so many bargains, so little room

The biggest thing Bandung has going for it besides its mild weather is its outlet shopping. Believe it or not, Bandung is well known in West Java as home to about 40 outlets. Many shoppers (mostly from Jakarta) flock to Bandung each weekend. They come by the busload. Their arrival turns the stores into a total zoo and creates a very noticeable effect on traffic, so much so that it's best to avoid trying to go to certain areas on the weekend.

The Heritage

There are many major clothing manufacturers in Indonesia. Chances are good that you have clothes in your closet that were made here. These outlet clothes are not seconds (that I can tell) and they aren't ripped or dirty. I have no idea why they are sold at these prices unless they are manufacturers overruns.




Of course Bandung has more than its share of knock offs too, but if you go to the nicer outlets such as the one where I snapped these photos they are the actual clothes made by the actual manufacturers. The prices are ridiculously low. Or should I say that the prices for the exact same items in the states are ridiculously high. I think probably both of those statements are equally true. Clothing (even the "good" brands) are made with cheap labor and the prices you pay here reflect that. Also, it costs money to ship things half way around the world. And last but not least, the nicer department stores with the higher overheads are simply going to mark things up to make their profits.

Juicy Couture

Since I'm not really a "brand person" it's a little hard to impress me, but even being a shopper of necessity, there are certain brands that I at least recognize as names generally associated with quality. Awhile back, I snapped some photos with my cell phone of brands that I recognized.






You might think I'd be excited about all this. The most frustrating part of it is that I have absolutely no room in my luggage to bring anything else back! On the way over, we were allowed 2 (50 lb) bags each on Continental. Our return tickets are on Delta who recently passed a new rule that allows only one bag per passenger with a fee of $70 each on the second bag. UGH!!

Calvin Klein

Certain streets in Bandung could be considered "outlet row" as you can walk to one outlet after another. Some are nicer than others but the one nearest us (Rumah Mode) is probably one of the best. It may be a tad pricier than some because it is a very nice complex and offers a better shopping experience. It has a store for purses and shoes, a restaurant, attractive landscaping with water gardens and benches for dads to watch kids while the wives/mothers shop.

lots of Ralph Lauren

Armani Exchange

I've never been much of a shopper, and Ronnie hates shopping even more than I do, so we haven't really bought ourselves much of anything. He does need more clothes and I would love to take some things to Henry, as he is growing so fast! But it looks like I will be leaving all these bargains behind. But for the record, I'd rather be at home overpaying than in Bandung getting the bargains!

Ann Taylor

In some of the outlet clothes, the tag is marked through (though you can still read it) and in others it is clipped. I suppose this is the manufacturer's way of making sure these items don't end up back in retail? I've been told that this is an indication that the item is the "real deal" and not a knock off.

bought these ties for Ronnie  - $4US each

Ralph Lauren Polo shirts for boys - approximately $8US

Guess is popular here

Nike anyone?

Tommy Hilfiger

It's easy to see why Bandung is such a popular weekend destination. It is truly a bargain shopper's paradise!

A Day for Contemplation

Yesterday was a very sad day for the family and friends of Emmanuel Benedict. Emmanuel (age 4) was awaiting burial after leaving this life the previous day. A beautiful little boy and the youngest of five, Emmanuel died from encephalitis. He had been in the NICU unit of a good (by Indonesian standards anyway) hospital in a medically induced sleep for about 60 days. Every time the doctors allowed him to wake, he would experience seizures. Though I had only seen Emmanuel once when he came to Bible study with his mother, there was no way not to be impacted by the sad news when we arrived at Ingrid's house yesterday morning.

Our group has been studying Linda Dillow’s book “Lord, Calm My Anxious Heart” and our lesson yesterday happened to be about trusting God - even when we don’t understand. We were reminded of God's sovereignty and how He controls all things, even the things that seem so “wrong” from our perspective. We talked about how walking by faith (in God and in His word) is different from walking by our feelings. To quote the book’s author, “Faith looks to God, but feelings look to what is going on around us." Faith hopes in who God is and in what He has promised. It sometimes feels like we are walking in darkness (what we cannot see). Of course we prefer to see what God is doing and how He is working everything together for good. But there would be no need for faith if we could always see and figure it out.

Linda went on to say “We say we want more faith, but really what we want is sight.” Sight says, “I see that it’s good for me, so God must have sent it,” but faith says “God sent it, so it must be good for me.” God asks us to walk by faith, not by sight. Faith is walking in the dark with God, holding His hand. God doesn’t keep us immune from trouble. Rather he says “I will be with you in trouble.” She goes on to say “Yes, faith is difficult, but our faith pleases our Holy God (Heb. 11:6) and we do not walk the path alone. Our wise, sovereign, loving Lord walks with us.”

