Day Two of My 5 Days, 4 Nights Itinerary to Bandung, the Paris of Java @ Indonesia
This was the view from my room at Best Western Premier La Grande hotel; nothing that deviated from what i shared previously but this was taken at 5.30 am! Even mum was deceived by the daylight and barged into our room at 6.00 am; thinking it was 7.00 am!
I couldn't go back to sleep anymore although i continued to laze on my comfortable bed. Anyway, above was an abandoned building that piqued my interest; the younger me might have considered dropping by for a mini-exploration.
The infused water container at the lobby of Best Western was a hit with my family members; to the extent that they would fill up their water bottles with infused water so that they can enjoy it on the go! Tsk!
Met up with Mr Askan, our friendly chauffeur assigned to us, for our day trip to the northern part of Bandung and here we were on the road to the city's outskirt.
Black panther outside the police station - guess that's the icon for the police in Indonesia. Actually, i don't think Singapore has icons, aside from the signature lion, for the ministries / public offices; a lot of cute and cuddly mascots though.
Awwww... thinking rabbits were popular pets with the Indonesians, it's to my horror to hear from Mr Askan that the region's delicacy is Sate Kelinci, which is translated to rabbit satay!
Farmhouse at Lembang - an attraction renowned for their hobbit houses. We were supposed to have a stopover at this place; didn't materialise as there wasn't sufficient time.
Fruit stalls along the road.
On the road again; note the motorbike with two adults, a toddler and a bird cage! You know what's the reason why i didn't take a motorbike license? My hair will be a total mess if i wear a helmet for an extended period of time! Guess i would be motivated to ride a motorbike if i live in Bandung.
Plantations everywhere; on farmland and at hillsides. It was an amazing view and my picture absolutely didn't do it any justice. Pictures can only do so much; see it yourself with your own eyes!
Taken near Cikole Jayagiri Resort where tall, thin trees surrounded us! The resort had a treetop adventure park with '8 circuits, 88 challenges and a staggering 26 flying fox"!
Looked like a camping ground to me; near Cikole Jayagiri Resort too.
First stop for our out-of-Bandung journey - the upturned boat mountain which was better known as the mouthful Tangkuban Perahu! There were three craters and we only went for the most accessible Kawah Ratu (Queen's Crater). For more information, visit here.
Putting up a car wreck sent a strong signal for drivers to drive carefully so that they can avoid being the next victim. Well, that's what "hati hati dalam berkendaraan jangan sampai jadi korban berikutnya" meant.
Going further north to our next destination!
Roaming goats with a total disregard for motor vehicles; a sight you don't really see very often at car-heavy Singapore.
Second stop - Sari Ater Hot Spring Park; facilities were run down although it's hard to complain when admission ticket is less than S$3 a person and there were quite a lot of things to do (separate charges may apply for some though). Click here to read more.
Scrawny kitten outside Sari Ater Hot Spring Park. The few super cat lovers i know from my pet lovers centre days would likely carry a few cans of cat food in their handbags and offer one to the feline.
Plantations and houses on the hillside - this kind of scenery could never been seen at land-scarce Singapore. Another country where similar views with the ability to take my breath away is China.
Fruit stalls along the roadside, again.
Driving within a township with traditional horse-drawn carriages that stank up the environment! Nevertheless, it was an interesting sight for urbanites.
Heard from Mr Askan that this place used to be a market but it was burnt down and the authorities were building a new one on the site.
The floating market at Lembang was floated (pun unintended) as another attraction we can visit although we would not keen, at least not till we could have our official lunch!
I guess Indonesians do love their fruits and the one fruit that constantly popped up was the pineapple! By the way, someone recently argued with me that pineapple grows on trees!!! Trees!!
Purpose of the above photo wasn't to talk about the blatant spread of second hand smoke. It's the background of the G.H Universal Hotel which was designed like a black palace!
Are Indonesians pineapples really so good? Hmm... i am aware of the fame of Sarawak pineapples though; well, maybe the fruit was in season then.
Bandung's roadsides can often take my attention away and i am glad i opted to have a chauffeur instead of just a rented car to navigate my way around.
In order to get to our lunch destination at a themed restaurant, the car would have to cut across surjan bajuri, a flower street known as Cihedan (unsure i have gotten the spelling right)!
There's a mini zoo where kids of Jerald and Jovyn's age would likely enjoy.
Lunch, like finally, at Kampung Daun! By the time we had lunch, it was close to 3.00 pm. which was still bearable until you work out the Singapore time; it was already 4.00 pm. I am surprised we managed to suppress our hunger for so long! To check out what we had, click here.
The sky had darkened significantly once we were done with lunch; even though i love the rain, i dislike seeing them whenever i travel as their existence would result in inconveniences! Not so nice photos, muddy roads etc.
Weather got extremely bad (strong wind, heavy rain) and a road we had to take to reach our 4th stop was closed because of some falling trees. Mr Askan had to navigate to another road instead which took us an extra 30-45 minutes.
Given the spaciousness in land, attractions in Indonesian are all over the place! That's why a fellow friend / former student had commented that although Singapore is small, all the attractions were serviced by good public transportation and by car, it would only take less than an hour of drive.
Curug Cimahi - Cimahi waterfall or rainbow waterfall; if Alex was with me, he would ask to visit even though we only had about 30 minutes before it closed for the day. Not with the ladies in my family; they were shagged and expressed indifference when i asked if they would like to check it out.
A glimpse of the waterfall for your viewing pleasure. Entry to the attraction was priced at 25,000 Indonesian rupiah per person.
Dinner at another themed restaurant - Stone Cafe! Honestly, i personally didn't feel that the interior design was in line with the word 'stone'. However, food like tom yum soup and that cheese fried banana were good.
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Posts linked to Day Two
(click to find out more)
- Tangkuban Perahu (Ratu Crater)
- Sari Ater Hot Spring Park
- Cimahi Tea Plantation
- Horses as a Mode of Transportation
- Kampung Daun (for lunch)
- Dusun Bambu Family Leisure Park
- Stone Cafe (for dinner)
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