A Walk through the Kampung to the Bandung Zoo

The weekend always brings with it an adventure or two. Last weekend we had a very lazy Saturday and just hung out at home all day and night. So by the time Sunday rolled around we were ready to get out. A group of us decided to walk to the zoo. To get there we walked through the kampung, which is what they call the neighborhoods where the local Sundanese people live. They are formed by gongs, narrow alley ways, that connect in a maze all around the city. For the most part they are too narrow for cars to drive through (some people can get around on motorbike through them) but mostly you just have to walk. We also walked through a graveyard along the way. Graveyards here have a different look than they do in the States. The one we went through was really overgrown and unkept. I got some good pictures along the way that might help give you an idea of what daily life is like, especially for the local people.

Also along our walk we stopped at an art park. It was this weird hippie like community with some open air art galleries done by local artists.

At the end of our walk we ended up at the Bandung zoo. I've heard that the zoo here is really not a place you want to go because it is really depressing. After seeing it for myself I'd have to agree. We showed up and were told that the zoo was closed. Then a lady came up and told us that if we went around to another entrance we could get in. So we went around only to find the guy at the entrance tell us that we were too late. Then the same lady came up again and said that he should let us in... and so he caved. We basically had the zoo to ourselves as we wandered around looking at the different animals. It did get a little eerie as the sun started setting and it was getting dark, and we were in the closed down zoo all by ourselves.

Sadly, the animals at the zoo were stuffed in small cages or crammed in with lots of other animals. The cages were dirty and unkept and the elephant had a chain around it's leg. Along with that there were really just bars between you and the animals... for the most part you could reach through and touch them if you wanted to. At one point we started taunting the lion and it jumped up and surprised us... kind of scary. We also saw a snake kill a duck. (I guess that's what happens when you put ducks in with the snakes.)

For all the pictures of the afternoon check out the web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/emilyinbandung/KampungWalkBandungZoo