I just wanna share a little thing about one of the most common public transportation in Bandung. it happens a lot, and i’m sure those who lives in Bandung would agree with me on this.

People that lives in Bandung, isn’t always the people that’s been there their whole life. there are so many people increasing in this cool city every year. Bandung has places to be, just to hang out or to eat, shopping, and stuffs. For those who likes to visit Bandung by car, it’s gonna be easier to move places because you don’t need public transportation. but for those who visits Bandung without a car, would prefer a public transportation, such as Angkot, besides taxi, as an alternative. for those who doesn’t know what ‘Angkot’ is, it’s a common public transportation in Bandung that can carry maximum 14 average-sized people. the fare is quite cheap, way cheaper than taxi fare, depending on how far you are travelling. travelling by bus is actually cheaper, but bus isn’t always available.

i’m saying that those people that lives in, but isn’t the real Bandung citizen, often don’t really understand how to get somewhere by Angkot. unless it’s their routine.

i meet these people often and i observe them quite close. because i travel by Angkot almost everytime, and i have lived here practically my whole life.

the problem that i wanna talk about here is, such a shame but really important, Angkot drivers, mostly, are not really honest. when someone (people who doesn’t know where the route, tourists included) asks them whether the car gonna pas some place, they would say YES. everytime. letting those poor people into the car and lead them the wrong direction, letting them travel around, giving the more reason to pay more expensive for the fare. —> taking advantages because they are clueless.

they don’t always lie, but it’s kinda hard to differ whether they are saying the truth or not.

My TIPS —> if you want to visit Bandung and choosing Angkot as a transportation to take you around, before you get in, you gotta:

ask trustworthy people, such as security (in the train station or wherever). don’t ask the driver! if you ask some random people and they answer with doubt, you gotta find another person to ask about this.

and the questions are should be about,

1. which angkot to take to get to (your destination) —> to make it easier, ask the color, destination sign, and number too. color is the most recognized sign of Angkot, but sometimes they have similar color, so you HAVE to make sure which. destination sign is the most important so you MUST read this before you get in. number is not always printed in sticker in Angkot, but this also helps.

2. where should you get off. sometimes you need to take several cars to get somewhere. ask for a landmark or something.

3. specifically, or at least estimation of the fare. IDR 10.000 is expensive for one time travelling by Angkot, although when you convert it to, for example, American Dollar it’s like really cheap.

4. which direction it’s going. many Angkot passes the same street in their route. but they are surely travels to different destination. when you take an Angkot that goes to wrong direction, you’ll find your destination even harder, usually.

i think that’s it. PHEW! i hope this is understandable and can help your visit to Bandung. this Angkot driver case is just one of the annoying thing, besides all that, Bandung is a beautiful city to visit. :)