My Mirror: Bandung

I'm back!

Went to Bandung, Indonesia on 3rd day of Raya and spent 3 nights there. One word of advice, don't go to Bandung on Hari Raya week! The town was full of people, most of them being tourists from Jakarta. Turns out that they get one week of holiday for Raya Aidilfitiri (or Lebaran according to Indonesians), and the people from Jakarta will spend their holiday in Bandung as the weather is much cooler.

The factory outlets were like on sale and the cars were bumper to bumper on the streets. Hailing for a taxi was really difficult. The worse was on the 3rd day of Raya. After we went to one factory outlet, we were already so exhausted. It was really crowded!

Well, I was generally satisfied with the trip as we managed to shop and go for sightseeing. I'll just briefly go through the places that we went.

Mt Tangkuban Perahu: It was cool to see an active volcano for the first time. Smoke could be seen from far, and the stench of sulphur was bad but still bearable. We had the option of going round the crater but we decided to save our energy for other activites that day. Many vendors could be seen selling souvenirs around the place. They will come and persuade you to buy their goods. Got irritated at one point coz they just didn't get it when we told them that we were not interested. My sister went on a horse ride. It costs 15000 Rupiah for one trip. Dad bought belerang from the place, one mineral water bottle full, which they claimed is good for the skin after mixing it with baby oil.

Strawberry Park: The strawberry patch was within a fence and a restricted area. We only saw the garden between the bamboo shoots that were used as the fence. The main attraction of the place was the restaurant and it was full of people when we went. We only spent about 10 minutes at this place.

Kampung Daun: This place is just superb. It is actually a restaurant, about one hour from town. It's a big makan place, with lots of huts among the waterfall and hillside. It's good to go to this place in a group, as each group will get their own hut to eat in. The atmosphere was just amazing. The food was just top notch. The presentation was great and the food tasted good too! Even a five star restaurant could not beat its quality.

Shopping:

Rumah Mode: It's actually pronounced in bahasa baku. Not how we pronounce mode in English. Everybody who has gone to Bandung recommended me this place. Well, personally I didn't find it a really great place to shop at. Only bought one top from here. The place is huge compared to other factory outlets that I went. The place was so crowded and I had to queue up for half an hour to pay for my clothes. Great family spot as they have women, men and kids section.

Heritage: The place is famous for it's historical building. I like this place better that Rumah Mode. My sister bought 6 clothes from here.

Blossom: This place is along Dago Street. I like this place as the price is reasonable, and it seems to be more organized that the other factory outlets. They arranged the clothes according to colour or type. I bought shoes from here and I love them to bits! They have another branch along Cihampelas, in a shopping complex, but it's called Blossom and Friends. The selection of clothes here were not that great.

Cihampelas Street: So called 'jeans street'. Yes, they do have a wide selection of jeans to coose from, but after going to factory outlets, you will find the goods are of poor quality. The place is almost similar to Rantau Panjang, Kelantan. The interesting thing about this place are the comic figures that you see on their signboards. It's actually 3D and each comic figure appears to be jumping out from the signboard.

Bandung Super Mall: Some may say that going to a shopping mall in Bandung is a waste of time, but it's interesting to see the brands that they offer in Bandung. It is the biggest shopping mall in Bandung. I would say that the size of the place is the same as Sunway Pyramid. There's a nice batik shop here, called Batik Keris. Dad and Tokku bought batik shirts and songkok from here.

Pasar Baru: This is a place for mothers and older teenagers. It's a good place to purchase kebayas and nice telekungs. You need to haggle for a good price.

Danar Hadi: This is a famous boutique which sells batik. Tokku bought a nice silk batik shirt from here which he is so proud of. Good place if you're looking for good quality batik.

That's all for my review of Bandung. Would I go there for the second time? Well, maybe next year, definitely not after Raya...

Strawberry Park- The strawberry patch is behind the fence