Date of Visited: 22nd December 2011
Before flew off to Indonesia, I did contacted a local tour operator that I wanna hire for a day tour around Bandung but unfortunately no response was given at all. Luckily enough that the taxi driver we met in Bandung train station who send us to the hotel proposed himself to become our driver for a day and the charge will be IDR450,000 (roughly around RM160). It might be pricey cause sharing among two of us only but that is the normal rate charged by the local driver for a 12 hours tour services, which include the petrol but this excluding the parking and entrance fees. It will be worthwhile if you are travel in a big group as the car we travelled with was Toyota Avanza.
Our tour started at 8am as what being promised by the driver. He indeed came earlier and waited for us in the lobby. Before started the journey, a night before I did listed down the places and attractions which I think would be worth to go since it was my maiden trip to Bandung.
Kampung Daun Culture Gallery & Daun
Kampung Daun is an authentic Indonesian restaurant located in the hills high above Bandung and required at least 2 hours drive from Bandung city. The reason we came here was not for their foods but their surrounding environment and atmosphere. Afterall, the entrance is free of charge.
This beautiful restaurant was built among the natural environment. The way they built the log cabins which served as the eating platforms is perfect for those want to have a quiet, peace and privacy moments. Besides that, one can enjoy their foods with such a scenic, cool and fresh surrounding as the log cabins were set in a lush and green valley with a small stream running pass through them. Relating to their foods, we didn't managed to try but I saw tons of positive reviews towards them.
Tangkuban Perahu
For me, this is the main highlight that you shouldn't miss out when visiting Bandung. Being blessed living in a country like Malaysia, volcano is something unique for me as we unable to experience this is elsewhere around Malaysia. Therefore, this is my first time experience visiting and seeing the active volcano right in front of my eyes and instantly took my breath away.
I stepped down to look closer of this biggest crater which known as Kawah Ratu (literally means Queen of the Craters) of Mount Tangkuban Perahu. My mom was too afraid to get nearer as worried it might be erupted anytime but our driver did told us that the last erupted was like 50 years ago. The weather was cold and windy. Therefore, kindly bring along your jacket or wear more thicker clothes. Plus, be aware of souvenir sellers which I heard from the driver that the price of souvenirs that they were selling were 3 or 4 times much higher. And please don't ever talk or ask them cause once you did so, they will keep following you.
The admission fee for an adult is IDR50,000 but cause both mommy and I looks like Indonesian (kinda an advantage for us), we were being charged under local fee for IDR13,000 per pax only whereas the parking fee is IDR10,000.
Done with sightseeing and now it's time for my mom's turn as this was what the trip for. Another reason that many tourists visiting Bandung every year is for shopping craze. As what according to Malaysia Asia, if you are looking for factory outlets, there are four main areas in Bandung which are Jalan Setiabudi, Jalan Riau, Dago District and Cihampelas Area. I did blogged about Cihampelas Area before (click HERE) but for the rest, cause of limited of time, I only managed to visit few factory outlets in Jalan Riau and Dago District. If you wanna know which are the top 10 best factory outlets in Bandung that should visit, read Malaysia Asia's blog.
Dago District
These are the few factory outlets in Dago District; Grande Fashion Gallery and Central Branded Outlet. Grande Fashion Gallery is listed as one of the top 10 factory outlets to visit. These factory outlet houses many famous brand such as Zara, Levi's, Polo, MNG, Calvin Klein, Burberry and more. If you ask me whether are all those goods are genuine or fakes, I'm so sorry to say that I'm not so sure about that cause I am not fashion chaser. As you can see that I didn't took any photos inside the factory outlet cause most of the factory outlets strictly prohibited phototaking inside their outlets.
As for our lunch, our driver recommended Nasi Padang at Simpang Raya. For those who haven't try Nasi Padang before, it's a field of dishes ranging from chicken, beef, fish vegetables and more and it's only countable based on consumption. My mom and I politely invited our driver to have lunch together eventhough he didn't even requested at the first place but it's our courtesy to treat him for the long hour drive. Our driver was very kind and helpful but unfortunately I lost his contact number.
Jalan Riau
Then, we continued to shop in Jalan Riau. There are few well-known factory outlets which were highly recommended such as Heritage Factory Outlet and The Summit. I personally prefer to shop at Heritage cause it is more fashionable with pretty decent prices. Not just that, I love the classical architectural style that has the similar to Greek architecture.
Rumah Mode
Rumah Mode is not just notable as a shopping paradise, but it is famous for its beautiful landscaping and unique interior design. Among all the factory outlets I went, I was so shocked when I reach Rumah Mode as it was so packed and crowded compare to the others. The most shocking to me was it was mostly packed with the local especially those from Jakarta. It's long queue almost everywhere especially the fitting rooms and the cashier. So, it's kinda hard to shop around with the crazy crowd and mommy just managed to buy 2 or 3 goods.
Our shopping haul for the day
Frankly speaking, I don't think Bandung is the best place for shopping craze. Mainly cause I am not fond of those fashion and some of the goods I think kinda pricey. I just bought 3 tops which each cost RM25 and below. Some of my friends love to shop in Bandung, but some don't. Well, it depends on one own preferences whether worth or not to shop in Bandung.