I was so very thankful that these thoughts were still fresh in my mind when I rode with Marcia after the study to see Emmanuel’s mother. Normally I would not have gone there but it was not convenient for her to take me to the apartment first. As we approached the area where the visitation was being held, many huge flower boards lined each side of the walkway. Inside there was a good number of mourners surrounded by floral arrangements (all white). There was also a beautiful photograph of the little boy with candles and flowers in the casket room.

Emmanuel means "God With Us"

I won’t share anything beyond that because it is hard to even think about and it is not an image I want to leave in your mind. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a child in a casket before, or perhaps once many years ago. It is not something I really want to remember. I snapped this one photo with my phone and I'm not even sure why I did. I hope it doesn't seem too morbid for me to post it here.

Even though I didn’t know Emmanuel or his parents, I expressed genuine sorrow for their pain and promised to pray for them. I’m not sure there is anything harder than a parent losing a dearly loved child. Please pray for little Emmanuel’s family as they walk through this dark time. May God increase their faith in Him and give them a peace that only He can give.

card given guests at sign in registry

The first part of the card expresses appreciation for the “moral and material aid bestowed upon the deceased during his lifetime to the time of death.” In the lower left is John 11:25 where Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” This we believe, and as we left we reminded each other that as believers, we have the certain hope that Emmanuel’s parents will one day see him again. 1 Cor. 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!   

People Along the Way

Today's post consists of a few "people photos" I've taken this past week. I'll post them with a little bit of explanation for each one.

The sweet lady below was sitting outside her home/store front on the highway to Lembang. She seemed fine with us wanting to take photos of the tea plantation from the property beside her home. In fact, she followed us (curiosity maybe?)  I indicated that I would like to take her photo. After the first click of the shutter, she broke into a big grin. I didn't want to embarrass her so I turned back to photographing the tea field. When we left, I asked Ferry if I should give her a little money. He thought it was a good idea but the only change I had was so small it would have been insulting. Finally we scratched up a little parking money to go with it (it maybe added up to 50 cents) and Ferry took it to her. She seemed thrilled and told him that she would pray for us.

older lady in Lembang

The older gentleman below is one of many people who sell produce along the highway. He sold us 3 pineapples for 20,000 rph (approximately 72 cents each). He was pleased as punch with the deal he made (and so were we).

pineapple man

The children below were playing at a roadside stand where sate was sold. Obviously, their mother was working while the kids entertained themselves. I really didn't stop to get permission on this one - just saw them as I was walking by, thought they were cute and grabbed 2-3 shots.

friends? siblings? playmates!

The little girl below found herself a baby chick. She was holding it like a hot dog while the poor little thing "cheeped" for its life. I have a feeling this is one "pet" that isn't going to last very long! The little girl knew I was taking her photo and was quite bashful, putting her hand over her mouth and looking at me like she'd seen a ghost right after I took this.

a girl and her chick

A local radio station is celebrating its 20 anniversary this week. Ferry and I got out of the car so that I could photograph some high school kids dancing at an intersection. Unfortunately, by the time we parked and walked down there, it was over and traffic was flowing again. Several young people with body paint and costumes were advertising different businesses. The young man below didn't seem too happy to be there.

couldn't get a smile out of this guy

little boy at busy intersection

selling sticky glue for rat traps

I am continually amazed at how, generally speaking, Indonesians don't seem to mind having their photo taken. I'm not sure why that is, but it sure makes photographing them a more pleasant experience. I hope you enjoy seeing more faces of everyday Indonesians as they work and play.

interrupting a game of chess

selling batik at Pasar Baru

White, Green or Black?

Ok, so I've already mentioned that Helen, Ferry and I drove up to the tea plantations in Lembang yesterday. I had been wanting to photograph them since we first arrived here in Bandung, so this was the day. I had hoped to do a little walking/hiking through the tea fields but on the drive up, Ferry announced that he knew of a tea “fabriek” (Dutch word for “factory”) we could visit. Wow, what a nice surprise!

