Exploring Bandung Geological Museum

Let's see how these species leave marks on our planet!

Learning with objects has been an integral part of geological study at Bandung Geological Museum. It holds extensive collections that include not only fossils from over the centuries, but also geological benefits and disasters. 

The highlights include the rocks and mineral collection, Megalithic fossils collection, including the replicas of human's skulls collections. 

It was a hot day in Bandung. And this Geological Museum was our first stop.

                               

Admission fee for student is Rp. 2.000,-.

I'm not a student, so I gotta pay Rp. 3.000,- :D

Greetings from the Mammoth! :d

Tyrannosaurus, the guy from Jurassic Park :D

Replica- Homo Neanderthalensis

This is Bubalus Paleokerabau - the fossil of extinct bovid

(Okay, I know you're confused, it's Kerbau Purba :D )

Hippotalamus Sivalebsis a.k.a ancient Hippo

Museum Geologi Bandung

Operational hour:

Monday- Thursday (09:00-15:30 WIB)

Saturday - Sunday (09:00-13:30 WIB)

The Mystical Kawah Putih

Kawah Putih is a crater lake located at Ciwidey - 2 hours or 50 kilos from Bandung city (minus the heavy traffic jam!) To get here, you better be waking up early! It is quite scenic and you have to go pass through meander roads up to the mountains. Luckily, our driver is an expert :D

 

We have to walk up from the parking lot for about 10 minutes to the crater location. And here we are!

It was raining heavily in Kawah Putih when we arrived. Everybody was wearing sweater or jacket, or anything to keep the body warm. Plus, an umbrella which could not really do its job to cover us from the heavy rain :D

Getting near the crater lake. I could smell the sulfur and you can tell it's highly acid!

The sulfur acid pH is said to be about 0.5 - 1.3 - creating bluish to whitish green lake.

It is chilly up here but visitors seem not to care about the weather :D

This is an area situated near the crater. Somehow, it's creepy like an abandoned place :D

Essential Tips to Kawah Putih (during rainy season):

Of course, the best time to visit Kawah Putih is during summer. During this season, you can take great pictures (without the creepy background of mist covering the area like those in mine!). 

Yeah, but really, if you have to go during the cold season, this is what you need:

1. If you travel during rainy season, better be prepared with rain coat or umbrella. I actually prefer raincoat because by then, your hands are free from holding umbrella, and you can take pictures :D Just make sure to protect your camera :D

2. Wear something warm. Long pants, sweater, jacket or anything. Trust me, it's chilly up there!

3. The entrance fee is Rp. 15,000,- per person. You can either use your car or park it on the lot and take Ontang Anting - a small shuttle that carries up to 8 persons up to the crater lake. You need to pay additional cost of Rp. 13,000,- per person and it can take up to 7 persons. 

Ontang-Anting

4. Due to the highly acid lake, bring a mask or you can buy it on the spot, it's Rp. 5.000,- each.

4. Bring extra pants and shirts in case you get all wet but you still want to continue your trip somewhere.  (I didn't :( )

A trip to Museum Bank Indonesia (De Javasche Bank), Surabaya

source: AntaraFoto.com

To tell the truth, this was the first museum I visited in the city. (Shame on me?)

I always have an interest on museums. I love how they give us clues of the pasts. How people used to work with things, how they learned during the time, and this one, how they actually operate a bank during the colonial era.
This impressive old building resides at Garuda Street no. 1. It's a bit tucked inside a small alley so me and my friend almost missed (and get pissed!) the place. After making the second turn, we finally found it!

No entrance fee. It's FREE!

From 1953 to 1973, the government operated the building as Bank Indonesia - the first bank to operate clearing system from 6 major banks in the country. After being renovated for several times, this bank hasn't lost its touch of 'Dutch-ness' I shall say :D

This was used to be a basement floor and after a major renovation, it is now the first floor. (Lucky we don't have to creep in these.. ) As I walk through it, the atmosphere was cool and humid. I was skeptical as to where this small path leads to.

The vault I peep through, has been modified
and somehow leads to this humid room.
They used to keep confidential documents here.

But it turns out that it leads to another vaults.I saw several safe deposit boxes and managed to peep on one of them.

Gold digger!

Specimen in 1960: President Soekarno series

Too bad, we don’t have IDR 500 paper money anymore.
We use coin now
and it makes our wallet thicker, don’t you think?

The ground floor displays several tools and equipments that they used, to make and destroy money from time to time.

During 1970 until 1991,
paper money with defect condition would be destroyed with this tool

Heading to the second floor, this was where the bank activity took place.

I feel like dancing...

Just checking if it is still working. Well, it does!
This revolving door was used to be the main entrance of the bank . After a major renovation, the entrance door is moved to the first floor. (so the 2nd floor was actually the first floor and the first floor was the basement. Confused?)

The 2nd floor of the building

Some doors are…vanished!?

People would save, transfer, or draw money on the 2nd floor. *So the tellers worked as ATM machines I guess :D

How may I assist you?

It was an exciting 1.5 hours visit! I'd love to explore another museum in the city! THOUGHTS FOR TODAY Why you should visit museum? If you can't find a reason to love museums, then these few points might enlighten your mind.

1. Museum makes you smarter. Really, it will excite your brain as you witness decade-year-old machineries, or how stuff works back then. 
2. Museum makes you grateful After all these years, you will come to realize that you are living in a world filled with advanced technologies where you don't have to wait for days just to transfer funds. 

You have no idea how they could actually do stuffs in traditional ways, and yet, they survived! Imagine if it was us! Thy shall be frustrated.

Teritip Crocodile Farm

The first time I got closer to a croc was during my trip to Balikpapan. We visited this crocodile farm as part of our journey to Borneo island. 

Yeah, if only the predators inside the farm, were this cute!

The breeding center is situated at Teritip, Balikpapan. It's a small center near the Manggar beach.

There are more than a thousand of this reptile including the famous Borneo crocs, the Muara crocs, Supit crocs, and fresh water crocs. 

At first, my thought wandered around..like what it would be like or how huge this center was. But after we arrived there, it is actually a small center with the farm packed with crocs, big ones! 

And every time we get pass through each pool, they would make a move as if trying to say, "I smell you!" Hahaha.. *No I couldn't laugh at that moment 'cause I was too terrified if they jumped out from the wire-meshed cage! 

Lazy cozy croc..Let it sleep, for when it wakes up, it would eat you up.

These crocodiles are half-meter up to 10 meter long! It's incredible. And the one in the picture was about 6 meter long. It couldn't even fit in my camera frame! 

I don't think this farm has enough safety because there is only this thin wire fence that literally separates us!

This crocodile breeding center is a privately owned business established in 1990. The purpose is to meet the exotic-skin bags demand. 

"Baby I'm preyin' on you tonight, hunt you down eat you alive!"
Familiar with this song lyrics? Hahaha!

  

CROCODILE RIDE - FOR FREE

An irresponsibly silly person wrote this

This farm would be a great tourism destination in Balikpapan, if it were well-managed. Like those doors made from wooden, I'm not sure if that's safe enough. Well, at least they didn't jump on me. 

Entrance fee: Rp. 10,000,-

Operational hour: 8 am - 5 pm everyday