But it took me so long to have the mood to blog about it. Just like what I hate about vacation - packing and unpacking... it could be delayed for ages.
Anyway, here's the entry finally...
My travel itinerary for the Bandung trip.
Day 01 : Arrived at Bandung : 4:00PM
- Check-in Grand Seriti Hotel by 10.30am
- Shopping to factory outlet @ Dago
- Dinner at Sundanese restaurant (Dago Panyawangan)
- Back to hotel
Talking about our itinerary... actually, despite being the literal environmentalists that we (MrHubby & I) are... Tangkuban Parahu and hotsprings are already out of list. The main agenda in Bandung is...SHOPPING!!! Hehe.
The first thing I did upon arriving at the Hussein Sastranegara airport was to buy something, to get small change (for tips). So, while browsing for brownies and candies for Cikebum, suddenly I saw this...
Ahhhhhhh....my fav Keripik singkong Kusuka!!! I was so excited...
Me : Mbak, yang ini black pepper chicken ada nggak?
Salesgirl: Nggak.
Me : Terus, apa yang ada?
Salesgirl: Keju bakar, ayam lada hitam
Me : Ok deh...kasi ayam lada hitam ya...
(dalam hati: Lho... kok 'black pepper chicken' nggak ada?)
Anyway, I fell in love with this chips when Inten bought it for me once ago, to cheer me up, as I blogged in my previous entry here.
Then, we took a taxi to the Grand Seriti Hotel.
Lil Cikebum was so excited once we got into the room.
Okaylah, dear... after Mama completed my PhD, we'll renovate the house into a hotel ye? :P
On the road, it was interesting to see traders approaching cars and motorists, huckstering various items ranging from Djarum Super cigarettes to junk foods and newspapers.
We were quite exhausted, hence, shopping will start the next day. Yet still we entered a few factory outlets...
Day 02 :
- Shopping at Pasar Baru
- Back to Hotel & late lunch while waiting for Inten/Rendi
- Factory outlet Rumah Mode
- Dinner at “Katjapiring, Paris Van Java"
- Back to hotel
As Inten will be arriving a bit later, so we decided to shop at Pasar Baru first. Here, things are relatively cheap (especially if you can speak with an Indo accent like I did). Remember- the key is to impress them. Hahaha. Else, u'll be quoted with a different price, just like other foreigners.
I discovered two thriving shops (as mentioned by my student) which sells all sorts of embroidered telekung & beautiful kebayas. With such fine embellishment at such low prices, it was no surprise that we brought back four heavy bags from there.
Cranky Cikebum was scared of the masked mannequinnes. Eeee....momok!!!
But I tell u what... being in Bandung really made us feel glad that we live in Malaysia. Macet total!!! Unbearable traffic jams!
What? Zebra crossings? Traffic lights? Those are almost out of sight. So, what we practised was the normal Malaysian suicidal way of crossing roads (halfway... angkat tangan... cross another half way).
It was quite impressive though...seeing the cool drivers and motorists tolerating although there were honks here and there, unlike in our country when u'll get that apa-daaa..takde-otak-ke sign language for the tiniest mistake u make on the road.
There were also polis trafik tak bertauliah (traffic volunteers) who stood in the middle of the road to stop traffic so others could make a turn. And for that, the grateful drivers/motorists would slip some rupiahs into the volunteer’s hand. Not much, but good enough for them.
In his new Thomas & Friends T-shirt.
Exhausted of shopping, we went back to the hotel... and had a very late lunch at the cafe.
MrHubby with his Sup Buntut dishes. Sounds not as pleasant as sup ekor, but tastes as good.
Mine was the Japanese dishes. God knows why I ordered this. Gilo apo gi Indonesia tapi order makanan Jepang! They're perfectly yummy though.
Later that day, we met Inten & Rendi...and we went to Rumah Mode, the so-called-best-FO!
Rumah Mode a must visit? Pardon me?
Oh... to me, it was such a waste of time going there. I could barely buy anything that suits my taste.
But to me, this place...
is just...
Inten & I... back in action with the narcisst attitude.
Mind you..this place serves Nyonya & Indonesian cuisines.
Teh poci is bcoz it's in the poci a.k.a teapot.
Wasgithel?
Wa= Wangi
Sg= Segar
Gi= Legi
Thel = Kental
Heh heh... best kan? And it's taken with rock sugar. I loike!!!
I also had this...es mabuk kepayang. Something similar to Es Teler. I didn't dare trying es teler on the streets.
Well, if u are so keen to try local food like we are... try avoiding stall food (this is a warning from Bandungite and Jakarta people too). We had to sacrifice our craving to avoid food poisoning. It's better than bedridden in a vacation, ay?
Cikebum was already asleep by then. Perhaps he's exhausted following Mama, Ayah & Makcik yang gila shopping. But he got a Thomas bag from MakCik!!! Thanks, Yone.
Day 03 :
- Shop at Factory Outlets along Jalan Dago
- Lunch at Kartika Sari and bought some brownies
- Inten/Rendi dropped us at Cihampelas Jeans Centre
- Went to Terminal Tas/Stem and few FOs
- Back to hotel
Day 2 is scheduled as the day to roam at Dago FOs again, since the first day we arrived we just did some window shopping.
where I bought these shirts for Cikebum...
1. Naturally sweet-no sugar added.
2. Grandma says I'm priceless. (Wei, Acik & Intan...jgn kutuk aaa...Aku ada beli gak utk Iman yg tu.Hoho)
The song Episod Cinta (Boboy) is in the air. Weh..apa weng sangat haku nih?
Kartika Sari. House of home-baked brownies and such.
