 The steaming Tangkuban Prahu is Java’s most accessible volcano. (Above Right) Children demonstrate their musical talents on bamboo angklungs. (Above Far Right) Factory outlets attempt to attract shoppers with garish displays. |
  Bandung’s biggest drawcard is ugly, smells bad and often can’t even be seen at all. But that doesn’t stop tourists from making an excursion out of Indonesia’s third largest city for a whiff and glimpse of Tangkuban Prahu.
There are around 130 active volcanos in the vast Indonesian archipelago and another 200 or so that are extinct but Tangkuban Prahu falls into a third geologic category: dormant activity. The volcano just 15 km out of Bandung is also unusual because its crater is the only one on the island of Java that’s accessible by road.
A modern road is the hard surface link to a still bubbling crater that emits stinking sulphur fumes and attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year.
Upon arrival visitors are greeted by entrepreneurs eager to sell charcoal broiled corn, hand carved bone elephants, plastic bags filled with pineapple pieces, hastily woven wicker baskets and a multitude of other wares both large and small.
An illustrated feature on Bandung, Indonesia can be written on assignment from 1000 to 2000 words, depending upon editorial requirements. A separate side bar can be provided on golf opportunities around the city.
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