* More pictures,etc to be inserted when the Wordpress bug is fixed !

So, we’re off again to another Bandung Trip, while squeezing a lil’ Jakarta in it. Nana & Dzul headed off to Bandung by Merpati Airlines from Batam a day before us. And we’ll be meeting up down there later with another friend of ours, Sri.

Exchange rate in Singapore : S$1 – Rp 6620
Exchange rate in Bandung : S$1 – Rp 6745 (Golden Money Changer)
Price of flight tickets (Return trip) by Jetstar – S$270.60 per person

11th July 2008

We took a very early flight to Jakarta. It was at 0740hrs so we had to check in at about 6am. The flight was about 1hr 30 mins. After landing at the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta & a bit of a clearance problem for me cos they did not want to chop my passport (my name’s prolly in their wanted list or something..I don’t know), we immediately took a cab to Gambir Station to catch a train to Bandung.

The ride was about half an hour & the fare was Rp92,000 + Rp11,000 for toll & Rp2,000 parking fee at Gambir. We managed to get ourselves tickets for the next train, which was scheduled to depart at 1030hrs. We wanted Argo Gede but missed that one by half an hour or so & the next one is a few hours from now. So we had to take Parahyangan Business Class cos the Executive ones are sold out! Damn it!! Business Class tickets cost Rp20,000.
* Another alternative to get to Bandung from here is by land, which is said to be roughly about 2 – 2.5 hours. You can choose to take a private car, which was super duper expensive!! He thought he can cheat us?? RM300!!! or a mini-van or coach kind for an affordable price.

Okay, so we got our seats… Hmm….How shall I describe it? Ok, the seats are like the old SBS Bus (The blue cushion for two with that metal bar for the head), the window is not so clear & it has no aircon!! I felt roasted half way. I didn’t even bother to see the toilet & I think you should know what to expect. Despite all these, there’s still a good news for some.. =) You can smoke in your seats! I tried their nasi goreng – Rp12,000. It wasn’t that nice…won’t eat it again. Putting everything aside, the train ride was a real eye-opener. At the beginning of the journey, you can see all the villagers, their houses & the very poor… The houses are so near to the tracks! I wonder how they managed to have a good night’s rest. Nearing Bandung, you can see a lot of greens… It was breath-taking! The mountains, the river, the fields… It was beautiful..

Paddy Field

The Greens Along The Way

The train ride lasted about 3.5 hours as supposed to 3 hours. Upon reaching, we walked out of the station & realised that there wasn’t any cab around. So we walked down a bit more while trying to call Bluebird*. We were told that they weren’t allowed to pick us up there & told us to walked further away from the station. So we walked & walked & walked until we reached Pasar Baru. Hmm….Yes! It’s quite near!

So we got a cab to Aston Bandung where we will be staying for 3 nights. The hotel is a 4 star hotel I think..not really sure about that*. We stayed in a 3 Bedrooms Condotel for S$562. This time around, the room is not disappointing as the last one*.. The whole room was quite spacious, 3 bedrooms with a kitchen & a living room. One room is the master bedroom, fully equipped with a queen size bed, bathroom, wardrobe & a TV. Another room only has a queen size bed & a wardrobe. Finally, the last room which is the smallest, only has a single bed with nothing else in it.

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom's Bathroom

Later on, we left for Ci Walk to have our dinner. The place had changed so much since we last step our foot here. There are more cafes & shops outside the mall, very nice.. Anyway, we ate at Baso Malang Kerapitan. We had chicken teppanyaki noodle (a-ok), nasi goreng (not nice) & nasi goreng ayam kremes (can’t remember). Well, err… personally, we didn’t really enjoy ourselves there.. the food’s not that great.
We didn’t really go out much today cos we were damn tired.. So we retired quite early.

