerospace complex and the Dirgantara fairground is served by international flights from Singapore and Malaysia and local carriers from Jakarta as well .The domestic services are provided by Merpati Nusantara Airlines, Sempati Air and Deraya airlines. A flight from Jakarta takes only thirty minutes to get to Bandung.
There are number of highways which can be used to access Bandung by road. One can get to Bandung from Jakarta in one and a half hours. The Puncak route and the Subang route are other alternative highways one can use to access Bandung.
Bandung is connected to Jakarta by train as well. The train to Bandung leaves from Gambir station in Jakarta. Getting around Bandung
Blue Bird and Gemari Pahah Taxi are the taxi services to use. This year(2007) the Metro is to be launched in Bandung called Trans Metro Bandung. The metro is set to connect East and West Bandung.
There is also a privately owned minibus service called angkot which operates on the roads of Bandung. City owned buses are called DAMRI run on the longer routes. There are two intercity bus terminals in Bandung. Kebun Binatang (Bandung Zoo) near Institut Teknologi Bandung
Situated 25 kilometers north of Bandung in the direction of Lembang is Bandung’s most famous volcano. Ciater Hot Springs
Mt Putuhu and Kawah Putih
Mt Putuhu is located in south west Bandung. Cimanggu Hot Springs
Cihideung
Bandung is often referred to as the ‘City of Flowers or Kota Kembang’,Cihideung is an area near Bandung whose soil is very conducive to growing flowers and all the residents of Cihideung sell flowers. The name ‘City of Flowers’ alludes to the beautiful residents of Cihideung as well.
A long four hour drive from Bandung brings you to the ‘city of rain’ called Bogor. Hotels
A number of international hotel chains such as the Sheraton and the Hyatt have a presence in Bandung. Shopping
The concept of factory outlet shopping gained popularity in Bandung in the late 1990s. Bandung has seventy five percent of all of Indonesia’s garment export factories. Outlets sell garments tagged with popular brands such as Guess, Calvin Klein and Banana Republic etc. Exotic blooms grown on the surrounding mountains are sold at this market..On Jalan Braga which is the historic street of Bandung there are many antique and souvenir stores. Bandung also has modern malls in its Alun-Alun area. The most luxurious malls in Bandung are Bandung Indah Plaza and Bandung Super mall.
Summarized By Eri Rm
