Nomad in Bandung

A nomad has arrived in Bandung after an 8 hour train ride from Jogja with fantastic views of the west Java landscapes. Bandung is the country's third largest city and its' urban area has over 7 million people. Having a cooler climate and a natural defense system the colonial administration once considered it as an alternative capital to Batavia. It was developed by city planners into what was known as the Paris of Java. However during the Indonesian independence wars much of the city perished.
I am staying at the oldest surviving hotel of the city, a beautiful example of late colonial architecture and fully renovated. I stay at an affordable 'Harga Ramadan' and most of the guests are Muslims returning home for 'Lebaran'. Maybe I am sleeping in the room Charlie Chaplin once occupied I wonder, when I enjoy my breakfast. Breakfast here serves both brown bread and cheese, as well as 'Bubur Ketan Hitam' and 'Pisang Goreng'. A Nomad is unsure where to start... Strolling through the old city center of Bandung I figure it must have been a real long time ago this city was called the Paris of Java. But nonetheless there are some prime preserved specimen of old colonial 'art deco' architecture. Wandering through town and not being hasseled by tourist hawkers I soon start to feel quite homey. Thinking somehow a Nomad is supposed to stroll these streets. How these places have so much roots in bygone days and so many of my displaced nomadic peoples have had lives here. Not before long a song starts stirring my mind. I wonder if this nation is ready to welcome nomads back...


"Manusia Nusantara tidak lupa. Ada anak dari jauw..."


When I leave Bandung to take the newly build highway connection to Jakarta I see a shop sign along the road reading: 'Klappertaart' a Bandung speciality.
I am on my way to meet Om Pieter, my grandfathers' younger brother in Jakarta, who had decided long ago that he would live and die in the land of his birth and not stay a Nomad.