Bandung Trip

It is finally time to do a short review on my Bandung trip. Instead of writing a chronological event from the time I boarded the plane till I landed home, I thought it would be a nice idea to highlight the pictures that I had taken with a short description behind it. I always like how The Big Picture website presents their pictures with a strong narrative for each of them. While I am nowhere near their photography skill, here are some of the shots that I had taken from my recent Bandung trip.

1. A pair of Javanese Dolls which represents Lord Rama and Goddess Sita were seen at the front counter of Hotel Cihampelas. Both Rama and Sita were principle characters in the epic story of Ramayana, which is a well known Hindu poetry and literature. Dolls like these are found everywhere in Bandung with some of them varying in colours and features.

2. The Valley – Bistro Cafe and Resort was built on the hill top which offers customers a panoramic view of the Bandung city during evening time from the hill. The tables are decorated with small lights which gives a romantic feel during dusk. A waiter was seen lighting up the small oil lamps which were later placed on each table.

3. Another view of The Valley with tables arranged next to the balcony. It is really impressive to find such an up-class dining restaurant in Bandung.

4. Custard puffs were served with a miniature umbrella which gives a nice touch to the food presentation.

5. The oil lamp on the table provides a nice warm ambiance against the blue backdrop. In Bandung, the sky gets dark around 5 p.m.

6. One of main highlights in Bandung is shopping. Factory outlets are abundant selling branded items such as Armani, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger and etc. However, not all of them are genuine as a handful of them are considered second or third grade imitations. Seen here are Dunhill ties at The Secret factory outlet.

7. Clothes typically cost around RP 30,000 – RP 150,000. The most reputable factory outlet is known as Rumah Mode (pronouced: Moh-Duh). Cameras are strictly not permitted inside most factory outlets. This shot was taken just seconds before the security guard requested my camera to be kept inside the bag.

8. Other brands such as Baby Milo is also available. This shot was taken at The Secrets which is another well known factory outlet.

9. Toyota is a very popular car brand in Bandung. Ironically, the Innova range of MPV is known as ‘Kijang’ which means ‘Deer’.

10. The Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bandung took around 2 hours. At 40,000 feet above sea level, the clouds as seen from the window seat was truly breathtaking.

11. Air Asia now flies to Bandung every day. The air fare costs around RM 333 for a two-way trip.

12. Street side stalls were aplenty in Bandung. Just about every roads in Bandung city are filled with make shift stalls selling food or merchandise.

13. Tourists are seen walking down the path at Tangkuban Perahu which is an active volcano 30km north of the Bandung City. Stalls selling various merchandises are seen on both side of the path.

14. An old lady was selling barbecued corns at Tangkuban Perahu. With the cold temperature below 20 degrees Celsius at the highland area, a hot piece of corn was certainly a nice welcome.

15. Bandung has many local skilled craftsmanship. This man was seen sculpting from a piece of wood with a machete.

16. A pair of wooden ducks, sculptured from a piece of wood were selling for RP 30,000.

17. These wooden heads were skillfully crafted and sold at Tangkuban Perahu.

18. Keychains, apparently made from volcanic rock were selling for RP 15,000 per piece. These keychains are reputedly scratched proof.

19. Mie Baso is a well known dish in Bandung. Using the noodle from instant noodle packets, it is cooked with bean sprout, meat balls, fried shallots and vegetables.

20. At Tangkuban Perahu, each bowl of Mie Baso costs around RP 10,000. Depending on the stall, it could be cheaper. Despite the simple looking meal, it was nevertheless very appetizing.

21. A huge spider was spotted weaving its web at a Buddhist temple near to Sapulidi.

22. Pak Ude operates a stall at the foothill of White Ciater. He specialises in selling ‘goreng-gorengan’ which are basically fried fritters and fried tofu. According to him, the locals enjoy eating fried tofu with cili padi (bird’s eye chili).

23. The tofu are freshly fried thus ensuring that they are crispy despite the cold temperature.

24. Jalan Cibadayut, or more popularly known as the shoe street at Southern Bandung sells shoes of all sorts and sizes. From hiking shoes to casual wears, these shoes are sold at a bargain price.

24. Constant heavy traffic is seen along the Cibaduyut street. Taxis are called ‘Angkutan Kota’ in Bandung which is basically a truck with passengers seated at the rear.

