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Below is a map of the western half of the island of Java. We live in a city of around 3 million in the center of this region called Bandung. It takes around 4 hours to get to Bandung from Jakarta by car but the best way is to travel by train. From Bandung it takes another 4 or 5 hours to get to our favorite beach spot directly south of Tasikmalaya but the only way to get there is by car.  |
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There are around 9 million people living in Jakarta which is much hotter than Bandung and where most of the political news you hear about takes place. The rest of this land is mostly inhabited by the Sundanese people (around 34 million of them). They are a very friendly and beautiful people who have a strong sense of community and are mostly all followers of Islam. We are collecting some picture of West Java in our photo album so take a look. There are a lot of good places to visit in West Java. Jakarta has all the comforts (and headaches) of a large city. We have enjoyed a weekend or two there, going shopping in the many malls, eating in some western restaurants like TGI Fridays, Chillis and even getting some good old Pennsylvania Dutch "Auntie Anne" soft pretzels. Bogor is a nice town to visit and we have gone to a good beach called Pelabuhan Ratu which is southwest of Sukabumi. But our all time favorite place is Pangandaran beach, due south of the town of Tasikmalaya. There are some amazing tea plantations which date back to the Dutch days and tons of terraced rice fields as well. If your planning a trip out here take a look at the West Java Link pages here in my site. I'm working on creating a center of information for the expat living in Bandung or for those planning on visiting - everything from immigration offices to travel info, western restuarants and family fun ideas. Check out these good sites as well:
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