INDONESIA | BANDUNG CITY FOR 2 DAYS
At the break of dawn, we
were ready to depart from our hotel to the domestic airport of Bali bound for
Bandung City. Approximately 1 hour and
40 minutes, we arrived at Bandara Husein Sastranegara Bandung Airport.
It was raining so hard when
we arrived. The weather was conducive to
just sleep and lounge at our booked hotel.
But we are always reminded that Bandung City is quite far and the
opportunity to explore is rare.
Thus, we literally dragged
ourselves from the comforts of our bed after check-in to initiate exploration. We actually have no fixed itinerary and so we
just walked and went come what may.
FACTORY OUTLET SHOPPING
A friend of ours told us
that Bandung City is known for branded outlet stores. We searched for Jalan Riau and indeed it is
home to the best shopping brands and outlets.
A portion of the street was actually flooded on our visit, which posed
as a challenge for our wandering stint.
We nevertheless went through and went home with bags of cheap branded
clothes.
BANDUNG GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
Museum of Geology was
founded on May 16, 1928. As a historic
monument, the museum is considered a national heritage and under the government
protection. For new cities, it has
become my routine to visit any museum that is quite interesting.
But unfortunately and with
lack of research, the museum was closed due to a public holiday. On normal days, it is open every day from 9AM
to 3PM except public holidays.
And so we just walked around
the vicinity and found food trucks and a park before the rain fell so hard once
again.
PARIS VAN JAVA
A walking distance from our
hotel is one of the largest shopping malls in the city, Paris Van Java. It is considered as the to-go-to place for dining and even for a stroll. Prices may not be the same as the branded
outlet stores but still the choices are of a variety and more spacious for a
stroll.
In our case, due to heavy
rains, it became our instant refuge.
On our second day, the
original plan was to visit the outskirts of Bandung. We woke up a bit late and asked locals and
taxi drivers of directions on how to get to our desired destination. A majority discouraged us. We should have travelled early according to
them. And so we chartered a taxi driver
and visited two (2) of the most popular destinations within the city of Bandung
and off north.
LEMBANG FLOATING MARKET
We drove north of the city
center of Bandung and as suggested by our taxi driver, arrived at Bandung’s
Floating Market. The lake that sits in the middle of the vicinity is surrounded
by well-manicured gardens of varied ornamental plants and flowers. There are traditional Java houses as well
which makes the stroll a cultural heritage tour.
Entrance fee is 15,000IDR
(approximately PhP54.00) but the same is consumable with drinks of choice (iced
tea or coffee). There are seats and
eateries set-up near the entrance facing the lake, to give guests a panoramic
view of the landscape.
There are varied traders on
the floating market offering traditional cuisine of snacks and even full meals
to every guest. Noticeable are the
installations as well that complements the vast garden and even traditional
musical instruments on display.
I could say that despite the
name of the destination, the highlight of our tour is not really the floating
market experience but the stroll along the gardens that surround the lake.
SUSU LEMBANG FARMHOUSE
If not for the hobbit house
replica, I would not be interested to visit the farmhouse. Since I don’t have any itinerary in mind and
I left the plotting to my travel buddies, so I just went.
The crowd was starting to
pile up when we arrived. At the
entrance, a cup of milk is provided to every visitor. We passed by houses, of colourful paintings,
souvenir shops housed in colourful makeshift houses and even a replica of a
Dutch village complemented by women garbed in traditional Dutch costumes
roaming around and some on guard at the houses.
Our main mission was to
search for the hobbit house. But along
the way interesting finds of well-landscaped gardens greet us. Every corner was picturesque. There are interesting souvenir shops and
restaurants as well with exteriors and facade displaying unique arts.
Then, we finally found the hobbit
house. Beside the so-called hobbit house
is the rabbit house. One thing I noticed
in Bandung is the presence of so many rabbits at parks, gardens and even along
the road. Why is this so?
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Bandung City is the capital
of the West Java province in Indonesia and the third largest city as well by
population. Getting to know its
topography, which lies on a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains, I
know there are a lot more to discover in Bandung City. Two days is indeed not enough.
1 comments
Thank you for this!
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