Bandung's Tourist Information Center in Sorry State
>> Wednesday, August 20, 2008
It was exactly 11:30 a.m. on Saturday when I found the white sign bearing the name of the Tourist Information Center in the northern part of the Grand Mosque on Jl. Asia Afrika in downtown Bandung.
Having found the sign, I started to look for an office behind it. Eventually, I saw a long wooden desk like those a receptionist usually uses, right behind the place where visitors to the mosque leave their footwear before entering the building. Well, right there, on the wall of the terrace of the building I read ""Tourist Information Center"", painted in red.
An elderly gentleman wearing a faded T-shirt and trousers made of a cambric-based batik cloth, seemed to be the person in charge of this non-partitioned room. With his back to the receptionist desk, the man, facing the wall, was talking on the telephone.
""Good afternoon, sir. May I bother you with a question?"" I said, trying to accustom myself to the condition of the information center. Shelves where there were neither brochures nor leaflets on tourism could be seen on his desk.
He glanced at me and, only by making a gesture with his right hand, he asked me to sit down in the chair with its faded upholstery. There were two chairs, apparently for visitors, but both also looked faded with rather damp upholstery. The leather part of the upholstery of the receptionist's chair was also torn in some part.
While I was still puzzled about what foreign tourists would think of this place when they came there for some information, I suddenly caught sight of a pile of objects behind the receptionist's desk. Of course, this pile was invisible from outside. At the very bottom of the pile I saw an unused single gas stove and beside it I could see brochures that were not neatly stacked.
It suddenly crossed my mind why this information center, supposedly the gateway to tourism in Bandung, or perhaps all of West Java, should not be located just in front of the official residence of Bandung mayor, Dada Rosada, i.e. in the large open pavilion-like veranda, which is about 300 meters to the south of the terrace of the mosque.
Five minutes went by but the elderly man was still busy talking on the telephone. Five minutes more and he became more absorbed in this ""activity"". It was after a full 15 minutes that he finished his telephone conversation and turned to me.
After being a little upset because I had been neglected, I could feel slightly comforted when the man, smiling, politely apologized to me for making me wait.
The man's name is Ajid Suryana, 40, the only person available at the Tourist Information Center. I learned that before me, four Belgian tourists came there for some information about how to get to Tangkuban Perahu, a crater in Lembang, North Bandung, which is popular among tourists.
""Well, this Tourist Information Center has been like this for a year now. Just part of the mosque building,"" said Ajid about the poor condition of the center. Without being asked, he gave me some brochures, a map of Bandung, a tourist brochure and a copy of the ""Yellow Pages"" for tourists. These items are freely distributed to every visitor here.
The condition of the Tourist Information Center, the only such center in Bandung, has been like this since March 2005 despite its strategic location in the Alun-Alun area of downtown Bandung. Ajid, who works at the tourism service of Bandung municipality administration on a contract basis, agreed that the place was not properly presentable as a tourist center that provides services to tourists, particularly foreign ones.
""As it is part of the mosque building, foreign tourists sometimes feel reluctant to visit us. Most of them are not Muslims,"" said Ajid, who has worked at this center since 1989.
Before being moved to its present location, this center was situated in the southern Alun-Alun and was quite presentable as a tourist center. Unfortunately, the Alun-alun, which is precisely in front of the Grand Mosque, is undergoing renovation but the process has been protracted. As a result, this center is yet to have its permanent and presentable place.
Ajid is the only official in charge of this tourist center. He can speak English and a little Dutch and Japanese.
Despite its limited facilities, the center's visitor book shows about 465 foreign tourists visited it between March 2005 and February 2006. These visitors, who came from, among other places, Belgium, France, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Poland and even the Ivory Coast, came there either because they had lost their way or because they needed information about tourist destinations in Bandung.
""Very helpful. Good. Nice,"" are typical of the comments that some of the visitors have written about Ajid. Besides Tangkuban Perahu, other tourist destinations that foreign tourists usually need information about include Maribaya in Lembang, a hot spring in Garut and Pangandaran beach in Ciamis. Some tourists have also inquired about cheap transportation from Bandung to Bali.
Tourist Information Center was established in 1973 to support Bandung as a tourist city, he said. However, the tourism service seems to pay little attention to its well-being.