25. Naruto, a popular Japanese anime character is very famous in Bandung. Just about every road side stall has miniature Naruto characters for sale.

26. A man is seen selling Bandung t-shirts besides the street of Cibaduyut. For some strange reason, the Volkswagen Beetle is often imprinted on Bandung t-shirts.

27. A boy was seen standing at beside a house at along the alley just off the main street of Cibaduyut.

28. A group of kids who were playing ‘flying slippers’ were excited upon seeing my camera. They quickly rushed towards and posed in front of me.

29. Oleh-oleh (souvenir snacks) is very popular in Bandung. They are deep fried using oil in a circular stone stove.

30. An old man cycling with only one hand along the busy street of Cibaduyut whilst holding a bird cage. Ironically, there was a safety banner just across the street.

31. A young boy sitting inside Angkutan Kota was peeping outside the window.

32. Trishaw pullers are a rare sight in Bandung. This puller was seen relaxing in his own trishaw while waiting for the next customer.

33. There are certainly plenty of food to choose from in Bandung. One of the most famous Nasi Padang restaurant is Rumah Garuda. Every dish served on the table will be counted based on consumption.

34. Nasi Padang dishes also include exotic delicacies such as skewered cow tongue.

35. One of the most highly recommended place is eat is Rumah Makan Dago which cooks Sundanese food. Rumah Dago is located at Ir. H Juanda 127, Bandung, Jawa Barat.

36. Sapulidi which is a restaurant built on top of a vast paddy field offers a delectable range of local cuisine. Bandung also has their version of salad known as ‘Gado gado’. In Malaysia, we usually term it as Rojak.

37. Fish is a staple food for the local people. Seafood are generally fresh as there are abundant of supplies around the Jawa island.

38. Ondel-ondel is popular show in Indonesia which depicts ancestor protecting the safety of the village and everything in it. Red face ondel-ondel symbolises male while white face presents female.

39. A group of handcrafted Ondel-ondel dolls were selling for RP 25,000 each at a local souvenir shop.

40. Some of the bigger handcrafted Ondel-ondel dolls were selling for RP 65,000 each.

41. Minature music instruments are also popular souvenir items among tourists.

42. Hand made replica of electric guitars used by popular rock band such as Gun’s N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and etc. were selling at stalls at Tangkuban Perahu.

43. Along the road from Bandung towards Lembang, there were many pineapple stalls. These sellers skillfully cut the pineapple and place the slices inside the plastic bag for consumption.

44. The pineapple sold at the street are very sweet as can be seen from the bees on the fruit.

45. Cihampelas street or otherwise known as Jeans street is populated with factory outlets with superheroes icons at the front of their shop.

46. A closer look at Spider-man from the main road.

47. There were also some other famous movie icons such as Tarzan and Rambo.

48. This sewing machine is used for clothes altering.

49. Ultraman is looking after the food stall in front of the Superhero factory outlet.

50. A father with his son was being ‘watched over’ by the Terminator in front of the Superhero outlet.

51. J.Co which is a popular donut outlet in Malaysia is seen in a shopping mall called Cihampelas Walk. Apparently, yogurt is quite popular in Bandung and J.Co has capitalized on it by offering their fruit yogurt.

52. J.Co serviettes were creatively printed with ideas to be jotted down in case inspiration came up while eating their food.

53. A wedding shoot was done along the Al Fresco street at Cihampelas Walk. The groom was having some lighter moments with his chihuahua which he had brought along for the wedding shoot.

54. Cihampelas Walk is a modern shopping mall filled with many contemporary dining outlets. The mall had recently gone through some upgrading works to cater for the shoppers.

55. Customize bags selling for RP 150,000 each were seen displaying on the wall rack at a shop near to Cihampelas Walk. There was only one shop in Bandung city that sell such bags.

56. Amazingly, customize bags like these are made from just an old sewing machine. One of them has just be completed as can be seen on top of the red shelves.

57. A big gorilla signboard teasing the onlookers with its butt.

58. An old man pushing his wooden cart along the Cihampelas street. Business was brisk on that sunny day as many customers were buying ice-cream from him.

59. A wooden doll depicting Lord Rama was sold at a stall facing Situ Patenggang lake. According to myth, there was a love story between the prince and princess which resulted in the lake water filled with their tears.