Today i remember yesterday's chit-chat at lunch. It was very funny that me and my friends were talking about how strange life can be in such cities like Bandung and Jakarta. I couldn't recall what topics that eventually brought us to this short-funny discussion.
I remember one of my friend joinning my table was also had studied at Bandung, he studied at a university at jatinangor and were living in a rent-room around Gede Bage area where were very famous of it's Pasar Gede Bage. It well known as -probably- the cheapest 'factory outlet' in Bandung. I'm serious about saying cheapest here, well, just try to picture this : a trouser for only 15,000 rupiahs, or a jacket for only 30,000 rupiahs! It's not yet the end of the story, if the day is getting late, and the 'shops' are about to closed, they even can sale some shorts for only 2,000 rupiahs! Crazily true! What makes the Pasar more and more interesting is that the items they sold are always branded. You can mention some brand like Abercrombie, or Banana Republic are exist there! Whoaa, we hadn't event have the store opened in Indonesia at the time! Some people say that the clothing are fake or imitated - which i think it is strongly understandable if thay thought so, but some others say that the items are genuine but they were stolen from the fabrics or hotel or some whealty people's houses in Bandung which i think it can be also an option of the reasons why such branded stuff can arrive there. Whatever the rumors can be, the Pasar still and keep crowded and the buyers seems don't care where the hell the stuffs came from.. Looks like economy's going very well there. My friend said, if you see fancy students with branded stuffs in Bandung, it can only be two options: they're filthy rich or.. they got it from the Gede Bage haha..
I was had a big laugh, i remember some students in my campus were wearing branded stuffs too, and i admitted some of them bought these stuffs when they were travelling overseas, but the rest got it when they 'travel' around the Gede Bage..
My friend and i were studying in different university. His University have some rules on how students suppose to dress when they attend some classes. Not in mine, thank god, as long as we wear shoes - even sometime we also don't - the lecturers will let us join their classes. Well, he said that some classes required students with a proper shirt -with collar- which was good and make them look tidy - maybe in other way, i was wondering this rule just try to make the students look smarter. For those came to the campus with own vehicle -especially cars- it doesn't matter what kind of clothes they should wear. But for those live quite far from the campus and has to take almost one hour journey on a-non-air conditioner-crowded-old-cramping-bus, trust me it does matter. There were no tidy look or smart faces, when the student got out from the buss the look like a salesman who was trying to sell some hot-dogs on the desert along the day. They're shiny,tired, and sweaty.
I suggest it also happens in Jakarta. Even i have to say it is happening now, tomorrow and everyday. I take bus to go to my office everyday. I confirm, a bus not a Transjakarta busway. It always been the green ugly bus that filled with triple times of maximum capacity load number of people! No aircon, no automatic door, no shelter, no safety, it's just a no a.k.a nothing. Let's not talk about humanity inside the bus, because talking just waste your energy and you will definitely need your energy -and the air - to survive sitting or standing among numbers of people, to breathe, keep the balance, secure your wallets, and avoiding sexual abuse inside the bus. He added that the driver and the assistant always say "duduk..duduk..kosong..kosong.." like they don't care if we barely even can stand too long in a-too-crowd-limited-space like this. When the bus getting too full, you just can't move your feet, body or hands, that's also why you always have to keep penny to pay the fare before get into the bus.
Sitting is truely a priviledge that i barely get everyday. If i were lucky -sometime- i get a special seat in the very-front-no-row which is the dashboard! Yes, i've been there done that several times. The feeling was thrilling haha... Can you imagine if -just if- the bus get on an accident, hit something bigger like a truck or anything.. the only person who will not even notice it was coming will be you, because you're sitting on the dashboard back to back with the road. When people scream, you will just questioning why, but eventually, you will be the very first person who get injured by the accident. Well, actually, when i realized we were laughing at something horrible... Another facts revealed, that we barely even see the different between funny and scary..