fog over tea plantation, Lembang

Turns out, West Java is the ideal place to grow tea because of its rainfall, elevation, temperature and rich volcanic soil (the stuff that makes everything look so dirty around here). The plantations that line both sides of the highway are lush and beautiful. Ferry stopped a couple of times to let us walk out into the edge of the field to snap photos. Pulling off of a busy 2-lane highway is not as easy as it sounds, but he understood what we were after and tried very hard to accommodate us. He also stopped and bargained for avocados, sweet potatoes and pineapples along the way. Ferry helps us in so many ways. How different (better) our stay here would have been had we had him all along!

bud on top (white), second and third leaves (green) and the ones below (black)

loading moving containers with wilted leaves

After arriving at the tea factory, his translation skills came in very handy since the person giving us the tour spoke no English. Between the noise level from the machines and my lagging behind to take photos, I wasn’t clear enough to explain the entire process but Ferry went over it with me on the way home in the car. So this is my story and I’m sticking to it. Hopefully you’ll at least have a general idea of how a bush is turned into one of your favorite beverages!

emptying receptacles

leaves go into the hopper

tea plant worker

First of all, who knew that all teas comes from the same bush – white tea, green tea and black tea. The very top leaf or bud (that hasn’t unfolded) is what will become white tea; the second and third leaves will become green tea and the leaves below those will be fermented to become black tea. Interesting!

fermented and dried tea moving down conveyor belt

White tea is the least processed of the teas. It is also the most expensive, since there are fewer buds than there are leaves and they can only be picked for a short time each year. White tea also has the highest antioxidant levels and claims to prevent cancer, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, thin the blood, protect against bacteria and viruses and on and on. Just beneath the top bud (white tea) are the next 2 leaves. They are naturally more tender than the older leaves below and they are used for making green tea which is also unfermented. Green tea touts many of the same health benefits as does the white tea. The leaves below those are fermented to become black tea.

fermented, dried and ready to be stored

After the leaves are handpicked from the bushes and carried into the factory, they still contain 90% water. During this wilting or withering stage, they are poured out into large containers through which air is pumped from beneath. Next the leaves are dumped into big machines where they are chopped and pressed, reducing their moisture content to about 55%. For the next 3 hours the chopped leaves are fermented (black tea only) and any flavorings (ginger, lemon, etc) are added. After the fermentation process, the tea is dried at 100 degrees Celsius (it is quite warm in this part of the factory) and the tea turns from brown to black. The factory operates 24 hours a day, since the tea cannot be stopped at any point during the process; otherwise it would “mushroom” (mold).

Besides the white, green and black varieties, there are also different grades or qualities that are somehow separated by the machines (good and poor) and the prices reflect accordingly. The sample on left (lighter color) is of poor quality while the others are high quality. Sometimes the two will be mixed to sell an inferior product. After a very sensory tour (sights, sounds and smells), we enjoyed a cup of hot tea while being shown samples of their various teas. We learned that 90% of the tea grown in Indonesia is exported. So if you’ve enjoyed a glass (or cup) of tea recently, it may very well be grown here in Indonesia. Btw, I asked and they said that Lipton is good quality. Bagus!

not the best photo, but I'm toasting to Bandung!

all dressed up and ready to go

Sate, Indonesian Style

rabbits for sale - $2US

My friend Helen and I, along with our driver Ferry, took off this morning for a day in Lembang. Lembang is a town maybe 45 minutes – 1 hour north of Bandung and while it isn’t much of a tourist attraction in itself, its proximity to the Tangkuban Prahu volcano makes it along with its surrounding area extremely fertile. Because of that, lots of things are grown there so it’s an interesting place to visit. My ears popped several times as we climbed to the higher elevation and the temperature dropped slightly (temps 62-75 year around). As we neared Lembang, we started seeing tea plantations lining the road. Besides tea, the area is known for its dairy, corn, rambutan (hairy fruits), strawberries, orchids and bonsai trees. I’ll tell you about the tea tomorrow.

sweet little guy just eating his greens

curious about what's in the box

We also began to see small stalls or roadside eateries (I’m using that term loosely) where meat is cooked on bamboo sticks over long trays of open coals. Some of the popular meats that are cooked this way are kelinci (rabbit), kambing (goat), ayam (chicken) and biawak (lizard). Also along the road are numerous stalls selling furry rabbits of different varieties. Ferry tried to reassure me that many are sold for pets ($2US each). But they are also used for food and the road to Lembang is a destination point for those hungry for various types of sate.

all ears

just chillin'

different varieties

someone, please, adopt me!

