I used to talk in Sundanese dialect everyday...
and having Baso Tahu (which for some reason, people from Jakarta change the name to Siomay), Rujak Cuka, Pisang Bolen, Lotek, Jengkol, Genjer and Lalapan as my snacks.
I carry Bandung everywhere I go. When I was in US, my Indonesian friends could automatically tell that I was from Bandung from my "kampung Sunda" accent when I spoke English (at that time I found it very embarrassing and tried to eliminate that kampong accent by speaking English with Indonesian accent instead, which Americans found it equally difficult to understand).
When my husband married me 14 years ago, most of his relatives had no idea where Bandung was. There was no Airasia to promote and connect Indonesian small towns to Malaysia. Going to Bandung meant taking a 2-hour-flight to Jakarta followed by a 5-hour-drive from Jakarta to Bandung. A trip to Bandung would take at least 9 hours without traffic jam. With Jakarta's maddening traffic jam, it could easily take 12-14 hours. So yes, I would like to thank Tan Sri Tony Fernandez for connecting my Bandung to Kuala Lumpur with a direct 2-hour flight.
Because of Airasia, Bandung grows to be one of the favourite holiday destinations for Malaysians. The flights increased from once a day to 5 times a day. Hotels, factory outlets and restaurants have been mushrooming at a very fast speed, providing job opportunities and improving the town economy. Pasar Baru store operators have been adjusting their products to cater to the busloads of Malaysian customers for years that some of them even accept Ringgit Malaysia as a mode of payment.
When my husband's friends found out that he married a girl from Bandung, most of them asked him to tell them where to go and what to do in Bandung. Initially my husband would recommend places that we normally go whenever we visit Bandung. But after a few months telling the same thing over and over again, he asked me to help him making a list of places to visit in Bandung using Microsoft Words so he could just email it to his friends.
Well, of course.... as a very kind and understanding wife.. (wink..wink..) I obligingly wrote a simple travel guide for his friends. Little did I know that my "travel guide" was circulated among his colleagues in the office. Now my husband claims the title of "Bandung Expert"..!!! (thanks to his supportive wife... (another wink...))
Since Malaysia and Singapore school holidays are coming soon, I think about sharing this little Bandung Travel Guide with my readers. While it is not really a Lonely Planet, the places in the guide are places that are close to my heart..... the places I go when I visit my kampong. You are free to circulate the guide to your friends (and claim the title of "Bandung Ambassador")
I share this guide to welcome you to my home. I hope you will enjoy Bandung as much as I do..
Wilujeng Sumping ka Bandung (Welcome to Bandung)
PS: Let me know if you need PDF file for this. Just tell me your email address on "comment" below and I will email the file to you.
BANDUNG TRAVEL GUIDE
TOURIST SPOTS:
Opens
daily until 4pm
Located
30 km from Bandung, about 45 minutes drive.
At
the volcano site, go to the kawah and shop traditional souvenir (but please
bargain hard 70% off). You can also try the traditional delicacy such as
pisang bakar with cheese and chocolate, bajigur drink (hot mixture of gula
melaka and santan) or bandrek drink (shredded coconut in hot mixture of ginger
and gula melaka).
Sari Ater Hot Spring
Resort
Opens
all day but the best time to visit is after 5pm
Located
near Gunung Tangkuban Perahu. It’s a hot
spring restort for a dip in sulfuric hot pool. You should bring your swinsuit
for this. It’s better if you can spend one night at the resort, relaxing and
enjoying the chill. The weather is cold,
so please bring some long sleeves, the temperature at night can drop to 10
degrees when it rains.
On
the way there (in the morning) you can stop by at Pasar Lembang. You can
sample fresh n cheap local fruits like raspberry, strawberries, blackberries,
avocado, and salak pondoh. You can also sample traditional delicacies
like ketan bakar oncom (charcoal grilled pulut with spicy soy bean paste) or
jagung bakar 3 rasa (sweet, salty and spicy).
If
you happen to be in Lembang area on weekend, go to The Ranch or Rumah Sosis
where children can go horse riding, rowing boat at the lake, go carting, flying
fox, etc.
Trans Studio Theme
Park
The
largest indoor theme park in Indonesia. Located next to Bandung Super Mall, the
theme park is a hit for both adults and children.
SHOPPING SPOTS:
Factory outlets:
1. Rumah Mode (Jalan Setia Budi), the most popular factory outlets combining
shopping, dining and massage in one place.