We had lunch in the food court there. I had mi kangkung, the rest of them picked fancy dishes like siomay, etc.
Then, Inten & Rendi dropped us at Cihampelas.
Well, FOs and shopping malls are abundant in Bandung. BUT...we only enjoyed roaming at Jalan Dago. We didn't have the time to go to Jalan Riau, but Cihampelas was a no-no! We went to the shops along the road only to get sore feet and pulling tight faces at each other.
I wonder how could people (esp. Malaysians) talk so much about Cihampelas whereas there's nothing interesting there, except the statues of superheroes.
Upset, we took a cab to Jln Martadinata...where the are Oasis, Osso, Stamp, Terminal Tas, etc. But much to our disappointment, these FOs were also not up to our expectations!
By that time, we were so stressed thinking that we still have millions of rupiahs in the bag! Hey, it's considered bad, yknow...when u couldn't use up all the money allocated for shopping! Teruk sangat ke? Nak kata my taste is bad, MissBettyone also felt the same... so was MrHubby!
So, we ended up going back to the nest... took a shower and before anything, I felt I was not feeling well (nausea and diarrhea). Oh no! What happened to me when I was attending a symposium in KK is here again! It must be the gastric again!!! Sh*t!
So, off MissBettyone went to the spa alone and I could barely sleep, kept bugging MrHubby every now and then. I don't remember what was the time (prolly 1 am or so), I went into the cubicle and sat under the hot shower for an hour.
I was very weak, but I managed to get some sleep after having some hot tea with ginger...plus paracetamol. Giler ahhh...
Day 04 :
- Breakfast @ hotel
- Went to Pasar Baru to shop further
- Back to hotel & checked out
- Shopped at Merdeka Arcade
- To Airport Hussein Sastranegara - Flight back to Malaysia
Last day in Bandung, after very little breakfast at the hotel, MissBettyone and I rushed to the Pasar Baru. MrHubby and Cikebum stayed in the hotel (Thank God there's Cartoon Network!).
MissBettyone was the one very excited giving tips bcoz she felt like a real multi-millionaire. Tak hengat punya generous!
In our country, if u give RM2 for tips, perhaps they'll chase u and ask "Ma'am, I think u dropped ur note." Hahaha.
Nothing much, though. But at least we didn't come out empty-handed like at Rumah Mode and Cihampelas.
Well, to conclude...I'd say...
The best/most worthy place to shop in Bandung are:-
-Dago (for branded stuff)
-Pasar Baru (for cheap, local branded ones)
If anyone were to ask me if I would return here, I would probably say no. Just imagine... going to a so-called shopping heaven, but u couldn't finish the money u brought with u- isn't that bad?
But then again, never say never.
Yuk, MamaPasha... kapan bisa aku mudik ke Jakarta? :P
Hohoho...thanks for the t-shirt (ooo kau kenakan aku ye!) hehehe...
ReplyDeletewah enjoy gak ek, gi bandung? I have a plan for us coming dec.
besssnye ke bandung..haihh asyik tgk org pergi je ni..ai bilakah lagi huhu
ReplyDeletehuhuh sama la kiter.. huda pn ader balance lbh kurang i juta bler blk msia..
ReplyDeletebolen pisang wit cheese/chocolate bandung is the best.. sedap..
is me balik on d 29th will stay @ surbaya 3 days then oct 3rd dah sampai jakarta balik kalau nak join jom aaah.. meh pegi taman safari.. dufan, mangga dua.. time raya jakarta so sepi.. :P
ReplyDeletemasyallah sekali ko hapdet pasal bandung, mak aih panjang betoi, tapi aku baca gak...
ReplyDeleteisabelle,
ReplyDeletei tot i was the only one yg kureng hepi dgn shopping mopping di Bandung (tahun 2006 dulu). sbb nya, org msia berpusu2 balik ckp best, best, bwk beg berbondong2. i had no real desire to shop sgt pon, beli jeans 2, 3 helai, kasut, pastu T-shirt, and yes, gi kartika sari (at least that one not a disappointment).
AND i jg rasa Rumah Mode is big a waste of time n x pyh la bermachet2 nak gi situ. huhu...
BUT otherwise, the food is good (also mkn kat restoran aje, stalls x masuk pon). and bandung countryside is soooooo nice. If I have the money mungkin akan pergi lagi, but for sight seeing and stuff, not for shopping dah la hehe...
is@R,
ReplyDeletehahaha..grandma says i'm priceless. hahaha
oi, nak p mana Dec ni? habaq la. mak nak p conference kat penang 1-4Dec.
farah,
xtau la kalo it suits ur taste. but i was disappointed. next one kena p Jakarta la.
kambingbujang,
sib baik ada geng.
mcm ngan hapa je p vacation dgn niat nak soping, tau2 bwk balik cash selambak kan?
mamapasha,
nnt aku tanya sham. tapi kena rompak bank dulu. hehe.
yaya,
i suppose ke-upset-an ku terserlah dgn entry yg pjg, tapi x citer byk ttg brg yg dibeli.
oyis,
tu la kan. org ckp brg2 branded tu bermusim. so, maybe it wasnt our luck la...masa kita p tu, bukan musimnye. huhu
oyis,
Kita pi hooraa horee kat pulau (bukan pulau pinang la)
ReplyDeleteconference kat penang 1-4 dec? Hah...kalau yg tu noks, mu pi dulu la...dekat dgn birthday acik dah tu!
Kita pi ujung bulan la...bonus:P
Salam ...
ReplyDeleteTeh botol sosro - my fav !!!
Tapi dengar cita, ada sorang student msia kat bandung, hari2 dok minum ni and then he/she developed renal stones ... sahih atau tidak, ku tatau ... hehehe