Jakarta 2007 - 3rd & 4th Day

Since we were in Jakarta, we thought that might as well go to Bandung coz with our budget, who knows when we will be back here.

Coz we knew we gonna spend only a night there, we limited our itinerary to just a bit of shopping and a visit to Kawah Putih. That's our travelling style ... not only a bit of shopping but we try to add other things like culture or nature. When we went to Bukit Tinggi, we walk around not only Pasar Atas (which is like the place to shop there) but also Pasar Bawah (which is like a grocery market for locals). We went deep into the Pasar Bawah so much so that all the people there only speak Minang and not the normal Bahasa Indonesia. To feel the sight and sound of such a place is priceless indeed!

We went to Bandung by train which I recommend highly for the scenery. And since our base was in Jakarta Pusat, Stasiun Gambir is really close by. I think they have the executive train to Bandung at 11 am and 3 pm.


Cikli & Fateh at Stasiun Gambir


View to Bandung









A trip to Bandung wasn't really plan so when we get there, we didn't know where to stay. We asked the taxi driver to take us to a few hotels and choose one for our budget. Hotel Progo turned our to be okay. I think it was around Rp200k as opposed to close to Rp400k for simple hotel in Jakarta like Ibis.

Cikli in front of the hotel.

Fateh enjoying his breakfast; but then, Fateh always enjoy his meals.




For shopping we went to shops around the Rumah Mode area only. Since we don't have much time, we could not explore other shopping areas. Only this I will say ... if a husband want to score some mileage with his other, then bring her to Bandung.

Look at the picture closely and you will find that one person is smiling and the other is not so happy. Girls ... this clearly shows that even from youngling, men doesn't like shopping much. So, please don't torture us.

So on 2nd day in Bandung (our 4th travel day), we rented a car with supir and drove to Kawah Putih, which is about 50km south of Bandung. I can't remember the journey well except that it's a nice view there. Since Bandung is also tea producing area, the place is a bit hilly and acres of tea plantations.

Kawah Putih is a volcanic crater, which we don't have in Malaysia (do we?), hence my interest to go there. Some photos ...


People take wedding photos here
Look at Fateh, buat apa la budak tu ...



After the Kawah Putih, our driver took us around a few supposedly tourist places in Bandung (tea plantation with a lake there, and don't remember where else). But I think we could miss those places and instead spend more time in town. We return to Jakarta around 6 pm with minivan (just to experience different travelling mode) and stayed around Jakarta Utara since it's closer to the airport and there's also Mangga Dua shopping nearby.

Till we meet again.

Jakarta 2007 - 2nd Day

There's this character of me which I realized since very young, that I like to hold off doing things until last minute. And those things will snowball into many things not done and will disturb a normal life pattern that I have.

One case in point is a write up on my Jakarta trip in May 2007. I like to write about it as a goodwill to those who have helped me directly and others who have written their travel experience which I have benefited from. One thing is that due to these online information, I do not yet need to buy a Lonely Plant guide.

About this trip, I wrote about the planning, 1st day, & some photos already.

So the 2nd day started quite alright. We had breakfast at a warung nearby our Le Margot hotel. I had planned so that it would be a cultural day for us by going to Museum Gajah, Istiqlal & Monas with a bit of shopping in the afternoon at Tanah Abang.

But I called Riza and found out he's already at Monas. So I thought why not join him first and go to other places later. Boy oh boy, that was not good at all.

Monument Nasional or Monas is a huge area by my walking standard. That's Fateh in front of Monas & Cikli at the base. Monas is like a really tall concrete structure with a base that people could relax and at the basement, a 3D model of Indonesia's history (a 'diorama' they call it).














You also could go up to the tower viewing area; which we paid for and did not go. All because the walking we had to do earlier zaps our energy to enjoy the scenery. Plus, the que was really long. You could see from the photo I was really tired; but the locals are just enjoying their time there.

After Monas, we just returned to our room. So, if there's one lesson here, it's that Monas is such a huge place and not much to see there except for the diorama. It's like a park with a structure in the middle. In fact, we saw some local organization/companies hold events there in the morning.




If you don't have much time, I suggest skip Monas from your itinerary.

Clip at Monas' base.


Clip at Monas' basement.