Early wake up call for the day as my mom's phone started ringing at 3.45 am! I did manage to crawl back to bed and woke up eventually at an ungodly 5.50 am!
No choice anyway as our chauffeur, Mr Askan, had requested for us to leave earlier for our journey to the Southern part of Bandung; the trip to our first destination would be longer than the day before and we figured it's best to fill out tummy with food first!
Breakfast at Best Western Premier La Grande Hotel remained good even though it was already our third day of stay and it's rare for me not to get bored with hotel's fare after two days.
Taking the highway which commanded a toll fee; amount of which i had clean forgotten even though i did indicate 450 baht. Strange though since i am in Indonesia, not Thailand. That's what happened when i have insufficient sleep.
Less than half an hour later, we drove into a place known as Kopo. It was more a town rather than a city yet still filled with many cars.
Helium balloons - what's the fascination with them as i did note that many cities (including China) tend to have someone selling them?
Now, i would just share pictures i took while i am in the moving car; there might not be any caption as my intention is just to show local life through my lens.
Padi fields - i heard from Mr Askan that most of Bandung's rice actually came from this region.
Horse drawn carriages were common too! For more photographs on this unique and interesting Bandung sight, please click here.
Continuing our way with the black clouds that seemed to accumulate towards where we were heading to; i am keeping my fingers crossed as i didn't want another episode of wet weather ruining a trip!
Furthermore, it did seem ominous to be faced with a hill that had its side exposed; it's a classic risk of a landslide should heavy rain strike. Hope the local authority would do something about it before anyone gets killed / injured.
Another stretch of padi fields.
It may seem lawless although in the eyes of a law abiding Singaporean, i couldn't help but feel envious whenever i see people not wearing helmet while riding the motorbike!
Mr Askan stopped his car in front of this building as he needed to buy tickets to Kawah Putih. Why couldn't we buy at the main attraction? I asked that question but he said it could only be purchased here.
Looks quite legit though since the pricing was the same as what i could find online from other bloggers / tripadvisors. E-cards and receipt would also be given once payment was made.
Wanted to post the above as one of the interesting sights in Bandung but i didn't have sufficient photos and i infer that this could be an anomaly rather than a common scene. I felt quite worried for those who were seated on top of the lorry as a sudden brake would likely result in them falling down.
Thought this was quite a pretty view!
Cyclists along the narrow road - i can't understand their rationale as the risk of getting knocked down was relatively high and you know what's the worst thing? It's generally an upward climb along the mountain sides.
There are always things i regret not doing whenever i travel and the above is one of the regrets i had in Bandung; why didn't i ask Mr Askan to stop his car so that i can indulge in local durians?!
Drove past Kawah Putih as we were not allowed entry! Not because our ticket were not accepted; just that strong wind and rain had resulted in trees that laid strewn along the road and the workers were working to remove them so that the road can be re-opened for vehicles.
A bad omen when clouds started moving in and visibility dropped even lower for Mr Askan to slow down his speed.
Rain started pelting shortly after; dampening our mood further as there's so little we can do in the great outdoors when the weather turned bad. :(
The sky cleared up a while for me to take this amazingly beautiful picture of the tea plantation and the village just right beside it.
So pretty right?! Like a village that's isolated from others!
Another panorama! Managed to take so many pictures because i requested Mr Askan to stop the car! With an uncertain fate for the visit to Kawah Putih, i might as well make use of the time given to us.
Our first attraction - Situ Patenggang; a lake with a ship-like structure on the side. For more information, including the food i had in the ship's restaurant, click here.
Back at Kawah Putih again - remember the cyclists i mentioned earlier? They finally arrived at the attraction and i took a look at the time when i last caught them in my camera; it was two hours ago!
Barrier remained closed and without any clear indication on when it would be opened, Mr Askan asked if we would prefer to have an early lunch instead.
Would love to have durians for lunch although i doubt the ladies in the car would agree; especially when it was still drizzling and knowing them, it's not the kind of environment they would want.
Saw cempedak too! By the way, cempedak is translated as jackfruit but it's native to Southeast Asia and taste and smell very differently from the common jackfruit. I prefer cempedak anytime and love it when it's deep fried with flour!
Hm.... what would you infer from the above? A man who would be attacked by the bear or both of them were working together to fight against enemies?
Driving past one of the many strawberry farms along the way. Our family isn't big on strawberries as they are usually expensive and my stingy father would very much prefer bananas, papayas, oranges and apples.
This is a view i can wake up to everyday; so long i don't have to work to earn my upkeep and there must still be provisions for modern amenities like internet, working toilet, electricity etc. Yes, i am dreaming.
