My
young niece was throwing tantrums when she learnt I was taking her brother to
Osaka so to pacify her, I agreed to bring her to Bandung during the Chinese New
Year weekend. Tickets were bought and I searched for suitable accommodation,
this time using Trip Advisor as a guide.
Saturday,
9 February 2013
I
met up with Akak et al at KLIA after 3 pm. I had checked in online but the
boarding passes could not be issued so we collected them when we dropped off
our bags. Our flight took off on time and I was dying to get some kip but the
girl was too excited and kept waking me up. Grrr...
We
landed at 5.30 pm and rushed to clear immigration. After getting our bags, we
walked to the bus station – you turn left when you exit the terminal and keep
on walking. There are a few shuttle operators who can take you to Bandung but I
chose X-Trans. It cost us Rp200K (Rp105K for adults and Rp95K for children
below 12). It was supposed to depart at 1845 but we were only called to board
at 1900. The shuttle could fit 10 passengers only (I had imagined a coach not
unlike National Express) so I guess we were lucky we got the seats. It took us
slightly more than 3 hours to reach Bandung and the shuttle stopped a few times after entering Bandung to drop
off passengers before rolling into the terminal at Jalan Cihampelas. We had to wait
a bit before getting a cab to our hotel. We reached the hotel at close to 11 pm
local time. We checked in and settled in for the night. No local stations
showing Arsenal’s match against Stoke so I had to rely on my timeline to find
out the score.
Sunday,
10 February 2013
We
left at 0930 after breakfast and took the angkot to Trans Studio Bandung about
1.8 km away. As it was Imlek (CNY) and a weekend, the ticket cost Rp250K each –
and you have to pay Rp10K for the card. We had our bags searched – outside food
and drinks are not allowed – I managed to sneak in my snacks and drink but my niece didn’t manage to. So we had to leave her food at the locker outside before
entering. We tried out the Marvel Superheroes 4D ride, Jelajah Adventure (where
we got drenched), Dragon Riders ride, Dunia Lain ride (a ride through a haunted
house), Special Effects.. we also watched the Chinese Circus from China.
We
left before 4 and went to Trans Studio Mall but didn’t stay long. It started to
drizzle as we were leaving. Took the angkot to Hotel Papandayan and went to the
convenience store across the hotel for some food. We checked out a restaurant
on the walk back to the hotel but nothing on the menu tempted us so we left. It
had started raining in earnest by then (CNY is rainy season in Jakarta and
Bandung) and luckily we had an umbrella with us. We got the hotel and stayed in
for the rest of the day.
Monday,
11 February 2013
We
left at 9 am and took a cab to Jalan Cihampelas for our shuttle back to
Jakarta. We didn’t pre-book and were on the waiting list for the 10 am shuttle
(if it was full, we’d have to wait for the 11 am shuttle – if it could
accommodate us). The 0930 shuttle to Blok M was already full. I decided on the
spur of the moment to take the 0945 shuttle to Pancoran (I had no idea where it
was and asked an elderly lady who was headed there. ‘Jakarta Selatan,’ she told
me). Well, I’d rather be guaranteed immediate seats than play the waiting game.
So I hurriedly bought the tickets for us (Rp150K only) and off we went to board
the shuttle.
The
journey took only 2 hours and 20 minutes this time and from Pancoran, we took a
cab to our guesthouse at Jalan Surabaya in Menteng in central Jakarta. We were
caught in the lunchtime traffic but thankfully it was flowing. We reached the
guesthouse about 20 minutes later and the fare cost us only Rp30K (less than
the Rp200K we would have been charged from Bandung to Jalan Broga in Menteng
and that was before the cab fare to the guesthouse) so I was very glad we took
our chances and rode the shuttle to Pancoran.
After
checking in, performing prayers and paying for our room (I also booked two
rooms for an upcoming stay), we ventured out to the antique market just across
the street. We walked along the street and then across Jalan Pangeran
Diponegoro and took a cab to Tanah Abang market. There were fewer people than
usual (was it because it was still CNY?) and quite a few stalls were closed
too. We went to 5th floor as the girl wanted to buy a maxi dress,
prayer attire and a denim skirt. We only managed to get two of those; no
complaints though as the clothes there were mainly for adults.
We
didn’t stay long and took a bajaj to Sarinah departmental store for souvenirs -
had to bargain and finally settled for Rp12K and it turned to be only a km
away! Dang it. We left after about an hour and I was about to suggest taking
the local bus to Plaza Indonesia when I saw the welcoming logo of Louis
Vuitton from afar. The LV store is at Plaza Indonesia so we used it as a landmark and
walked there. It was a pleasant stroll and reached Plaza Indonesia after 10
minutes. We didn’t stay long there but ventured across to Grand Indonesia.
Dinner was had there then we went to browse the stores before taking a cab back
to our guesthouse.
Tuesday,
12 February 2013
We
had breakfast at 0730 then checked out at 8. The cab took a while in arriving
though and we only boarded it at 0829. For some reason, the driver asked me to
pay the toll fares totalling Rp11,500 (Rp7000 and Rp4500 respectively). I had
never been asked to pay the toll either from the airport or getting back to the
airport and was not pleased at this. He dropped us off at the wrong entrance
too and we walked back and forth trying to figure out where the check-in
counters were. There were many people at the airport, the majority of them
about to embark on their umrah trip so it was quite crowded and didn’t help at
all. We finally made it through, checked our bags through the x-ray, dropped
off our bags and paid the departure tax of Rp150K each. Then we went through
the immigration before emerging into the duty-free area beyond. You’d be glad
to know that I didn’t spend – despite the offers at Swarovski and tempted by
some turquoise and coral jewelleries.
Our
flight took off on time and we landed at 1405 local time. We performed prayers
at the airport and our bags were already waiting for us ;)
Hope
you had a good break then too!
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