Bandung, Paris Van Java

Being the lazy bum, and for the lack of travels these months, thought I’d share some of my anecdotes on my travel to Java & Bali this year. The original was posted here.

I dreaded it. But I was looking forward to it. I haven’t had much luck with transportation for the past few trips overseas. And so when the text message came telling me the airport was closed, I just wished I could make it after all. Jakarta is one humongous city, and the pace of development just so far exceeded the available infrastructure over the years. Highways were flooded. People’s houses were flooded during the Lunar New Year season. I arrived in the capital in the dead of the early morning, relieved I actually made it there. A few hours later, I had my first great meal, a simple Indonesian breakfast of rice and a few dishes I grew up with. It was a great feeling to be tasting your old memories and still find the experience is as good as your memories. You know the times when you had the chance to relive your greatest memories and find them not as good as the original? This isn’t one of those times. It’s not quite the same, but it’s enough to make a happy morning.

Killing my time in a mall, I made the spontaneous decision to have a haircut then. Customer service here in the country is as great as I had always expected. It is way better than any other place I have been. You feel the sincerity. Now I may be biased, but I think people are friendly, courteous, generous with their smiles and they don’t give the customers any ‘looks’. Take the lady at the reception, she got up, smiled, said “Selamat pagi” as soon as she saw me, gave good answers to my questions and showed me to my seat. It’s very simple, and it only lasted a couple minutes. But here I am, writing a paragraph out of this. Not many in the customer service business get this simple thing right. Getting the basics right is what we overlook the most in pursuit of a fancy finish.

Tired as hell, I took the 2-hour car ride to the city of Bandung. I had my share of fortunate and unfortunate transportation-related experiences during this trip, but the car ride was my first fortunate one. Locals know what to expect of the notorious traffic in and out of Jakarta. Yet my ride was smooth and I was pretty grateful for that. So, there I was, in Bandung. The city is the most artistic city in the country. You can feel the creative vibe almost everywhere and the cafe scene simply tops the list. From durian ice cream, wickedly delicious Sundanese food enjoyed within a “kampung”-like (village) stretch of land, to the ubiquitous factory outlets and elite education institute, Bandung is the city that almost had it all, had it not its high-altitude mountain-locked location and for its giant neighbor Jakarta. Jakartans show up here during weekends, pack the streets and the very nice cafes and restaurants. Maybe people think if they are going to spend two hours being held up in the traffic in Jakarta, they might as well spend that time in Bandung.

The city used to be nicknamed Parijs van Java for its European style hotels, boutiques, restaurants, and buildings. Well, I didn’t see much of these structures but this time around, I actually visited ‘Paris van Java’, a much talked-about compound of hip cafes, boutiques, and stores. True enough, I can see why the young likes to frequent this place. It’s hip, alright. In just 5 minutes, I walked past about 10 cafes that made me want to go inside and order something each time. Good thing I resisted, I still had some shopping to do.

Factory outlet is a huge business here as Bandung is the center of the garment import-export business in Indonesia. Certain streets in the city such as Jalan Riau, Jalan Dago or Jalan Setiabudi are lined with factory outlets of different shapes and structures (some museum-like, some with a huge A-shaped entrance) to lure you in. The stuff weren’t actually very cheap or particularly nice, but if you look long enough, you might find some good quality bargains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day found me on the top of Mount Tangkuban Perahu, almost blown away and into the crater with exposed belly by the massive wind. It wasn’t a good sight! But it was fun. I learned about how the mountain was formed back in school a long time ago, so when you actually visited a place you’ve heard or known in the back of your mind so many times, it’s sort of a good moment. Legend has it that the “Upturned Boat” mountain was the product of Sangkuriang’s wrath after finding out he missed the deadline to build a large boat before sunrise so he could marry his own mother, Dayang Sumbi. Of course, one would think this tale of almost-incest disaster could be prevented with Dayang Sumbi telling her son that he is not supposed to marry his own mother. One can also argue how good a story will be if truth comes out so easily?

From Tangkuban Perahu, you have a panoramic view of the city and the valleys surrounding you. The fog hangs atop the crater all the while we were there, so the only option left is for us to seek out a seemingly Thai-influenced (seemingly, because I can’t be sure) vihara on the way down Lembang. Next stop is The Peak, a restaurant among a complex of villas overlooking the valleys and mountains surrounding Bandung. I imagined myself waking up in the morning and looking out vast greeneries and villages when we drove past one of the beautiful villas. The view is almost worth the price! Food-wise, we decided the Peak may be too plain and so headed down to “Sapu Lidi” (broom of split coconut midrib)! The restaurant has a slogan: “Makan di tengah sawah” (Eat in the middle of paddy field). Truth is, there’s no paddy fields. Instead, I sat down in a thatched roof hut, cross-legged on the floor, ate like a peasant and had the best meal! This concept of restaurant “tables” that are actually a compound of huts has now caught up, and it’s working out pretty well.

Oh, I had a real good time in Bandung!

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