Bandung, The Sea of Fire

Bandung, the capital city of West Java Province has long been known for its
beautiful girls, and great sceneries. Bandung is one of the largest cities in
Indonesia, and home to several most interesting shopping outlets and hotels,
as well as great food and entertainment. As a city, Bandung is visited by more
than 2 million visitors from neighboring cities like Jakarta, Cirebon, Jogja, and
one of the most visited city in Asia. In short word, ATTRACTIVE. I myself
visited Bandung and its surrounding for more than 20 times, when i was
working in Jakarta, and managed to master the Sundanese language, hehe.

But, many people forget or event do not know that 65 years ago, it was a
mere ashes and ruins. Bandung was one of the fiercest battle places. Here's
the story...

?In 1942, after Japanese soldiers landed in coastal areas of Java, the Dutch
retreated from Jakarta to Bandung, but were driven out from there as well and
surrendered soon after. After the end of the war, the Dutch, along with winning
British army, came back with a vengeance and on March 24, 1946, An
ultimatum was given by the British commander in Bandung for the Indonesian
combatants in Bandung to leave the city.
In response, the southern part of Bandung was deliberately burned down in
an act of defiance as they left ; an event which came to be known as Bandung
Lautan Api (or Bandung Sea of Fire). The revolutionary song "Halo-halo
Bandung" was sung by hundreds of Indonesian nationalists in Bandung, and it
is now a very popular national song.

During the evacuations in March 1946, Mohammad Toha, a member of

Indonesian militia, smuggled several sticks of dynamite past Japanese and
Dutch troops, and into the Dutch military Headquarters in Dayeuh Kolot. He
detonated the dynamite in warehouses of ammunition, killing himself and
several Dutch, Japanese troops in the area. The explosion created a small
lake ("situ") in Dayeuh Kolot. The main street in the area is called
"Mohammad Toha Street".

For many, independence was merely a gift, for Indonesians, it was gained
little by little, trough fiecer battles, costing countless lives.