They saying goes all good things have to come to an end. As some might know I was away for a short trip last week. Its a 4 day trip to Indonesia.The road that is not taken have taken me to a less popular destination over there. When we mention about Indonesia most tourism would associate it with the island of Bali. However, my trip this time was to Bandung. A mix respond when I mention Bandung. " ha?! what to do there?" " got what there?"
To be honest, I myself too have no idea what is there before I set foot. The idea was to bring both of my grandma for a short trip, a short trip as at their age, long flight might take a toll on them. And the same time Uncle Tony is having promotion for his flight.
Dubbed as Paris van Java, or Paris of Java (if my interpreting skill not wrong) I see why, as its the fashion capital of the Java island.There are lots of shop in downtown Bandung and also a lot of FO ( factory outlet). To say its fake, some item you can tell. but some maybe A class imitation and some are probably defect. However, the cloth is not that bad. Thus, its depend on how we see it. If its for me to say, its like how we go to the warehouse sale over here, except you don't need to berebut with others and the shop are way classy (its like a boutique). In short, its a good place to shop and look out for clothes. And among the the countless FO, I singled out 'Secret' and 'Rumah Mode' to be the better ones.
At there, we are fortunate enough that our friends, Ibu Nuri and her husband Pak Andre from Jakarta and also Pak Gunawan and his wife and little daughter who flew down from Surabaya to be our host.Some of the perk is that the entrance fee we could get 'discounts' as Indonesian get cheaper entrance fee. Also a local guide is always the best in my opinion rather than the commercial guide who is just focusing on cashing in.
For the first night, we were taken to the hill top overlooking the town of Bandung. It is a similar concept to our own little genting however, the place is less crowded, a more relaxed feel to it, as we have tea there. For lunch we had a local Sundanese food. The main cuisine over here I have to say its either Sundanese or Nasi Padang. Other delicacies like street food are also available, for example Mie ( as how they spell it) Bakso, 'Internet' (Indo mee goreng and fried egg), ' Nasi goreng gila' ( fried rice with lots of ingredient) , pacel lele ( ikan keli goreng), Batagor ( deep fried tofu), Martabak ( something like our apam balik). There are also lots and lots of store at each corner selling fried banana,cucuk udang, fried ubi. Other than that, they are also famous for their brownies and Mollen ( bread like pastries with banana filling), the main top brands are Katika Sari and Amanda.
Brownies
Mollen
This is the view of the place we went for lunch at Sapu Lidi. The hut a place to makan for private crowd. One thing is, our local restaurant could learn a thing or two on how to design a restaurant from them.
Out side the town, there volcanic crater called 'Tangkuban Perahu' the legend of the place is about a son falling in love with the mother.
However, its a good to capture scenic view and its quite a view from the top.
There is also a hot spring cum mini water park nearby, nothing great but its alright if you like to rendam in the hot spring.
The other crater is Kawah Putih which is located out of town which takes around 3 hours of drive from the town itself, its best to go early in the morning as the mist would come down, and spoilt the beautiful view.
The weather is probably around 5-10 degrees and with the wind blowing, is a bone chilling place.However when you put your hand into the lake, you can feel the warm water together with the sulfur.* just a reminder, never dip and watch,bangle etc that made of metal onto the sulfur* Thick smell of sulfide from the volcano clogs the air. Its a different experience all together. But for photo-taking people like my brother-in-law, its a good place to take scenic shots.
The different path, will lead to different than the norm. I belief that each and every place have its own treasure. Regardless the place, the treasure and the wonderful memories is how we decide on capturing it. I drew parallel on the 3 places I been for these past years, Philippine, Thailand and Indonesia. All 3 have almost identical socio economy. The social piramid there have quite a gap between the rich and the poor. On the street I see people begging for money, small children taking chances to ask for money while the car stop at the traffic light, old man waiting for people to give out donation. And on the other side, huge bunglows and mansions. Its a sad sight, when you see this, you feel like helping but once you giving out donation to one person, others will come and swamp you. You feel helpless but there is nothing you can do. However, I still do admire their perseverance, they still work hard like selling water, good morning towel on the road, knocking on windows to sell. It can be a bit annoying but if you think on their side, they just want to make an honest living.
People work hard, provide good service in hope to sustain their job and possibly some tips, because they don't have the luxury. The luxury that we, our country have. Petrol price hike we complain, not knowing others are paying double. I guess we are all "spoilt brats" that just complain and complain, sangat membosankan.
Indonesia is NOT like how the media portray it with Anti-Malaysia chant. Maybe a small part, but that don't really show the bigger picture. From my own experience, they are very friendly and provide good hospitality :)
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