Bandoeng -siaran tertunda

This is a very much delayed entry- diperam selama 1 bulan, due to my disappointment with the vacation.

Like some of u already knew, recently I visited Bandung, to meet my two dear friends - Inten & Rendi (who got married last June) and to shop!!!

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...

Us with Cikebum, who was so excited looking at the huge planes.

MissBettyone & I at the LCCT

Mamat-mamat belakang kitorang tu nampak macam muka orang jahat x? Hahaha

Whoa... look at that!!!

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.

Checked in, snapped a few photos and went out to Dago for window shopping.

Lil Cikebum was so excited once we got into the room.

"Hello, blogger aunties... Adam dah smpi Bandung ni."

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...

By this time, we were still sane. Not that tempted to shop.

Cikebum and a new-found friend, Ailahpi a.k.a Barney.

And as we were starving, we stopped to dine at the Dago Panyawangan. Nice ambience. Food? Err... Not bad.

These are just some of the dishes we ordered.

Perut lapar pun sempat posing lagi.

Then, we went back to the hotel to get some rest to prepare ourselves for tomorrow's hunt.

Cikebum playing hide and seek with his new Thomas soft toy, bought at the Uptown FO.

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.

To describe further, let's put it this way...it's like a Reject Shop of FOS in Malaysia. Or to those who find it damn cheap there, perhaps u haven't found the heaven in our own country. That's alrite, keep shopping! But I'd rather shop in my 'sorga donia' with MissBettyone.

But to me, this place...

is just...

Inten & I... back in action with the narcisst attitude.

MissBettyone trying to pose like the patung Hindu at the back.

Upset, we made a move to the Paris van Java for dinner.

at

Mind you..this place serves Nyonya & Indonesian cuisines.

So, we refused when the waitress recommended some Nyonya dishes, with an excuse that..."Oh...that's not Indonesian!" (berlagak kan? kena panah petir baru tau)

Rendi & Inten picking from the list.

But this one is catchy. Teh poci wasgithel.

Well, I am used to various Indo short terms and acronyms, but this one is extremely tricky. Guess what?

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

Cikebum being extra-friendly with the Bule (Mat Salleh) during the breakfast.

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 FOs where I got some officewears.

U see... these fish (outside one of the FOs) are damn fat! They're even bigger than my thighs! Sounds like exaggeration, eh...but really! Gemuk daripada peha mak! I repeat, peha... bukan betis! Giler ahhh... diorang kasi makan apa ni?

Exhausted MrHubby, posing with Jessica Alba (dengan wajah gersang). Hehe

Sounds like Uptown PJ pulak. (Uptown Girl song as background music)

The song Episod Cinta (Boboy) is in the air. Weh..apa weng sangat haku nih?

The place where I grabbed a pair of wedges. Not that gorgeous, tapi boleh la... for the sake of having one.

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.

Us in the car.

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.

Lil Cikebum Ultraman found his fav superhero scary.

Dari jauh, kemain lagi dia lambai2. Dah dekat, takut pulak!

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!).

This time, we shopped for more blouses and shirts. They were irresistibly cheap. We also grabbed some overly-ornamented-with-sequins dresses. Hmm..bila nak pakai gamaknye? Gosh! I should have come here before my wedding!

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.

Then we hurried back to the hotel and went to the Merdeka Arcade (in front of Bandung Indah Plaza). The taxi driver told us it's better to go there bcoz all's under one roof, instead of MrHubby's idea to go back to Dago.

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.

The souvenirs from Inten for me & Cikebum

The bag that MissBettyone bought for Cikebum.

Yuk, MamaPasha... kapan bisa aku mudik ke Jakarta? :P