sate stalls on road to Lembang

skewering up meat for sate

cooking our lunch

well known restaurant where we ate

I hope you won’t quit reading my blog when I tell you that I ate some rabbit today. We normally order chicken sate whenever we eat out, provided it’s not cooked with skin on or worse yet the “all skin/no meat” version that some Indonesians eat. Sate is usually just small bites of white meat chicken served with a very tasty peanut sauce and a side dish of rice – one of the “safest” meals we eat here. Because we were hungry and on a somewhat tight schedule coming back, we decided to go the “authentic” route. No decent restaurants for us today, no siree. We ate sate right on the side of the road just like the locals do. Helen and I ordered ayam (chicken) while Ferry ordered kelinci (rabbit). I traded him a skewer of his rabbit for my chicken, mainly just to say I tried it. And if you’re still reading and are curious, it tasted a bit like chicken (not gamey at all) but the texture was a bit chewier. We ate quickly because it was after 2 pm and we were hungry and also because we wanted to eat it before the flies did! As often when we eat out here, we have to wait until the next day to know for sure whether it was a good idea.

chicken sate (tasted better than it looks)

After uploading the photos of the darling little bunnies on the roadside, I felt a little bad about the whole thing. For some reason, I don’t have the same guilt over eating other meats, but the rabbits – they’re just so sweet and cute. But as Ronnie so often says, “it is what it is.” And besides, I’d prefer to believe what Ferry told me - that most of them get sold as pets.

Around Town

Today I'm posting some miscellaneous photos that I've snapped as we've been out and about this week. Most of them are just seconds frozen in time in the life of a busy Indonesian city.

The ladies shown above have come to mean a great deal to me. They are a few of those who attend a weekly Bible study at Ingrid's home. Ingrid (left) is Chinese, born as a second (unwanted) daughter into a large family and treated like a slave throughout her growing up years. Next to her is Hela, an Indonesian (married to a German) who speaks 5 languages. A former Muslim, she is now a follower of Jesus Christ and has a heart for helping others, especially children. She has a long, sad history. In the middle is Kim, an art teacher from Korea. Next to her is Marcia, our leader. She and her husband, missionaries affiliated with Christian and Missionary Alliance, have lived in Bandung since 1989 and raised their family here. To her right is Kim's mom who was visiting this week before leaving for Kim's daughters college graduation in Australia. Far right is Jenny Wu (Taiwanese) who is the only Christian in a family of Buddhists. As you can see, it is a very international group with most of the other members (not shown) being from Indonesia and Korea. The women vary in age from early 30's to mid-70's.

We stopped and chatted with the owner of this bird shop after we left the barber shop. Indonesians are really big on birds, especially those of the singing variety. Ronnie asked him about a particular bird song that we often hear outside our apartment. When Ronnie mimicked its beautiful song, the guy was able to name it (sirit cunguing) but we quickly learned that they do not like to hear it because they consider it the "bird of death." They believe that if/when you hear it, it means someone is dying. Indonesians are extremely superstitious.

This was a quick roadside stop to pick up a movie. New releases are usually poor quality but our driver explained that if you wait a month or two, they will be high quality. They sell for approximately 50 cents US. Contraband movies are big business here in Indonesia, minus their periodic shut downs.

We spotted this little boy as we were moving in traffic and I was able to grab this shot through the rear window of the car. Boys will be boys!!

This is an extremely common sight and I know I've posted photos like this before. More often than not, the parents will be wearing helmets but the children will not. Although it is supposedly illegal to ride more than 2 persons per scooter at a time, it is common to see 4 and 5 and occasionally even 6. Obviously, the "add ons" have to be pretty small!

Any time you go to the market place, you see tons of partial mannequins in various stages of dress. I happened to be walking past this man and asked if I could take a photo. He willingly obliged. The sign behind him is prohibiting something; your guess is as good as mine.

Ketupat nasi is made from white rice and is wrapped in a square shape with hand braided coconut palm leaves. As the rice cooks, the grains expand to fill the pouch. I guess you could say they are "individual serving size."

This little girl was with her father on busy Jl Cihampelas today, commonly called Jeans Street by locals. On weekends, hoards of people from Jakarta travel to Bandung to shop its many outlets. This weekend was even worse than usual, being a holiday (or "red day" as they call it). This holiday was for Hindus. Interestingly, all Indonesians take off for each others holidays, be it the big Muslim ones, Hindu or even Christian. I personally think they just welcome any excuse to take a holiday!

I thought it was interesting that the angkot in front of us yesterday was sporting a USA flag painted on the back. Never mind that it only had 30 stars and 11 stripes. I still haven't quite been able to figure out why the US flag (I have also seen one with the British flag) but at least it sets it apart from the hundreds of other angkots that are on the streets at any given time.