Children go to school at 6:00 AM in West Java
July 23, 2013,
Bogor, West Java, Indonesia:
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) was peaceful at dawn. I listened intently to every morning sound as I walked from my private room to the guest house. A security guard waved to me from the guard house near a side entrance to the walled enclave. I waved back to him. Pre-dawn prayers for Ramadan had finished one hour earlier at the mosque two kilometres to the north. A rooster crowed nearby. The cool, morning mist dampened mysterious sounds. It was 5:30 am!
I entered the guest house dining room. Already, the cook was waiting for me as we had agreed at dinner on the night before. I ordered a plain, two-egg omelette and coffee. The cook went into the kitchen right away. Soon, I was enjoying a small, simple breakfast.
At 6:00 AM, the driver from the motor pool arrived. We loaded my photography gear into the rear cargo area of the van. A van was needed for its high clearance to navigate the rough roads through the tea plantation and jungle.
Within minutes just me and the driver departed. Our destination was the park headquarters for the Ganung Halimun Salak National Park. Our goal was to travel at dawn to avoid traffic jams and congestion.
First we had to go through security. The security personnel looked at my driver at the wheel of the CIFOR van. Then they waved us through the main entrance. Within minutes we travelled the length of Jalan (road) CIFOR then cruised down Jalan Labuan-Cianjur to the intersection with Highway 11. The driver merged into traffic. Although it was dawn, we still could only manage a top speed of 10-30 km per hour most times on the largest road, Highway 11.
We slowly cruised along Highway 11 through Bogor Regency, a sub-division of West Java Province. Currently, this Regency has a population of more than 5 million. Its population density is 1,800 people per square kilometre. What is more, the city of Bogor has the second highest population density on the planet. Nowadays it is considered a bed-room community of Jakarta as stated by Wikipedia.
Highway 11 heads westwards from CIFOR and Bogor. Already, a large number of motor cycles and scooters were on the highway. It was Ramadan. Yet, countless workers were steaming towards Bogor and Jakarta in West Java.
Unforgettable towns and small cities are strung along the highway. For a Canadian, we appeared to travel through small cities. For Javanese, however, they are villages like Ciampea and Liuwiliang (pronunciation, Lou-will-lee-ang). These are the names for districts too. Countless villages were already coming to life.
Public school classes begin at 7:00 AM. Private school begins at 7:20 AM. Thus, a seven year old child could leave home at 6:00 AM like the son of a woman who works at CIFOR.
At 6:30 AM, children were gathering at bus stops. Some were boarding the little vans that serve as school buses. They are called ANGKOT (ANGkutan KOTa) in West Java. For me, it was an amazing sight!
Only children in the most distant villages in northwestern BC, Canada, leave home really early. In contrast, the Canadian students leave Gitanyow for Kitwanga, both indigenous villages, at 7:30 AM. The children, five years of age to teenagers, travel 30 minutes together on the same bus to save on travel costs. Children from Kindergarten to grade seven get off the bus in Kitwanga. High school students continue travelling another 45 minutes to the high school in Hazelton. Both elementary and high school classes always begin at 9:00 AM.
Bogor, West Java, Indonesia:
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) was peaceful at dawn. I listened intently to every morning sound as I walked from my private room to the guest house. A security guard waved to me from the guard house near a side entrance to the walled enclave. I waved back to him. Pre-dawn prayers for Ramadan had finished one hour earlier at the mosque two kilometres to the north. A rooster crowed nearby. The cool, morning mist dampened mysterious sounds. It was 5:30 am!
I entered the guest house dining room. Already, the cook was waiting for me as we had agreed at dinner on the night before. I ordered a plain, two-egg omelette and coffee. The cook went into the kitchen right away. Soon, I was enjoying a small, simple breakfast.
At 6:00 AM, the driver from the motor pool arrived. We loaded my photography gear into the rear cargo area of the van. A van was needed for its high clearance to navigate the rough roads through the tea plantation and jungle.
Within minutes just me and the driver departed. Our destination was the park headquarters for the Ganung Halimun Salak National Park. Our goal was to travel at dawn to avoid traffic jams and congestion.
First we had to go through security. The security personnel looked at my driver at the wheel of the CIFOR van. Then they waved us through the main entrance. Within minutes we travelled the length of Jalan (road) CIFOR then cruised down Jalan Labuan-Cianjur to the intersection with Highway 11. The driver merged into traffic. Although it was dawn, we still could only manage a top speed of 10-30 km per hour most times on the largest road, Highway 11.
We slowly cruised along Highway 11 through Bogor Regency, a sub-division of West Java Province. Currently, this Regency has a population of more than 5 million. Its population density is 1,800 people per square kilometre. What is more, the city of Bogor has the second highest population density on the planet. Nowadays it is considered a bed-room community of Jakarta as stated by Wikipedia.
Highway 11 heads westwards from CIFOR and Bogor. Already, a large number of motor cycles and scooters were on the highway. It was Ramadan. Yet, countless workers were steaming towards Bogor and Jakarta in West Java.
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| Muslim Girl on her way to a Bogor school at 6:30 am during Ramadan. |
The riders were relaxed, confident, and totally focussed on the road and traffic. The crowded streets and country lanes of West Java are full of extremely proficient riders! I have never seen so many expert motorcyclists.
Unforgettable towns and small cities are strung along the highway. For a Canadian, we appeared to travel through small cities. For Javanese, however, they are villages like Ciampea and Liuwiliang (pronunciation, Lou-will-lee-ang). These are the names for districts too. Countless villages were already coming to life.
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| Commuters on Highway 11 in Bogor at 6:30 AM. |
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| Not all female students wear Muslim head dress. |
At 6:30 AM, children were gathering at bus stops. Some were boarding the little vans that serve as school buses. They are called ANGKOT (ANGkutan KOTa) in West Java. For me, it was an amazing sight!
 |
| Gitanyow, BC, Canada: April 7, 2008. |
Only children in the most distant villages in northwestern BC, Canada, leave home really early. In contrast, the Canadian students leave Gitanyow for Kitwanga, both indigenous villages, at 7:30 AM. The children, five years of age to teenagers, travel 30 minutes together on the same bus to save on travel costs. Children from Kindergarten to grade seven get off the bus in Kitwanga. High school students continue travelling another 45 minutes to the high school in Hazelton. Both elementary and high school classes always begin at 9:00 AM.
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