17 -19 October 2009
Time Spent: 2 nights
Alcoholic Drinks: 5 (erm..some forgotten)
Pink Beverages: 2
Shits Taken: None (!)
$ Spent: $500
Impulse buys: 1 (sneakers that were too big)
Amount of time spent on internet: Absolute Zero!!!!
Firstly... I never travel alone. I've been to Australia a couple of times alone in the past, but that was to visit family. But I really needed to get out of the country. And I didn't want to take anyone with me ( I meant men).
I needed to clear my head. So I went to visit my Best friend F.
My flight was at 2 pm on Saturday afternoon, and I taught a class until noon. That left me 2 hours to get to the airport, which I thought was PLENTY since I was flying AirAsia and the budget terminal is damn tiny.
So I decided to stop at KFC for a 2 piece original chicken meal (yummmm). Then I took a taxi to the Budget terminal and reached there at 12.50pm. When I reached the budget terminal... horror of horrors... I found out AirAsia flies from terminal 1!
I hopped on a shuttle bus, thinking oh good, this will take me straight there. But no... it only went up to terminal 2. Then if you want to go to terminal 3 or 1, you have to take the skytrain. WTF!? Why can't the shuttle bus just ply all terminals instead of having passengers get off and walk through the airport and then wait for the damn skytrain???! I think they just want people to utilise their freaking skytrain, that's why.
ANYWAYS... I told myself, I won't panic until 45 mins to my flight. And at 1.10pm, I was still waiting for the skytrain. But thankfully, I made it, checked in, and went straight onto the plane just in time. But all this goes to show that I'm an idiot, and all the stress could have been avoided if I had bothered to check and not assume stuff, or had been kiasu and not stopped for KFC first (!).
When I first got off the plane at Bandung's tiny little airport... I thought to myself.. OMG... I'm so excited. When I see F, I'm going to scream!
So off I popped... skipping my way from the plane...
And then... nothing :( Nobody there for me. The driver she hired picked her up late because he could not find her house. She lives at the top of some mountain (no kidding). Very anti-climax, lol, just sat on the stoop for half an hour looking pitiful. But she did come afterall... :)
First stop.. shopping. Like immediately. Left the luggage in the car, and had an overdose of Factory Outlet shops. And Bandung is full of them! I got leggings, a sweater, couple of singlets, khaki shorts, shoes, laptopbag, hair accessories, underwear... can't remember what else.
We literally shopped until dark. Then drove up to Kampung Daun to have dinner. 
It's a restaurant that's spread out on the mountain. Uber duber coolness! The weather was nice and chilly... every group gets assigned a hut to dine in. We had to walk quite far up to ours. 
And when you want to call for the waiter, there's this wooden thing at the side of your hut which you bang on. 
Food was good. I had a barbecue chicken thing... F had Gurame (some fish, I don't know how to spell it) and our driver (whom F invited to dine with us) had some fried pineapple rice thing. All tasty and oh so cheap (cost about 30plus sing for dinner, but they don't serve alcohol). For dessert, I had some banana pancake thing, with a pile of cheese on top (didn't like it). 
After dinner, it was late, 11pm, and we were tired from our day out. (Plus I had taught for 3 hours that monrning before rushing to the airport to catch my flight). So we asked the driver to send us home.
Up in the mountain home, I unpacked.. and we chilled out... 20 minutes and half a bottle of wine later... we decided the night was too young and decided to go out for drinks. So we got dressed and she booked a cab.
3o minutes later, we were all dressed up but cab still hadn't arrived. THEN F tells me, not to be disappointed if we have to take our clothes back off and just go to bed, cabs are unreliable, and many can't find her house in the dark on the mountain. Now she tells me! :S
1 hour later... we see headlights coming up the mountain. And it was like we were both in sync, no words spoken. We just scrambled for our bags and leapt out of the house! It was like in our heads we were both screaming "Stop that Cab! Get me to civilisation!"
And Civilisation came in the form of a pub called Sixth Sense. Surprisingly, for a town that is so backward.... their nightlife is pretty damn solid. And cheap! My Lychee Martini didn't cost me more than 4 bucks. After this, we headed down to Mansion (a club). And actually made plans with some new people we met, to go to Embassy the next day... mind you, these plans were made while intoxicated, so when I woke up the next day, we cancelled the second night out... I'm such an old woman.