The Food outlets offer traditional Bandung street food such as Batagor,
Satay, Lotek, Siomay, etc.
2.
The Happenning – next to Rumah Mode
3. The whole stretch of Jalan Dago you will find more than 10 outlets
4. The Summit
5.
Jalan Soka : Moi (for kids, a lot of branded stuffs) and Carvieno(for party
gowns). These two outlets are close to
the famous Prima Rasa Bakery selling Bandung snacks.
DINING SPOTS:
Shops:
1. Jalan Cihampelas (jeans shops the whole stretch of jalan cihampelas,
interesting to see and cheap clothes). If you want to buy cheap bags, go to
Toko Elizabeth.
2.
Toko Yogya: Has few branches at Jalan Sunda, Jalan Diponegoro (near Jalan
Riau), CiWalk and in The Bandung Indah Plaza (Jalan Merdeka). Cheap and nice
children clothing but not branded.
3. Pasar Baru :
5-storey traditional market (fully air-cond) selling vast variety of cheap
clothes, tudong, sulam, kebaya etc. Make
sure to bargain. Favorite place for
Malaysians.
4. Jalan Braga :
heaven for art lovers with street vendors selling paintings at very reasonable
prices. Be sure to bargain.
Malls:
- Paris van Java mall (PVJ pronounced PeVeJe) mall. One of the favourite malls for locals. Perfect for outdoor dining as they have varieties of local and international food outlets.
- Ciwalk Mall (Cihampelas Walk) for access to their website. Outdoor mall with good mixtures of interesting small shops and restaurants. Strategically located on the stretch of Jalan Cihampelas, famous for jeans.
- Bandung Trade Center (BTC) – selling very reasonable clothing, local brands. It’s also good for wholeseller.
- Bandung Super Mall (BSM) at Jalan Gatot Subroto. The perfect mall for kids because it has indoor amusement park with merry go round, mini roller coaster and ferry wheel.
For muslims:
Be aware that not all Malay Indonesian are muslims, so a restaurant
owned and served by Malay may not be necessarily halal. The list below is for halal restaurants
1. D'Palm Sundanese Restaurant at Jalan Lombok. Order Gurame
goreng bumbu acar kuning, Gepuk (fried marinated beef), Tahu goreng, ayam
kampung goreng, karedok (local salad with peanut sauce).
2. Atmosphere Restaurant at Jalan Lengkong. Serves local and
international cuisine. Very nice place and relaxing ambiance for dinner.
Sit outside for balinese style hut. Weekend nights are usually
fully booked.
3. Kedai Nyonya Rumah at Jalan Naripan. Serves local and Javanese food
and snacks. Try lemper (pulut filled with chicken floss), kue bika ambon
and baso tahu (fish dumplings, tofu filled with fish paste, sort of like yong
tau foo but the sauce is peanut base).
The front part is just snack shop but go to the back of the shop for an
outdoor dining.
4. Sushi Tei at Jalan Sumatera. If you get bored with Sundanese food, try
this Japanese rest. Very nice, Californian style sushi. Try their
Dragon Roll.
5. Hawkers : Martabak San Francisco at Jalan Karapitan (after 6pm). Try
their special martabak asin (chicken or beef) or Special martabak manis (Big
apam balik with cheese, peanuts, milk and chocolate sprinkle).
6.
Kartika Sari at Jalan Dago. Sells the famous Bandung Pisang Bolen
and all kind of kerepek.
7.
Ikan Bakar Sulawesi at jalan setiabudi. Serves varieties of fresh grilled
seafood from Sulawesi island (Celebes). Located just before Rumah Mode outlet.
Try the Sup Konro Goreng (Makasar’s sup tulang)
8. The stalls at Heritage factory outlets: the pisang goreng is very good.
9. Sederhana Padang Restaurant at Jalan Pasteur and Jalan Riau.
Extensive spread of Padang
10.
Kingsley at Jalan Bungsu. Serves the
famous Bandung delicacy Batagor (fried tofu stuffed with fish cake), meehoon
soup with beefball (baso) and varieties of kerepek.
11. Dago Pakar and Lembang area: You can only go to these restaurants when you
have a personal local driver. It’s a
very different experience. Only the
locals and tourists from Jakarta
- Kampung Daun Traditional outdoor Indonesian restaurant. A must visit at night. Serve both western and local food.
- The Valley beautiful restaurant at night, up on the hill overlooking Bandung, western food.
