What You Need To Know

Bandung, is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia and Greater Bandung made up of 2 municipalities and 38 districts, making it Indonesia’s 2nd largest metropolitan area with 8,199,892 inhabitants at the 2014 Badan Pusat Statistik data. It is nation’s fourth largest city (by land area), and the third largest city by population (within city proper), with over 2.4 million. Located 768 metres (2,520 ft) above sea level, approximately 140 kilometres (87 miles) south east of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler temperatures year-round than most other Indonesian cities. The city lies on a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains. This topography provides a natural defense system, which was the primary reason for the Dutch East Indies government’s plan to move the colony capital from Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) to Bandung. The Dutch colonials first established tea plantations around the mountains in the eighteenth century, and a road was constructed to connect the plantation area to the colonial capital Batavia (180 kilometres (112 miles) to the northwest). The Dutch inhabitants of Bandung demanded establishment of a municipality (gemeente), which was granted in 1906, and Bandung gradually developed into a resort city for plantation owners. LuxuriousHOTELS, restaurants, cafes and European boutiques were opened, hence the city was nicknamed Parijs van Java (Dutch: “The Paris of Java”). After Indonesia declared independence in 1945, the city experienced rapid development and urbanization, transforming Bandung from an idyllic town into a dense 16,500 people/km² (per square kilometer) metropolitan area, a living space for over 8.2 million people. Natural resources have been heavily exploited, particularly by conversion of protected upland area into highland villas and real estate and, although the city has encountered many problems (ranging from waste disposal and floods to a complicated traffic system and lack of road infrastructure), Bandung still attracts large numbers of tourists, weekend sightseers and migrants from other parts of Indonesia. Bandung will be supporting as one of the host cities of 2018 Asian Games.

Area: 167.7 km²

Population: Estimate 2,528,974

Currency

• The Indonesian Rupiah is the official currency.

 Culture

Bandung is considered a major & significant cultural hub in Indonesia. Most people in the surrounding province of West Java are Sundanese. Sundanese language is often spoken as the first language and is commonly used as informal language for communication in streets, school, campus, work and markets, while Indonesian—Indonesia’s national language and a lingua franca among its many ethnic units—is used as the lingua franca, the official language and the language of government, businesses, and instruction at schools.

Language

Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. It is a standardized register of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago for centuries.

Health

• Universal Health Coverage. In January 2014, the Indonesian government launched Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN), a scheme to implement universal health care in Indonesia. It is expected that spending on healthcare will increase by 12{36e7182f4ff9afdbb3b3af1df6061f5ece4a86bd38e3df0e54ecedfe99a367b6} a year and reach US$46 billion a year by 2019.

Tourism

Bandung is a popular weekend destination for residents of Jakarta. The cooler climate of the highland plantation area, the varieties of food, the cheaper fashion shops located inFACTORY outlets and distros, golf courses, and the zoo, are some of the attractions of the city. Bandung is also a popular shopping destination due to cheap textile and fashion products, especially for Malaysian and Singaporean tourists. In the 1990s, local designers opened denim clothing stores along Cihampelas Street, which was transformed into a “jeans street”. The city attracts people from other big cities to buy local fashion wares, as they are cheaper than branded items. Beside at Cihampelas Street, many factory outlets also opened at Riau Street, Setiabudi Street, and Djuanda Street (known as Dago). Textile factories on the outskirts of Bandung have opened factory outlets on site selling what is marketed as sisa export (rejected or over-producedEXPORT quality items).Bandung Supermal, Bandung Indah Plaza, Ciwalk (abbreviation of Cihampelas Walk) and Paris van Java are popular shopping centres in Bandung. Significant tourist sites near Bandung include the Tangkuban Prahu volcano crater to the north, the striking Kawah Putih volcano lake, and Patenggang Lake, a lake surrounded by tea plantations about 50 kilometres (31 miles) to the south of the city. Foreign tourist should avoid Tangkuban Perahu. The entrance fees for foreigner is Rp300,000 per person on weekend end, as compared to local Indonesian tourist paying only Rp30,000. The difference between foreigner and local Indonesian entrance fees is too huge and not justified to the short view time required to explore the crater. To view the Bandung Basin clearly in its mountain surroundings, visitors travel to the Bongkor protected forest area (kawasan hutan lindung), Saung Daweung and Arcamanik; to the slopes of West Manglayang Mountain in an area known as Caringin Tilu, with entry from Padasuka and Cicaheum to the north. The forest is located in 1,500 above sea level and is covered with pine trees managed by a government corporation Perhutani and can be accessed with 30 minutes drive from downtown. Visitors going to the north of the city also find Taman Hutan Raya Ir. H. Djuanda. The Cicaheum area also hosts Bukit Moko, a tourist spot famous for its views and its steel statue of a giant star called Puncak Bintang. Bandung has several museums that should be visited by tourists, such as the Geological Museum of Bandung, the Indonesia Postal Museum, Sri Baduga Museum, and the Asian-African Conference Museum.

