Cowbright: Cap Go Meh

This past Sunday was Cap Go Meh. It is held on the 15th and last day of the Lunar New Year celebration (Chinese New Year). Since Bandung has such a huge Chinese population, this is quite a big deal. We, along with Mindy McAdams, another Fulbrighter in Journalism located here in Bandung (UMPAD) decided to see the dragon parade up close and personal. Our biggest concern was traffic and it turned out we were justified in that concern.

typical alleyway inside the kampung

Fortunately, her driver Aris knew the parade route and because his girlfriend lives in a kampung off one of the streets on the route, he knew how to park on a side street and walk us through the kampung to get to the street the parade was on. I will say that walking down these narrow alleys between the tall buildings that make up the kampong was a much more interesting adventure for me personally than the parade itself. There you get to catch a glimpse of how real Indonesians live. Outside the open doorways lay shoes of all sizes and a quick glimpse inside allows you to see their extremely modest, cramped living quarters.

It is clear by the (mostly friendly) stares we receive that most of these people have never seen bule before, certainly not the younger ones. They sit in groups or stand in doorways, socializing or whatever close neighbors might do. Talk about the feeling of being a "stranger in these parts." Definitely yes, but it is still an interesting thing to see and do.