how i learned to ride bogor's buses without crying (or getting lost)
it started with a banana peel and a bus that didn’t stop. i’d just moved into a studio behind a bakery that smelled like burnt sugar and regret, and the local transit system was my only ally. or foe. depends on the humidity. today, bogor’s air feels like a wet towel draped over your face-92% humidity, 31°C, and the streets still glow like they’ve been sunbathing in syrup. nearby? jakarta’s screaming its way through rush hour. bandung’s over there sipping oat milk lattes like it didn’t just steal half your friends. don’t get me started on puncak. nope. nope. never again.
i didn’t come here for the rain. i came for the cheap rent and the way the street vendors yell ‘tempe mendoan!’ like it’s a war cry. turns out, 2.8 million people in this city live on less than $400/month, and half of them ride angkot like it’s a religious ritual. my landlord, pak tuti, said "jangan takut, kamu pasti bisa"-don’t be afraid, you’ll get it-and then handed me a laminated map with a coffee stain on the bus route for cibinong. it looked like a doodle from a sleepwalker.
here’s the truth: no one follows the schedules. the blue springfield angkot doesn’t run at 10am unless it’s a monday, and only if the driver didn’t get into a fight with his cousin over a durian. the commutes? unpredictable. but the food? absolute. i ate a soto Bogor so good i cried. honestly. also, the market at pasar baru smells like wet wool and cinnamon. you’ll want to go even if you’re full. and yes, i got pickpocketed once. didn’t lose much. just my dignity and three kopi tubruk. worth it.
overheard at warung es teh:
"Last week, a guy took the green T2 from sentul to bogor station. Got off at the wrong stop. Ended up in a goat farm. Called his mother. She said, 'at least the goats gave you free milk.'"
"You want to go to the botanical garden? Don’t take the bus. Walk. When you see that one guy selling burnt cendol from a bicycle cart-that’s your landmark. He’s deaf. But he’ll wave you in with an extra spoon. That’s how you know you’re home."
i’ve done the math. avg rent for a 1br in cibabat: $180/month. Bike to the station: free. Angkot: 5k IDR. You get three meals and a coconut water for less than a latte in berlin. and yes, the wifi at coffee shop sejenak? solid. but the outlets? not so much. bring a power bank the size of a brick.
i spoke to a guy who claimed to have ridden every angkot line in bogor for 47 days straight. he said the real magic happens when you learn which drivers will skip stops for a cigarette. that’s not a glitch. that’s survival.
if you’re lost, find a school. they always have a queue of kids waiting for their own angkots. wave at them. they’ll point. or laugh. either way, you’re not alone.
watch out for the ghost of a former mayor at the old depot near mandala. some say he still rides the 07:30 route to send a message. don’t ask me if it’s true. i’ve seen the shadows. TripAdvisor review | r/Bogor Reddit | Yelp: best tempeh in town | Local Bus Info (Indonesian)
you don’t need a plan. just a backpack, a smile, and three qris QR codes. the bus won’t make sense. the rain will never stop. and you’ll still come back tomorrow. because bogor doesn’t care if you’re lost. it just wants you to try the martabak after dark.
You might also be interested in:
- https://topiclo.com/post/san-diego-you-confusing-beautiful-mess
- https://topiclo.com/post/ciudad-guayana-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-river-mud
- https://topiclo.com/post/sustainability-in-shagamu-how-green-is-this-urban-space-seriously-like-really
- https://topiclo.com/post/healthcare-quality-in-tbilisi-top-hospitals-medical-centers
- https://topiclo.com/post/maputos-messy-mosaic-a-street-artists-drunk-guide-to-religious-cultural-chaos