So bright and early the next day, we set off. Her home is actually quite nice... it's just not very accessible. Right on top of the mountain and the paths are not proper roads but dirt and it's steep. You can see the roofs of other houses from her place.
But the great thing about it is that the air is fresh and the temperature is nice and cool.
Even though the taxis were so cheap, she thought it would be a good idea to get the Angkota thingy (like a van that's the public bus). Yes... very novel... but not something I want to repeat. haha.
We had lunch.... I had some noodley thing, which was nice. but I got to show you a pic of my Satay! It's lamb. And look at the chunks of FAT! We never get satay with huge chunks of fat here in Singapore! Yuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Afterwhich we did some more shopping until dinner time. :) There's this restaurant there called BLIND. And the food wasn't great but it's a dining experience. It's pitch black! You can't see you food. So you have to feel around... it's supposed to be a treat for the senses (well.. all senses except sight I guess!)
what an exciting trip! i can't imagine going to BLIND though. losing my sense of sight temporarily doesn't make me feel secure. :x
ReplyDeleteHi, I've been lurking but enjoy reading yr blog thoroughly. :) Your trip sounds like a fantastic destination for my next holiday from the shopping, food and cool climate! What r some shopping outlets u have been and could recommend some sightseeing attractions too? :) Thanks HJ!
ReplyDelete20 or 30 factory outlet shops around town, mostly in the Dago, Sukajadi, Jl. Riau.
ReplyDeleteAlso check out Rumah Mode at Jl. Setiabudhi.
for Jeans check out Jalan Cihampelas (there's a big mall near there too) and Cibaduyut for shoes
you'd have to google tourist attractions... I'm not big on ethnic museums, batiks and stuff :S
Reading it make me wana go tere!! The town seems so happeng wif the shoppg & all... But I'm shocked u gals dare to take te cab all by yrself esp coming back from the pubs. Dangerous rite? It will be great if F drives : )
ReplyDeleteGlad u had a great time but too bad it was such short trip for u..
Hope you hv everyting clear up after spending time wif yr dear fren : )
Um... Bandung is backward? It's one of the largest cities in Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteyeah largest in terms of size. Think Bandung alone has more ppl than Singapore.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen their airport?! I've been to people's houses here which are bigger than their terminal (not kidding).
Don't get me wrong, I think it's a nice city to visit, and like most Indonesian cities, their people are very welcoming.
But you have kids begging on the streets, toilets without flushes, people hawking food on the streets tht will give you the shits, etc.
Surely a city that's modern will have things in place such as legislation which they can enforce and maintain, Social welfare in place, etc.
I'm not putting Bandung down, the city definitely has its charm. But it is definitely not modern.
I visited Bandung in 2005 and went to Rumah Mode and Kampung Daun too! Did you go to the V, the cafe/restaurant on top of the hill?
ReplyDeleteWe took the 4hrs train from JKT to Bandung, not too bad. We only spent 2 days there, not enough - I'll return to that place again.
And I never realised that my ancestors were from Bandung too, until I came home and realised that my family plates had 'Bandoeng-Singapura' crest on them!
why won't you admit that you smoke?
ReplyDeleteI'm no stranger to the occasional puff if my friends smoke. But none of my friends smoke now.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what u are talking abt, but if ur gathering this from the photo in the club (in bandung), I find it a bit unfair tht I can't sit beside some guy who smokes without being accussed of smoking too.
i like ur body... well tone and sexy... remember dont overdo babe.. keep it this way ...
ReplyDeleteyour face in that photo next to that smoking guy is a whole 2 shades fairer than the rest of you. get the right foundation shade for goodness sake!
ReplyDeletewell, what you saw there in Bandung was only a tiny river of the extremely huge big ocean. should have stayed there longer, a week or two, had you wanted to see the real Bandung which is well-known as Paris Van Java ( The Paris of Java Island). I myself drive almost every weekend from Jakarta to the city and still I have had enough to see all the city.
ReplyDelete