Roxanne and I arrived in Bandung around 22:00, but the hostel we booked (another Hunny Hostel) was within walking distance from the train station. The man working at Hunny identified himself as Bob-- not a typical Indonesian name-- and was very helpful in providing information on what to do/where to go... which is to say, not much.
There was one volcano and some hot springs just outside of Bandung, but we didn't wake up early enough to go the first day and Roxanne had a train to catch early the next evening, so we didn't want to push it. Instead we wandered around the city and stumbled upon a market, a carnival-like area, and a mosque. We took shelter from the sun in the mosque and sat with the women and children praying. Not all of them were praying. Some of them were chatting idly and some were eating. We sat in the rear and observed, talking quietly. When one woman finished her prayers she came over to us, smiled, shook our hands, said "hello," and left. People in Indonesia are so friendly!
That reminds me, there was one time when Roxanne and I were walking down the street in Jakarta and we passed a man talking to a younger man. The older man saw us in his peripheral, held up one finger to the younger man to signal "One second," turned to Roxanne and me, gave a super friendly smile, waved, and said "Hello!" Then he returned to his conversation. It was noteworthy because as far as I can tell, he had no ulterior motives-- he wasn't trying to sell us anything, didn't want to talk to us, didn't leer or stare or send off any creepy vibes. He simply wanted to say hello to the white girls walking by. Nothing more. So pure.
When Roxanne and I made our way back to the hostel who was there but our friend Guy from Jakarta! There was a fantastic night market/outdoor food court and we all had a wonderful dinner.
Later Roxanne and I met some funny Korean boys. Well, actually, I had met them the night before when the more vocal of the two, JongHyun, commented that to westerners all Asians look the same. I said, "No, not the same, but similar. I guessed you were Korean before you told me." This evening when Roxanne and I met JongHyun and his friend he asked, "Have I already met you?" To which I had to reply, "Yes. All westerners look the same to you, don't they?" JongHyun's English wasn't strong enough to understand the joke, but his silent comrade chuckled at it.
As we were warned, Bandung proved to be a fairly boring city. However, it's got the word "dung" right in its name, so I'm not really sure what Roxanne and I were expecting. Something more I suppose. At least there was some tasty food and we met some fun people. Guy and I planned to rent mopeds from Bob in the morning and make our way to the volcano. A Canadian named Keith asked if he could tag along. I told him "Absolutely not" but he came anyway.
There was one volcano and some hot springs just outside of Bandung, but we didn't wake up early enough to go the first day and Roxanne had a train to catch early the next evening, so we didn't want to push it. Instead we wandered around the city and stumbled upon a market, a carnival-like area, and a mosque. We took shelter from the sun in the mosque and sat with the women and children praying. Not all of them were praying. Some of them were chatting idly and some were eating. We sat in the rear and observed, talking quietly. When one woman finished her prayers she came over to us, smiled, shook our hands, said "hello," and left. People in Indonesia are so friendly!
That reminds me, there was one time when Roxanne and I were walking down the street in Jakarta and we passed a man talking to a younger man. The older man saw us in his peripheral, held up one finger to the younger man to signal "One second," turned to Roxanne and me, gave a super friendly smile, waved, and said "Hello!" Then he returned to his conversation. It was noteworthy because as far as I can tell, he had no ulterior motives-- he wasn't trying to sell us anything, didn't want to talk to us, didn't leer or stare or send off any creepy vibes. He simply wanted to say hello to the white girls walking by. Nothing more. So pure.
When Roxanne and I made our way back to the hostel who was there but our friend Guy from Jakarta! There was a fantastic night market/outdoor food court and we all had a wonderful dinner.
Later Roxanne and I met some funny Korean boys. Well, actually, I had met them the night before when the more vocal of the two, JongHyun, commented that to westerners all Asians look the same. I said, "No, not the same, but similar. I guessed you were Korean before you told me." This evening when Roxanne and I met JongHyun and his friend he asked, "Have I already met you?" To which I had to reply, "Yes. All westerners look the same to you, don't they?" JongHyun's English wasn't strong enough to understand the joke, but his silent comrade chuckled at it.
As we were warned, Bandung proved to be a fairly boring city. However, it's got the word "dung" right in its name, so I'm not really sure what Roxanne and I were expecting. Something more I suppose. At least there was some tasty food and we met some fun people. Guy and I planned to rent mopeds from Bob in the morning and make our way to the volcano. A Canadian named Keith asked if he could tag along. I told him "Absolutely not" but he came anyway.
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