The Call of Modern Living

By: Emma Kwee

A man with a strong resemblance to Elton John strokes the hair of his son, while his other kid sits on a bicycle wearing a protective helmet (a dead giveaway that this is not a real life scene). The house is an ultra modern minimalist building with two floors. It has 4 bedrooms, a pond and an open air dining space. It is one of 22 similar houses, in a tree lined street. There is no traffic, no kaki lima’s, no trash on the street. Another couple walks hand in hand toward the horizon.

Such is life, or so will life be, in Kota Baru Parahyangan, near Bandung.”

On the backside of the brochure, the facilities of this new town to be a listed: a hospital, international school, Islamic school, Western language academy, mosque, hotel, bicycle lanes, fire department, shuttle bus service, a sundial and a 4D theater will be ready to complete this oasis of modern living.