12th July 2008

We woke up very early today and had a hearty breakfast at the hotel lobby. The food’s great… We enjoyed it.
After that we met Hendri, our driver for the day at around 9am at the carpark. We stopped by at the Golden Money Changer first, which is at Pasar Baru. It was quite crowded so we spent quite some time there. We left the place at 9.45am & proceeded to Kawah Putih. About 2hrs ride later, we reached the entrance of Kawah Putih. There was a bit of a traffic on the way here.
* So, if you guys are planning to come here during weekends, please go out earlier or half your day will be gone.

Anyway, entrance fee was Rp11,000 for all of us. After paying, we made our way to the top of the volcano. We took 20 mins to reach there. From the carpark, you have to walk up and continue walking to where your heart leads you to… (There wasn’t any directions.. so you just follow the crowd? It’s not difficult anyway. LOL!) We walked and walked till we saw the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen so far. I’ve seen this place on the net and its pictures everywhere but to see this real life is satisfying.. way better! Turquoise water filled up the inactive volcano.. It’s soo… picture perfect! Definitely a must to visit..

The Turquoise Water From Afar

Kawah Putih, Bandung

After spending a good one hour there cam-whoring, we left for Cibaduyut. We arrived 2 hours later. It’s what they call shoe haven. It was a long stretch of shops along both sides of the road. But nothing caught our eyes so we didn’t manage to get anything. But we do however, bought for ourselves a snack called Goreng Pisang Pontianak. (Hmm.. Ok, the story we heard was this desert / snack originates from a place called Pontianak. Thus, the given name. Stop thinking of anything else already. For those who don’t know, Pontianak means a scary lady vampire)

After walking one round, we headed to Diaz. A boutique shop that sells branded goods rejects. Huge store with many selections BUT the price here is unbelievable.. Still, Me and Nana bought ourselves a few pair of shoes. I got myself this super comfy Nine West shoes. I love them! Next stop about 1 hour later, Rumah Mode. Wow!! A place I will go again… Massive shopping down here!! I managed to grab a coat, shoes, more clothes… hmm… will definitely drop by here again… Again, the price here is slightly more ex.. prolly due to the huge traffic..
* Ladies!! Come down here for some therapy!!

After spending 2 hours there, we headed to Trunojoyo, one of the main roads for distros. Spent our time there till the shops closed. Last stop was Kampung Daun, to have our very late dinner. We invited Hendri along for dinner. Luckily this time round he agreed. It’s so hard to get them to eat together…lol!
We had a good talk and share some laughs over dinner… It was great.. However please take note that during my last visit, I recommended this place to you guys. But after tasting it for the second time, I’d have to say that the food is not that great, definitely not worth the price but the ambiance is still great, very green and nature. Well, if you have not been here before, no harm coming down here.

13th July 2008

We woke up quite early again today… Had our usual hearty breakfast and headed to Bandung Super Mall (BSM). We went to Johnny Andrean. All 5 of us wanted to do something to our hair. So, we took a very, very long time there and I was the last one. So when it was my turn, I was damn excited.. Cos I’m going to end my hair’s viginity right there and then. I was going to colour my hair for the first time!! Err…. not really colour, just highlights.. I actually wanted to have purple highlights but they do not have it. They do not have most of the colour that they displayed. So, I was very, very disappointed.. Finally, I was left with not much of a choice but Copper Red. How boring!! I still went ahead with it cos I was so adamant on streaking my hair for the first time.It went quite well I must say.. I’m fine with the colour and the final outcome.. but it could have been better if he streaked it more. (My hairstlist was a guy anyway & it was my first time!) Honestly, so far I like him the most.. quite accurate with the style I wanted. So anyway, altogether my bill was Rp192,000 – S$28.50.

Showing off our new hairstyles

Showing off our new hairstyles

After everybody was done, we went to Kedai Nyonya Rumah. Nice ambience, nice food, friendly staffs, overall great.. wouldn’t mind coming here again. I had Nasi Goreng Nyonya Rumah for Rp 250,000. It was quite nice. We also tasted their Sup Buntut. Hmm… not that great ..salty but it was ok.. just that it was nothing special. After dinner, we proceeded to Jalan Sulanjana for a bit more shopping but the shops are mostly closed. So, nothing much to shop there… We went back to our hotel.