Having found the sign, I started to look for an office behind it. Eventually, I saw a long wooden desk like those a receptionist usually uses, right behind the place where visitors to the mosque leave their footwear before entering the building. Well, right there, on the wall of the terrace of the building I read ""Tourist Information Center"", painted in red.
An elderly gentleman wearing a faded T-shirt and trousers made of a cambric-based batik cloth, seemed to be the person in charge of this non-partitioned room. With his back to the receptionist desk, the man, facing the wall, was talking on the telephone.
""Good afternoon, sir. May I bother you with a question?"" I said, trying to accustom myself to the condition of the information center. Shelves where there were neither brochures nor leaflets on tourism could be seen on his desk.
He glanced at me and, only by making a gesture with his right hand, he asked me to sit down in the chair with its faded upholstery. There were two chairs, apparently for visitors, but both also looked faded with rather damp upholstery. The leather part of the upholstery of the receptionist's chair was also torn in some part.
While I was still puzzled about what foreign tourists would think of this place when they came there for some information, I suddenly caught sight of a pile of objects behind the receptionist's desk. Of course, this pile was invisible from outside. At the very bottom of the pile I saw an unused single gas stove and beside it I could see brochures that were not neatly stacked.
It suddenly crossed my mind why this information center, supposedly the gateway to tourism in Bandung, or perhaps all of West Java, should not be located just in front of the official residence of Bandung mayor, Dada Rosada, i.e. in the large open pavilion-like veranda, which is about 300 meters to the south of the terrace of the mosque.
Five minutes went by but the elderly man was still busy talking on the telephone. Five minutes more and he became more absorbed in this ""activity"". It was after a full 15 minutes that he finished his telephone conversation and turned to me.
After being a little upset because I had been neglected, I could feel slightly comforted when the man, smiling, politely apologized to me for making me wait.
The man's name is Ajid Suryana, 40, the only person available at the Tourist Information Center. I learned that before me, four Belgian tourists came there for some information about how to get to Tangkuban Perahu, a crater in Lembang, North Bandung, which is popular among tourists.
""Well, this Tourist Information Center has been like this for a year now. Just part of the mosque building,"" said Ajid about the poor condition of the center. Without being asked, he gave me some brochures, a map of Bandung, a tourist brochure and a copy of the ""Yellow Pages"" for tourists. These items are freely distributed to every visitor here.
The condition of the Tourist Information Center, the only such center in Bandung, has been like this since March 2005 despite its strategic location in the Alun-Alun area of downtown Bandung. Ajid, who works at the tourism service of Bandung municipality administration on a contract basis, agreed that the place was not properly presentable as a tourist center that provides services to tourists, particularly foreign ones.
""As it is part of the mosque building, foreign tourists sometimes feel reluctant to visit us. Most of them are not Muslims,"" said Ajid, who has worked at this center since 1989.
Before being moved to its present location, this center was situated in the southern Alun-Alun and was quite presentable as a tourist center. Unfortunately, the Alun-alun, which is precisely in front of the Grand Mosque, is undergoing renovation but the process has been protracted. As a result, this center is yet to have its permanent and presentable place.
Ajid is the only official in charge of this tourist center. He can speak English and a little Dutch and Japanese.
Despite its limited facilities, the center's visitor book shows about 465 foreign tourists visited it between March 2005 and February 2006. These visitors, who came from, among other places, Belgium, France, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Poland and even the Ivory Coast, came there either because they had lost their way or because they needed information about tourist destinations in Bandung.
""Very helpful. Good. Nice,"" are typical of the comments that some of the visitors have written about Ajid. Besides Tangkuban Perahu, other tourist destinations that foreign tourists usually need information about include Maribaya in Lembang, a hot spring in Garut and Pangandaran beach in Ciamis. Some tourists have also inquired about cheap transportation from Bandung to Bali.
Tourist Information Center was established in 1973 to support Bandung as a tourist city, he said. However, the tourism service seems to pay little attention to its well-being.
Yuli Tri Suwarni
Source: The Jakarta Post, Fri, 03/17/2006
Source: The Jakarta Post, Fri, 03/17/2006
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