Hundreds of thousands of motorists flocking to Bandung for the holiday season were greeted by heavy congestion that peaked over the weekend.
On Sunday, thousands of motorists, mostly from Jakarta, were brought to a standstill on Jl. Sarijadi and Jl. Setiabudi.
On Jl. Setiabudi, cars inched toward Lembang on the foot of Mt. Tangkuban Perahu, a volcano and popular tourists destination.
The traffic stretched from the Pasteur toll road exit gate to Jl. Cihampelas, Jl. LLRE Martadinata, Jl. Ir. Djuanda and a number of popular shopping areas in the city.
The scene was all too similar in the southern areas of Bandung, called the Kopo area, which links the city with the Ciwidey and Pangalengan tourist spots in Bandung regency as well as Nagrekm, which is a gateway to Central Java.
The congestion lessened slightly Monday as tourists from Jakarta continued to travel east, leaving the mountain city of Bandung in their dust.
Abimanyu, 37, who hails from Pasar Minggu, Jakarta, said he had not expected it to take him more than an hour to reach Lembang from Jl. Djuanda.
"Usually I can reach it in half an hour. This is really crazy," he said.
Shopping and eating spots on Jl. Djuanda, Jl. Riau and Jl. Sukajadi as well as large malls, including Paris van Java, Istana Plaza, Bandung Supermall and Bandung Indah Plaza were packed mostly with Bandung locals wishing to see out the holiday period at home.
Head of the city's tourism agency, Askary Wirantaatmadja, said the number of weekend tourists was up five times.
"Usually there is only between 45,000 and 100,000 tourists on a long weekend," he said.
Some 252 star-rated hotels in Bandung, offering 10,442 rooms, were fully booked.
Edy Rachmat, chairman of the Bandung branch of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, said 16,000 rooms, including those of non-star hotels, had already been booked for New Year's eve.
"We estimate that from boarding revenue alone, Rp 1.2 trillion (US$107 million) has been added to the city coffer," he said.
Some 300,000 vehicles are expected to enter Bandung in the first week of January from cities around Bandung as well as from Jakarta and surrounding provinces as far as Lampung.
