My 1st time to Bandung, Indonesia. This is actually another business trip so not so much on leisure. Anyway, I was there on 19th October till 21st October 2008. We have purchase return AirAsia tickets which cost RM1200 for 2 and with express boarding. I personally think that express boarding is not so worth it but it seems that quite of ppl do purchase them. There were at least 20 ppl with express boarding. As the gates open, they seems to rush to take the 1st row which has more leg space and I was doing the same too which I then feels a bit stupid. Anyway, got myself the 2nd row and off we go on our way to Bandung. The flight takes 2 hours 10 minutes. Time seems to be slow during the journey and I could not sleep. Touch down and it is already 5pm plus local time. We unboard the plane and again, they rush to the immigration. What is the hurry I thought to myself ?? But as I reaches the immigration, I then only realize why. There is only 2 personal handling the counter and there are 160 ++ passengers. Lucky i was in the front row. After clearing the customs, we took a cab to our hotel.
Bandung is actually a highland of itself that's why the weather is cooling. On our way to the hotel, I find the traffic is no diferrence with Jakarta city (full of cars and jams). We stayed at Sheraton Hotel situated on the hill. The hotel is not bad but has not much facilities. The pool was small, there's no pub, no gym. There is just a lobby lounge, a restaurant, a spa and that's basically it. Went for dinner and shopping. Oh.. Bandung is famous for its Factory Outlets. You can find brands such as Versace, Hugo, Polo, Guess, Adidas, Nike, Hermes, Nautica, Zara just name a few and the price is unbelievable. A Nike t-shirt for RM20. A Hugo jeans for RM70. And was told it is original goods but was just made there. So ladies out there, this is a place to go for branded clothings. Anyway, i did not buy anything that night and went back hotel to sleep.
Woke up at 7.30am the next day to prepare myself for breakfast as a supplier will be coming to pick us up at 9am. Breakfast was so so but still a full stomach. Then the rest was business so rather not talk about it. Our supplier took us to their tea estate which is 2 hours drive from Bandung. The sight of the tea garden is a sight to be behold! What a great scenery with tea plant everywhere. If you think Cameron Highland is huge then you have to see this place. The tea estate was so huge that it seems to cover up the whole mountain. Ahhhhh.... Fresh air and green lush... what a place to live. If you want a night view of Bandung city, then you should head to The Valley or The Sierra Cafe located on a hillside. These 2 places has a spectacular view. Night life in Bandung could be a scary one if you are not familliar with. We went to Braga as we heard the area has a lot of pubs. When we reach, the area was dark and quiet. Yes, a few pubs there is and you guess it, with freelancers in it. There is also plenty of karaoke joints too. A plus point for single males to visit it. We were offered a lady for Rupiah 400,000 for a nite. Thats about RM150 but we pass. Hahaha.
On the last day before our flight home, I then only went clothes shopping. I bought a Adidas cap for RM15, Polo shirt RM20 for my kids and a Zara RM24 blouse for my wife. All branded stuff leh. Who say i cannot afford it hahaha.. why go for immitations leh. The best time to go Bandung is on the weekday. Do not go on weekend as ppl from Jakarta will all rush there for the cooling weather and shopping.So Bandung anyone????
The drinks sold here isn't cheap but expected lar. A jug of beer costs RM58++. Ordered a few jugs of beers, had some great chats and enjoyed the music played. Ohya, the beer ladies there are kind of sweet too. Hee hee.