Transport

Bandung can be accessed by highways from Jakarta. An intercity toll highway called Cipularang toll road, connecting Jakarta, Karawang, Purwakarta, Padalarang and Bandung, was completed in May 2005 and is the fastest way to reach Bandung from the capital by road. Driving time is about 1.5 hours on average. There are three other options: the Puncak route (Jakarta-Cianjur/Sukabumi-Bandung), Purwakarta route (Jakarta-Cikampek-Purwakarta-Cikalong Wetan-Padalarang-Cimahi-Bandung) and the Subang route (Jakarta-Cikampek-Subang-Lembang-Bandung). From cities further east (Cirebon, Tasikmalaya and Central Java province), Bandung can be accessed through the main provincial road. Indonesian National Route 3 links Bandung with the rest of Java towards Cilegon and Ketapang (Banyuwangi). The Pasupati Bridge was built to relieve traffic congestion in the city for east-west transport. The 2.8-kilometre (1.7 mi) cable-stayed bridge lies through the Cikapundung Valley. It is 30 to 60 metres wide and, after extensive delays, it was finally completed in June 2005, followingFINANCIAL INVESTMENT from Kuwait. The bridge is part of Bandung’s comprehensive inner-city highways plan. Taxis are widely available. The primary means of public transportation is by minibus, called angkot (from angkutan=transportation and kota=city). They are privately operated and cheap, serving multiple routes throughout the city, but are basic transport and not known for being comfortable.To find exact angkot routes, information is available through the drivers or at terminals. City-owned buses, called DAMRI, operate on longer high capacity routes. Bandung has 2 intercity bus terminals: Leuwipanjang, serving buses from the west, and Cicaheum, serving buses from the east. Both are at full capacity and are to be replaced by a new terminal at Gedebage on 15 hectares land, after which the old terminals will function as inner city terminals. The new terminal will be located next to the Gedebage railway station near of Gedebage container dry port. Bandung Husein Sastranegara International Airport serves direct domestic flights to Batam, Pekanbaru, Medan, Bandar Lampung, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Semarang, Banjarmasin, Makassar, and also international services to/from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The airport is located near the Dirgantara aerospace complex and Dirgantara Fairground. Bandung has two large railway stations, Bandung and Kiaracondong Stations. Other smaller stations are Cimindi, Andir, Ciroyom, Cikudapateuh, and Gedebage Stations (only for freight service). Railway lines connect Bandung to Cianjur, Jakarta, Purwakarta, Bekasi, Karawang and Cikampek to the west, and Surabaya, Malang, Yogyakarta and Solo to the east. It is also a major means of transportation for people living in the suburban areas of Cimahi, Padalarang, Rancaekek, Cicalengka and Cileunyi. In 2012 Bandung Commuter Train phase-1 was scheduled to be built to connect Padalarang, Cimahi, Bandung and Cicalengka with 13 Trans Metro Bandung bus corridors to serve as feeders. Phase-2 will connect Cicalengka to Jatinangor. 32 bus shelters for Trans Metro Bandung (similar to TransJakarta) along Soekarno-Hatta street were finished in August 2011 at a cost of Rp13.1 billion ($1.54 million). Thirty additional buses joined the existing operation of 10 buses, after all the shelters were finished. On 21 June 2011 Damri launched two buses on the Cibiru-Kebon Kelapa specially for women passengers only with women drivers. On 5 August 2011 Jusuf Kalla announced that he would like to build a monorail in Bandung with value of Rp.4 trillion ($470 million). As of April 2012, a cable car project ‘Bandung Skybridge’ to connect Pasteur (Cihampelas) to Sabuga (Taman Sari) was said to be 90 percent complete and awaiting legal authorization to operate. However, as of 2016, the project has still to be realised. To ease Cihampelas traffic congestion, a skywalk for pedestrians only from Cihampelas to Tamansari is also planned. Vehicles will be able to be parked at Tamansari. Bandung City has also announced an intention to build LRT (Light Rail Transit).

Weather

Bandung experiences tropical monsoon climate (Am) according to Köppen climate classification as the driest month precipitation total is below 60 millimetres (2.4 in). The wettest month is February with precipitation total 255.0 millimetres (10.04 in), while the driest month is September with precipitation total 50.0 millimetres (1.97 in). The average temperature throughout the year tends to be cooler than most cities in Indonesia due to the altitude influence. The average temperature throughout the year only has little variation due to its location near the equator.