- Sapu
Lidi Restaurant at Jalan Sersan Baiduri (in front of
Ledeng Station). Very nice restaurant where you eat in a hut on top
of padi field. Lunch only. Served authentic Sundanese food.
- Sindang
Reret Restaurant at Lembang (on the way to the volcano).
Food to order : Ikan gurame bumbu rujak, ayam kampung bakar, karedok,
sayur asem.
- Bumi
Joglo : Dago Pakar near
JEWELERY SHOPS (DIAMONDS AND GOLD) :
Gold jewelries
are reasonably cheaper than KL with different and simpler designs.
1. Toko Mahkota, Jalan Ahmad Yani 164 (Kosambi) in
front of Pasar Kosambi.
2. Toko Bagus, inside Pasar Kosambi, Ground floor
3.
Toko Putera Mahkota, Jalan Ahmad Yani
(Kosambi)
4.
Toko Nan Hoa, near Pasar Baru
Spas:
Click on the hotel names to direct you to their websites @ Agoda. You will be able to see the rooms, facilities, etc from the picture galleries there.
It has 3 branches :
1.
Roger's Salon at Jalan Dago. Located within walking distance to Factory Outlets so you can drop by to relax your tired feet after some shopping free.
2. San Gria Resort & Spa in Lembang, just before Pasar Lembang. Try the boreh or coffee scrub. Interesting and nice experience.
3.
Anata Salon at Jalan Windu no 3, good for Creambath (Scalp & Back Massage), Menicure and Pedicure.
4.
Bersih Sehat Massage. Basic good quality massage with basic
ambiance. Most locals go to this place
once a week for basic massage.
HOTELS:
Click on the hotel names to direct you to their websites @ Agoda. You will be able to see the rooms, facilities, etc from the picture galleries there.
Please
book early as hotels are mostly fully booked on weekends.
Recommended hotels
A zen-style new hotel with a perfect location. Located in the heart of
Jalan Cihampelas, a shopping paradise for jeans, bags and T-shirt. Walking distance to
malls, restaurants and shops.
Scrumptious breakfast buffet.
2. Geulis Hotel
at Jalan Dago. A cute all-suite boutique hotel located within walking distance to some of the Factory Outlets.
The
perfect place to stay if you plan on hopping from one factory outlet to another
as it’s located in front of the Factory Outlet stretch.
3. Sheraton Resort A resort-style hotel located at a quieter area of Jalan Dago.
A
beautiful and relaxing traditional villa located north of Bandung. The only
villa that provides real Sundanese ambiance.
A
quiet and relaxing 5-star resort up on the hill. About 20 minutes from town but
perfect for couples without children. Beautiful, romantic ambiance with hill
backdrop.
6. Hyatt Regency Bandung located conveniently next to Bandung Indah Plaza Mall.
7. The Valley Resort at Dago Pakar. A quiet 3-star resort on a hill of Dago, around 25 minutes from town.
8.
San Gria Resort & Spa at Lembang. A very quiet boutique resort perch on a hill with idyllic backdrop against padi field. Located in Lembang, the air can be chilly at night.
Located on the
mainstreet of Jalan Dago, it’s walking distance to Bandung Indah Plaza
mall. The road in-front is very busy
especially on weekends.
Nice
4 star, location is OK but not walking distance to any shopping area.
11. Aston Hotel and service apt.
- Aston Hotel Braga
Located on Jalan
Cihampelas, right in the center of shopping activities, across Sensa Hotel.
- Aston Hotel Primera
12.
For a budget accommodation, can try the chain of Royal Dago hotels (few
locations). Small hotels with good
locations.
13.
Guest houses : bungalow houses converted into hotels. Provide clean and basic accommodation with
homely environment. Recommended : de’ Tropis (pin bb 23BE7E5D) with the option
of arranging full transportation with personal driver.
CAR RENTALS:
1. Cipaganti Car Rental. Ph. 62-21-720 4766 or 62-21-7204616 (cover Jakarta and
Bandung). Check the time on its website www.cipaganti.co.id
2. Tiara Travel. ph 62-22-601 1118 or 62-22-603 7737
The rate is around Rp650,000 to 700,000 per day (usually 8 hrs), depending on
what car you want, in Bandung only, inclusive driver. Give Rp.20,000 to the driver for lunch.
**
The best way to enjoy Bandung Bandung
**
Tipping is customary in Indonesia. For
dining, tip around Rp10,000. Tips for massage is Rp20,000.
**
Avoid travelling to Bandung on weekends, the traffic
jam is horrendous due to the influx of local tourists from Jakarta.
