Bandung Chronicle – Part 1 Of 6

This is a journal of my year end trip to Bandung, Indonesia.  Observations more or less arranged in a chronological order, chopped into 500 words per piece.

1. Chicken in Bandung

Some see only dirt in Bandung, some see charm in every corner.  Some see the chicken meat in Bandung too tiny to be served as a dish on a dinning table.  I happen to love the chewiness, the leanness that reminds me of how vigorous the chickens had once exercised.  My vision of a bunch of chickens in joy, running around under a hot Bandung sun chasing each other and playing games, that essence of happiness permeates into the meat grilled to perfection, now served with sweet chili source, slices of cucumbers, and a few pieces of green lettuce.  I feel happier eating that than those caged chickens force fed with feed of questionable origins, supersized by means of hormones and chemicals.  There is little happiness eating chickens of that sort, even if they are meatier.

2. Airport Security

Round about the same period when – finally – a highway is built linking Jakarta, the capital, and Bandung, the second biggest city in Indonesia, AirAsia flies direct between Singapore and Bandung.  I suppose Bandung airport seldom sees International flights.  After the plane touched down – the only plane I saw in the entire airport – we have the opportunity to walk from the airstrip to the terminal.  There is no baggage convey belts either.   Instead, bags are transported and piled up at a common area ready for collection.

At the immigration counter, one of the two officers signaled me to place my four right fingers onto a metal box fitted with a glass top.  A flash of light followed by my four left fingers, another flash of light followed by my two big thumbs.  I was excited by the new experience.  After recording my fingerprints, the officer said to me, “Open you glasses”, which I suppose meant, “Take off your glasses”.  He pointed to a small camera in front of me that looked like a webcam.  Many movies flashed in front of my mind – “Mission Impossible”, “James Bond”, just to name a few.  With one hand holding my glasses, I moved really close to the tiny camera ready for a retinal scan.  That appeared to have caused a little commotion.  The queue behind me gasped – including Cynthia – and the officers frantically signaled me to stand back.  Then I realized.  They simply wanted to take my mugshot.  I stood back, forced a little smile, and after seeing the officer’s nod of approval, I left the counter thinking: how cool if it was a retinal scan instead.

3. Warcraft Withdrawal Syndrome

I often look forward to my trip to Bandung, treating it as a detox program staying away from the Internet for a change.  Once I worked in Paris.  One client of mine blindfolded himself for the entire weekend.  For what, I asked.  Many things, he answered.  The absence of advertisements and how blessed he …

• Continue to Part 2