Paris van Java trip

Just returned from a 3d2n trip to Paris van Java, better known as Bandung. Bandung town is supposed to be a retreat for Indonesian especially those from Jakarta as it is set on top of a mountain range, which offers cool and breezy weather. This is apparent when we set foot there, as it looked cloudy and grey like its going to rain but we were assured that it is the norm there especially in the late afternoon. Also Bandung is known as a shoppers haven, with loads of factory outlets and its Pasar Baru.

First stop after checking in the hotel and refilling our stomachs was Pasar Baru. It is a six storey building which offers what most women were looking for, eg kain batik, textile, telekung etc. I think any nusantara women would go gaga in this place. Imagine Pasar Payang in Terengganu or Pasar Siti Khadijah in Kota Baru, then add five more storeys. My aunt was at a loss of words...

Telekung Shop Assistant at Pasar Baru

Decisions...decisions...and after that .. haggle... haggle..bisa diborong satu gedung ni...

We were at Pasar Baru until they closes and god knows how many bags were in the van after it ended. After Pasar Baru, we headed towards Jl Riau to start the shopping at the factory outlets. There were a few outlets there and we started at the Heritage. On the whole, the selection for kids was extremely good with the brands, quality of clothes and most importantly price..in RP or RM...hehe. Once you there, anything above RP60,000 or RM24 is considered expensive as we were spoiled for choice.

For dinner, we stopped at one of the restaurant recommend by Pak Suki, our guide as its near our hotel, Warung Nasi Ampera (masakan Sunda). The taste is almost similar to our cooking, which is better than the last time I went to Yogja, which everything was too sweet for my liking.

Pais Ayam, Sayur Tahu & Cumi Bakar

Gurame Bakar ... enak banget

Impressed by the packaging - takeaway

The next day we went on a trip to the north of Bangdung to Mount Tangkuban Perahu, an active volcano with accessible live craters. The drive up the mountain is about one hour, depending on traffic.

Photos at the edge of the crater

The still active crater- with sulphuric gasses

The other side of the view . . Bandung City

Some of the ole-ole sold at exorbitant prices by persistent sellers

On the way down we passed lots of nurseries and fruit stalls, due to the fertile soil around the ledge of the volcano. It seems that those with green fingers would prosper in this area. Definitely not me.

Look at the size of that and colour

Alpukat or avocados

Lunch was at Sapulidi, a rustic place setup in between paddy fields. They have huts/pondoks amidst the streams and with the cool air, the place was calming & soothing. The only thing that we could do after lunch would be sleeping it off in the pondoks. The menu is a typical Sundanese fare, and quite good too.

One of the huts for lunch

With Pak Suki, our guide.

waiting for the food ...

Adi's enjoying herself

Adi with her travel companion

After lunch, we got into the swing of shopping again, but were hindered by the presence of people, from Jakarta doing their shopping as well. It did not help that it was their school holidays and most of the outlets were jammed packed with people. We went to Rumah Mode, Dago area and sent the kids back to the hotel before going back to the Heritage area for some more shopping.

A point to note is that some of the stuff on sale true rejects or overrun stocks, some of them have dubious origins but good quality, some look like obvious imitations. Managed to get loads for the kids as with brands as Guess, Gap, Next, Oshkosh etc. Not so much for the adults or we have been looking at the wrong places. All in all, an enjoyable trip, maybe worth a repeat, this time the guys would head out golfing whilst the girls shop.