Home Sweet Bandung Home

I thought you might like to see a bit of the home that Jason and Laura are living in here in Bandung.  As most homes in kampungs, it shares a common wall with another home.  However, it is at the end of an alley so it is only attached on the one side, kind of like being at the end of a row of townhouses.  It's up high, looking out over the rooftops of the neighbors.

Today, I thought I'd show you the bottom floor which includes the main entry/sitting area, kitchen area and the one and only toilet.  The eating area is in one corner of the kitchen.  There is a small table in the corner and a row of built-in cupboards under the stairs leading up to the upstairs.

The main entry/sitting area is currently being used as a bedroom which I am visiting.  Jason and Laura have moved some mattresses down there and are sleeping there so that I can use their bedroom upstairs (and get the added bonus of hte lizards - yay!).

Along the other wall of the kitchen area is the small refrigerator and the washing machine.  There is a water container on top of the fridge that has the water that we drink.  When it gets low, Jason calls a fellow who shows up with more jugs.

The washing machine is kind of an unusual contraption.  I have no idea how it works.  The lady who comes during the week to help runs it.  I know it involves running water from a hose into it and then putting the clothes into the one side where it agitates.  I guess you must then drain that compartment and run water in again to rinse the clothes.  After the clothes are washed, then the helper takes them outside to hang over the front walkway railing.  We have limited clothespins so if it gets windy then the clothes sometimes end up on the walk or front stoop.  Today I was afraid that my knickers were going to end up on the neighbor's front doorstep.

The only cooking area is this two-burner gas hotplate.  Interestingly enough, there is a boxy metal contraption that can be set on top of a burner and it can be used as a toaster or an oven.  The helper has baked banana bread in it and also a cake.  I don't know how she does it.

Next to the hotplate is a sink and drain area.  There is no garbage disposal, which I really miss.  The ants are happy about that, though.  They pounce on any piece of food that hits the floor.  Tonight I saw a stream of ants carrying two soy nuts up the wall of the kitchen.  Speaking of walls, as I write this, I glanced over and saw a small lizard right next to the level of my mattress on the wall.  And now I just saw a big lizard come out from under my bed.  Holy Toledo, do they have a nest under the bed?  I am seriously freaked out.

Back to the kitchen....there is one toilet in the house and that is in the kitchen  It is a tiny little compartment with a toilet and that's about it.  There isn't a sink.  You have to come out and use the kitchen sink to wash your hands.

There is a row of ventilation blocks at the top of the back wall of the toilet which apparently open up into the back wall of the neighbor's toilet because when sitting in there, you can hear the neighbors pretty clearly.

That's it for our little tour of the downstairs.  Tomorrow I'll try to give you a tour of the upstairs, which consists of a little living room, the bedroom and the one shower.