A fish farm i presume?
Lunch at Saung Gawir Restaurant - this wasn't on our itinerary as we had hoped for another area known as Sindang Reret. There were hits and misses for the food and i guess the selling point for me was really the mountain view and the cool, strong wind! For review, click here.
Went back to Kawah Putih again and the road was still locked down! Hence, we went to the nearby Kampung Cai Ranca Upas instead. What is the main activity there for foreigners? Feeding the deer! Check out the link here for more pictures.
I think we really didn't have luck with Kawah Putih as there was still no indication on its reopening hours. Even Mr Askan wasn't hopeful and proposed for us to visit another less well known crater; one that's also less developed. So, time to hit the road again!
Looks familiar?! This was the second time we drove past the same village that's near the tea plantation! First time was to Situ Patenggang.
Highlight of my third day in Bandung - the mystical Kawah Rengganis and ya, the place where i got my head and finger attacked by a hornet. To be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of pictures i took at Kawah Rengganis, click here.
Tired out after a close to two-hour stay at Kawah Rengganis, my mum couldn't wait to be back in the car whereas i am just happy to rest my head and finger.
Went back to the shop to get a refund for the un-utilized Kawah Putih tickets.
By the way, one common practice when you park your car, even for short period of time, is that you have to pay someone to help you navigate out to the busy road. It's not much, maybe about 1,000 or 2,000 rupiah, so we always just pay without grumbles. As mentioned in my summary post, do prepare loads of change!
Stopover at Oleh Oleh Priangan Sari Manis - a snack shop where mum can buy the 'raw' keropok for her friends. There were other local snacks and sweets and you may check out the pictures here.
While mum busied herself with her purchases, i ventured to the immediate surroundings of the snack shop; found this vendor selling packs of strawberries! I usually wouldn't buy unless there is sampling! Why waste my money on things that might turn out to be unappetizing?
The yellowish things were actually chicken although i was under the impression they could have been tortured before they died as the displays were downright morbid!
Going back to the city centre - spotted above was a colonial bridge dating back to the days when Indonesia was under Dutch control.
Other sights along the way.
Stadion Si Jalak Harupat - a pretty big stadium that can hold about 27,000 people. I found it easily on google map and if you are interested, the coordinates are 6°59′47″S 107°31′47″E.
Couldn't resist taking photographs of this padi field with glowing clouds that's a result of a setting sun! Well, i have nothing to do anyway since we were stuck in a traffic jam.
As mentioned earlier, motorcyclists at the suburbs don't have the habit of donning their helmets! Some still do so out of health considerations though; imagine the air pollution!
Cages with poultry and even guinea pigs for sale. At first glance, i thought this might be a shop selling fighters for cock-fighting; a social activity said to be banned as it's often used as a front for gambling!
Got to the highway again!
Iconic bridge loomed in front of us; meaning we were getting near to Best Western Premier La Grande Hotel! I can in fact see the bridge from my hotel room.
I walked as much as my mom yet her sports shoes' soles were the one that couldn't take the stress! Mine, despite being a pair of casual shoes, managed way better!
Dinner time at Richeese Factory! Don't be fooled by its name as it's more a fried chicken joint and the only cheese thing about it is that you could get cheese dips to go with your fried chickens! For my review, click here.
Street vendors along the road outside BEC (Bandung Electronic Centre) - nothing much as it's mainly handphone covers and such; things you could easily get at Singapore's pasar malams.
Walked past a MacDonald's ice cream kiosk and the most expensive thing was almost about S$1 - my favourite hot fudge sundae was 8,182 rupiah and a McFlurry would only cost 9,091 rupiah!
The roadside hawkers appeared to be going a roaring business and the food aroma was so enticing! However, good hygiene control was apparently lacking and i am not confident of my weak stomach.
Next to the cluster of roadside hawkers was the place where i went wide-eyed over the wild animals available for sale; like owls, snakes, sugar gliders etc. For pictures and location, click here.
Once we got back to the city, i can see my mom's energy regained and she was keen to explore the factory outlets around Best Western! For me and Louise, i opted for one Magnum Almond (12,500 rupiah) before retiring back to the hotel for a much needed bath!
=====
Posts linked to Day Three
(click to find out more)
- Situ Patenggang
- Saung Gawir Restaurant
- Kampung Cai Ranca Upas
- Kawah Rengganis
- Sari Manis
- Richeese Factory
For the summarised itinerary of my five days, four nights inaugural trip to Bandung, please click here.