14th July 2008

After breakfast, we packed and went straight to the train station. We boarded the 1030am train to Jakarta via Argo Gede (yay!). Tickets were priced at Rp45,000 each. I had my long awaited nasi goreng – Rp15,000. Hmm.. It was definitely better than the one at Parahyangan. But again, nothing special… This time around, the ride was much, much better than the previous one. There was aircon, TV and a cracked window at the side. If you wanna smoke here, you’ll have to go out of the cabin and stand in the area between the 2 cabins, where the toilet is. 3 hours later, we reached Gambir station, Jakarta. We got ourselves a private transfer.. an expensive & a talkative one I must say. He talked non-stop and his voice was so loud… After sending us to our destination, he offered to send us to the airport the next day. And he forced us to go earlier to the airport… just to fit in his schedule. NO WAY DUDE!! We checked ourselves in Harris Hotel Tebet for Rp70,000 per room per night without breakfast. We specifically chose this area cos we wanted to go to the Distro area, which was nearby.
* Not recommended if you need accessibility. There were no shops or any kind of marts around here.

Went out again to Jalan Tebet Barat, where the distros are to do some shopping. In comparison, the things here are more expensive than Bandung. We didn’t really do much shopping here.. Not because of the price or anything, just that the choice is not as much as Bandung & we couldn’t really get what we like. There was this hotdog stand. (Gosh, I can’t remember the name! It’s the only one there.) I lurve the chilli hotdog. The bread is sooo… soft, with chilli toppings but it’s not spicy. I want to eat it again!!) We then headed back to our hotel to pack some bags to put at Sri’s nana’s house & to send Sri there as well as she will be spending the night there. We took a cab there and was surprised to see a group of guys loitering around at the dark lane. hen the cab stopped, they asked us where we were going to, etc.. and helped us carry our baggage down from the cab. One of them rang the bell for us and shortly later, Sri’s aunt came out and unlock the gate. She acknowledged our presence and chatted with the strangers for awhile. She invited us all in and served us dinner.. Oh.. We were so famished from the heat and shopping. After dinner, we chatted till we lost track of time. It was already past midnight. Oh apparently, those guys who were loitering outside were actually guards of the neighourhood. How sweet.. Never tasted “Kampung Life” before.. Such unity.

15th July 2008

This time around, no breakfast… So we woke up enough to get ready, pack & leave. We left the hotel at about 130pm to Mangga Dua. Took a cab & took highway. Total fare was Rp59,500 & highway toll was Rp5,500. We reached Mangga Dua half an hour later. Whoa! Honestly, I expected to see a good looking mall here. Cos I read some magazines and saw a few cute tops & they can be found from a shop located here. Hmm… Ok, it has many buildings. So you must know where to drop, clothes section, IT section, furniture, etc… So we dropped at the clothes one. We had lunch at KFC & walked around the mall for awhile. It has a lot of floors, the shops are crammed and loaded with clothes, people are everywhere! But well, I bought a few puches here.. That and and a nightie for my mom. I was too lazy to walk each and every stall.. Too many. After that, we took a cab to Blok M, the supposedly biggest mall in Jakarta. But we were told by our cabie that the mall was burnt earlier & it was rebuilding again. About less than an hour later, we arrived at Blok M. The fare was Rp49,500 by the way. So we did a bit more shopping and left to Sri’s nana’s house to retrieve our luggage & to fetch Sri as well before heading to the airport. At about 2020hrs, our Golden bird cab that we had booked earlier arrived outside the house & it was time for us to leave. The goodbyes was emotional. Sri’s nana was tearing up already… so sweet…. 45 mins later, we arrived at the Sokaerno-Hatta Airport. Lucky, there was no massive jams anywhere along the way. The cab fare for this trip was Rp170,000. We had our dinner at A&W there & boarded the plane at 2300hrs.