Bandung February 2013

We spend the CNY weekend in Bandung, Western Java, Indonesia. The trip from the airport to town is quite different from what we've seen in other cities with a population of million and above: instead of crowded highways, we take narrow streets through residential neighborhoods. The pace is slower than in Singapore.

We stay at the northern part of town at Magnolia Bed & Breakfast.

After the shower we go for a little walk in the neighbourhood. We skip the German Halal sausage place and have a steak and barramundi for dinner at Mediterranean style Porto --- better to play safe the first evening.

Next morning we plan to visit the downtown. It is not easy to get a taxi though, and we end up waiting quite a while.

The wait leaves us abundant time to explore the B&B garden.

We head to the geological museum that has got good reviews in our book of Museums in Southeast Asia.

There are cool dinosaur skeletons.

But it is Saturday and there are also large groups of schoolkids, who often find us more interesting than ancient bones.

Soon we flee to the city centre through green parks ...

and wide sidewalks.

We stop at etc. cafe to update our travel log.

We then continue towards the town via couple of shopping malls.

As in many other South-East Asian cities, motorcycle is the main mode of transportation in Bandung.

We stop at Braga Huis for crepes and beer.

Soon it starts raining, and we order some coffee while awaiting the rain to pass. Eventually, we give up and take a taxi back to Magnolia.

We dine at cafe Oz (for Aussie of course) and continue to the Sobbers night club for wine.

We call it a night and walk back to Magnolia.

Next morning we take a taxi to the famous Kawah Putih crater lake.

The road goes all the way up to the volcano. No need or chance to hike.

We join the crowd walking down to the crater.

Kawah Putih (at 2,430 meters) is beautiful but smelly.

We wonder how healthy it actually is to be in the sulphur fumes.

The driver waits for us at the parking lot and soon we are on our way back to Bandung.

with other travellers.

We are back in Bandung and Magnolia around noon.

We are getting very hungry so we rush for lunch before the rain starts. We opt for authentic local fare at the nearby restaurant Sebaya: A gourmet satay with beef and chicken.

It starts raining so we order some coffee and a Winky Monkey banana cake.

In the evening, on our way to the Paris van Java shopping mall, we pass luxurious looking karaoke lounges.

Math and English - e-nopi. In Finnish "en opi" means "I do not learn" or "I won't learn."

Paris van Java --- just a regular shopping/lifestyle mall. Bandung is known for its numerous factory outlets. Some of them are quite fancy --- like trendy espresso or wine bars cum fashion boutiques.

Next morning we take a taxi to Mt. Tangkuban Perahu on the north side of the town.

Kawah Ratu (Queen's crater) is quite beautiful.

We actually "need to" hire a local guide for this one. Well, as a tourist we feel that we "should" leave some money to the place, but we don't really like how he requests "a tip" in the end of the tour. First of all, we had already paid for an official guide, and secondly, he was not very good.

We have quite a nice walk down to the big crater.

It would have been ever nicer, if it had been just two of us. The guide does not stop talking.

The scenery is nice though.

There are the fumes again.

Warm water.

And even boiling hot.

Sulphur.

Still some plants find a spot to grow.

On our way back we see some traditional vehicles.

G.H. Universal Hotel looks majestic from far, like does their website: http://www.ghuniversal.com/ However, we've learned that the reality does not often match the web image.

Back in town we take a taxi downtown and have lunch at local Kedai Nonya Rumah restaurant.

Nasi uduk and Nasi ulan with Bintang beer.

The rain starts again, and we move to a neighbouring Cups cafe.

It is a hip student place serving all kinds of coffee.

And pies and tarts.

They forget to tell us that they have a one-for-one cupcake promo today. So, we get another cupcake.

Well, no problem.

We take a long walk back north on Jalan Dagu, one of the main shopping/outlet streets.

Then we are at Sobbers for beers,

watching the workers next door risking their lives installing blinking lights for the night.

We choose to dine at Vanilla. It takes a while to get a taxi there. We are given a table but it is noisy and smoky. Then they offer us a TV lounge upstairs. It is really good. We have dinner and some wine while watching a move (Trapped). What a nice night we have.

Next morning on our way to the airport somebody is trying to make money with a bicycling macaque in the middle of a busy intersection.