What to do in Bandung? Most people would tell you to go shopping at the factory outlets or try the local food. Unfortunately, I tend to look for unusual things to do and this time I even searched the internet to see what Bandung had to offer. I found a website called "UrbanDung Legend" a shortened version of Urban Legend in Bandung. From the description it was a kind of haunted tour. I knew they had "Ghost Tours" in Europe but I had never heard of anything like this in Bandung.
So I called to make a booking. "Don't expect too much." They told me. "Basically, this is just a walking tour where we tell you the legends linked to the buildings we pass. If you have a sixth sense, maybe it will be more interesting because then you might be able to see something supernatural." I just laughed because I like to think I am quite a logical person and really don't believe in this kind of thing. Nonetheless, I didn't want to go by myself, so I dragged along two friends, Deni and Rolan. So, one evening at 9 p.m. we met up with our guide, Ilham, at Taman Belitung.
Our first stop was a school, SMA 5, on Jalan Belitung. It used to be called HBS (Hogere Burger School) or Dutch Middle School, and was built in 1902. This old building really did seem haunted, especially as it was only dimly lit and surrounded by huge trees. "There was a Dutch girl who was sixteen years old called Nancy who had an Indonesian boyfriend," Ilham told us. "Because they were a mixed race couple, their love was forbidden and Nancy committed suicide in a classroom on the second floor.
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| Wisata Alam Situ Patengan (Patenggang) Bandung |
We soon found ourselves passing an old Dutch military barracks. Apparently, an aging bearded man in dark clothes often appears at the open window on the top floor. I was walking along with my head down now, as I really didn't want to see him. We continued on to Jaarbeurs Building which has a statue of three naked boys on top. Ilham told us the heads on the statue sometimes turn slowly, following the people walking by. I kept my head down!
Next we arrived at "Rumah Kentang"n on Jalan Banda, in front of Taman Saparua. The courtyard was covered in leaves from the huge tree in front, and this old Dutch colonial period house was clearly not very well maintained. It was called Rumah Kentang because sometimes when you passed by you could smell potatoes being cooked. The story went that a long time ago there was a woman carrying a baby and boiling potatoes.
Somehow, the baby managed to fall into the large pot of boiling water and died. Suddenly Rolan said, "Hey, I can smell potatoes!" Neither Deni nor I could smell anything, but I certainly had goose bumps again. We wasted no time getting away from there. We continued on to the park behind Aloysius School. According to Ilham, there was a tunnel underneath the building which had been used as a concentration camp during the war. Although it had been closed for a long time, screams were still heard from under the school. Spooky!
Next up on the tour was Taman Maluku and Ilham suddenly said, "Mbak, look over to your left." I jumped when I saw a large dark shape! It turned out to be a four metre tall statue of H.C. Verbaark, built in 1919. Verbaark was a catholic priest who first served in Aceh before being posted to Malang. Unfortunately, he died in a plane crash in Bandung. There are two stories about this statue. The first is that at midday, as the cathedral bells chime a kilometre away, the head of the statue nods along with the bells. The second story is that if you take a long look at this statue, its head will turn and stare back at you! Of course I didn't see it staring at me, but, despite using a tripod, almost all of Deni's photos were blurred, and he is a professional photographer.
Finally, we went to Rumah Ambulans on Bahureksa Street. The building now served as a clothing shop, was painted yellow and had a carefully manicured garden. It had originally been the house of a Dutch family who died in a car crash. As it happened, an ambulance had brought their bodies to the hospital after the accident and an old, rusty ambulance was still parked in front of the house, in the hope that it would help them rest in peace. According to the legend, sometimes at night this ambulance could be seen driving along the streets without a driver. The person looking after the house told us that he himself had never seen this, but he did tell us that during the filming of the horror movie Hantu Ambulans, starring Suzanna, one of the crew members was possessed.
By the end of the tour I had hiccups every 30 seconds which continued for three days! It was uncomfortable; I was shivering, had stiff shoulders and could hardly talk through the hiccups. I drank antangin, flu medicine, and had a massage but nothing seemed to stop the hiccups. I eventually went to see a "wise man" who told me that, most likely, I had been possessed by a djinn. Apparently, being possessed by a djinn feels cold, and, according to him, that was somehow similar to my symptoms. What? And while all that was going on, Rolan, who had had no problems at all during the tour itself, found his four year old daughter suddenly could not sleep at night and was constantly screaming. After three days of this they went to see the wise man too. Guess what he said? "She has been possessed by the spirit of a young girl, perhaps someone from Holland."
Can you believe that?!
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