Cowbright: I just don't know what to do with myself...

baso for sale

Well, that is one statement that you will likely NOT hear from an Indonesian, at least not the ones who live in this city. I am constantly amazed at how busy these people are. Unlike so many large US cities where you tend to see homelessness in increasing numbers or men just hanging idly, Bandung residents don't really fit into either of those categories.

Even though your average Indonesian doesn't appear to have a lot, that doesn't prevent them from being industrious or hard working. We have jokingly said that if there's a way to make a rupiah, the Indonesians will find it. It's true and I really have to admire them for it. If I had no education and no skill but I needed to eat, what would I do? I'd have to think of something, and that's what these people do. I don't think anyone could ever accuse them of being lazy or unwilling to work. And they certainly don't have welfare checks to look forward to each month. No, if they want to eat they have to work, and work they do.

cooking coconut dessert on street

Indonesians come up with numerous ways to make a little bit of money. Of course many of them are involved in the making and selling of food on the streets. I couldn't even begin to guess how many gerobaks (rolling food carts) there are in this city, each serving up popular Indonesian street fare. These are quite literally everywhere you look!

But what if you can't afford to buy a gerobak to cook and sell your own food, what then? Well, many will still cook and sell their own food, but will carry it by balancing a cooking/serving vessel on either end of a wooden bar across one shoulder. They can be seen anywhere and everywhere - on heavily crowded streets or even walking the neighborhoods to sell their soup or meatballs or whatever they have made.

If they don't have such a set up, they will fry kerupuk which are fried crispy snacks (light like a rice cake but often fishy tasting) or some other "goodie" in their home and then work the street corners and intersections, peddling it to the cars in stopped traffic.

hand sewing beads one at a time in women's wear shop

In addition to the enormous and ever present food industry, there is always the service business. Those who are fortunate work as cooks, gardeners, maids, drivers, store clerks, gas station attendants, etc. But those who don't have steady employment or much in the way of resources still manage to find countless other ways to make money.

Some people learn skills, such as auto or scooter repair, furniture or birdcage making, sewing, shoe repair, metal work, etc.

cardboard recycler

Others who are less skilled are what I would politely call "recyclers." They drag large plastic bags from street to street, going through the constantly overflowing trash bins in search of plastic, cardboard or anything that can be sold. I think theirs is the hardest job of all.

scouring through rotting trash

There are also self-appointed parking lot attendants who help drivers manipulate tight spots and street/traffic directors who stop traffic to allow people to turn across traffic, for a small fee of course.

Others sell on the streets, either from the sidewalks or working through the traffic. They sell t-shirts, rat traps, fake hair, Sponge Bob Square Pants, trinkets, magazines, cigarettes and much more. You name it, they sell it.

Sponge Bob toys for sale in traffic

And let's not forget the street entertainers. These consists mainly of musicians (traditional Indonesian instruments, guitars and ukeleles) or trained monkeys riding bicycles or jumping through hoops.They do what they do for loose change.

Pretty much every able bodied Indonesian is at work during waking hours, either taking care of children or trying to make a rupiah. The blind or lame must resort to begging, either by working the traffic (with help) or simply sitting or lying on the sidewalk with a cup.