Fashionista's Travels: Bandung and Jakarta, Indonesia

[This post have been edited since I last posted it on the 2nd of April 2014]

Two months ago me and some of my fellow colleagues decided to go for a short trip to Jakarta and Bandung as a way for us to take time off from work and also spend time knowing each other's families.

This trip consisted mainly of Bandung (except on the last day which we spent the morning in Jakarta, we had driven from Bandung to Jakarta right after breakfast). I have been to Bandung a couple of times before, my last one being about three years ago (you can read the entry [here]) with another colleague and I have always loved the place. It's a great place to shop (there's plenty of factory outlets for bargain hunters), there's also plenty of fabrics to choose from for those fashionistas who's keen on designing and making their own clothes (like my friend Sherry from Sherry Says is among one of those talented creative people who can design and sew her own clothes), or even those who are passionate about food (like yours truly).

Despite some concerns over the eruption of Mount Kelud which could hamper our trip and also have adverse health implications but we decided to wing it anyway (the volcano is about 600km away from Jakarta so we decided that the mountain might be quite a distance away).

So here are some of the photos that we took while in Bandung and Jakarta:

Tangkuban Parahu, a dormant volcano (it last erupted in 1983) about an hour's drive from Bandung.

Tangkuban Parahu is considered as one of the tourist attractions in Bandung, thus you can find many vendors selling their wares near the parking lot next to the volcano.

Tourists at Tangkuban Parahu.

Wooden idols, anyone?

The row of stalls were set up strategically right next to the volcano's crater. I guess that unless the volcano display signs of volcanic activity, it would be quite safe doing business next to the crater.

Me and Alexa. As usual, she prefers the Ergo baby carrier compared to her stroller. I guess she just loves to snuggle next to me or hubs .

A lady selling grilled corn on the cob. There's actually plenty of stalls selling these around Tangkuban Parahu.

So this is basically how Tangkuban Parahu looks like.

Alexa, having woken up from her nap.

Hubs and Alexa. Weighing around 7 kgs, she's quite heavy to carry now.

For Muslims, there's a musolla for those who'd like to perform their prayers.

Post Tangkuban Parahu, we stopped by at a tea plantation for some tea.

Burnt grilled corn on cob. A word of caution though, most sellers use kerosene to light up their grill, therefore I do not recommend the corn. We took a bite and immediately we can smell the kerosene from the corn. Yuck!

Hubs and Alexa.

Next we stopped by at Sari Ater for a short dip in the hotspring

You can sit at the benches and enjoy a short dip in the hotspring. The water is almost boiling hot, so enter at your own risk!

You can see the steam rising out of the water. I must say, the water from the hotspring is definitely very, very hot.

Hotspring.

There's also a mosque within the area.

We also stopped by Paris van Java for a lil' bit of shopping.

Those who are looking for exotic food could try sate biawak (monitor lizard sate), rica-rica sate (spicy sate), or sate kelinci (rabbit sate). And in case you're wondering, nope, I did not try any sate when we were in Bandung. I am a foodie, but exotic food are definitely not my thing.

Nasi Uduk anyone? For those who are interested to know what is nasi uduk, you can click [here].

We ended our trip with a short stop to Hard Rock Café Jakarta for Alexa's first Hard Rock t-shirt. Hopefully she's be able to wear them for our next holiday trip which will be to Tokyo, Japan, next week.

It's a tad unfortunate that I'm pressed for time, there's still a few more photos that I'd like to add to this post. Will try to edit this post later so that I can add some photos of Jakarta. Am looking forward to our next trip which will be to Tokyo, Japan, next week.


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista Escapades: Bandung and Jakarta

(This post is kinda a month and a half late, so please pardon the time difference between my first post on Palangka Raya and this continuation of the trip to Bandung and Jakarta which transpired afterwards. Too much traveling does not make Fareiny a good blogger. Sorry peeps!)

From Palangka Raya, we took a midday flight to Jakarta, arriving somewhat around 3 pm. We rushed straight to Tanah Abang; famous for fabrics and materials at utterly cheap prices and gowns and workwear and many other stuff. Unfortunately, Tanah Abang closes at 4 pm and we arrived there just in the nick of time. The gates to the parking lot had already closed and we had to leave Tanah Abang empty handed.

Tanah Abang consists of two buildings, interconnected with walkways above the road, about 10 floors high, the first five floors is filled with shops and the remaining five is for the parking lot (give or take). The 10th floor is a praying area for the muslims (or so this is what Pak Kurniawan tells me).

We had already planned to spend the night in Bandung, so we instructed our driver, Pak Kurniawan to drive straight to Bandung, which is about two hours away (not inclusive of any traffic jam along the way).

As Jakarta is a very populated city, the roads are littered with peddlers, ever ready to sell their wares to anyone who wishes it to be so. However, on my part, these people are certainly risking their neck to make a buck. And who's to say that life in Malaysia is hard, they should try living in Jakarta.

Upon arriving in Bandung, we immediately checked into our hotel, Galeri Ciumbuleuit Hotel and Apartment. A nice three star hotel, but compared to Aston Hotel Bandung which I stayed in during my previous stay in Bandung, I prefer the latter. Aston is much, much nicer than Galeri Ciumbuleuit.

Being superbly hungry, we asked Pak Kurniawan to wait for us as we checked in, then left our luggage at the good hands of the bellboys and immediately left for dinner. We were absolutely famished! By that time it was already almost 9 pm so we went to Paris Van Java (a mall with an absolutely beautiful architecture) and had dinner at Katapiring. The outer part of the building is littered with many different cafes that it was almost impossible for us to decide on where to eat. Tummies growling, we settled on the first one we saw.

The next day saw us scrounging Pasar Baru (FYI: Pasar Baru in Bandung is the equivalent of Tanah Abang in Jakarta) so I wasn't too sad on missing out on shopping in Tanah Abang.

This is kinda how it looks like in Pasar Baru. Rows and rows of shops selling beautiful fabrics, all at full display for me to choose. Yeay!!

After Pasar Baru, we left for Rumah Mode, which is kind off my favorite store in Bandung. It's well known among Malaysians for selling branded stuff at factory prices (which is why it's my favorite store). I got some shirts for my brothers (Calvin Kleins and Armanis) while I got myself a Marc Jacob, Guess and Armani shirt. I have definitely gone to retail heaven *sigh*.

Rumah Mode is also known for its beautiful architecture. In front of the store there's a nice cafe selling all sorts of food, which are super yummy. A perfect way to start a shopping spree is by making sure your tummy has had a good filling =P.

We ended the day by having dinner at Paskal (superb food, a must-try place for foodies). As our trip was a short one (we only had a couple of days in Bandung) so we didn't really get to venture much. We did go to some other shopping areas like Cihampelas Street but they're not selling my kind of stuff, so, no photos by me, sorry peeps!

Had Batagor at Paskal. Batagor is an Indonesian delicacy. It's some sort of fried dumpling that is dipped in chili sauce prior to the munch-munch (if you get what I mean). Super yummy too.

I must confess that this store sells the best takoyaki that I've ever tasted! I loved it so much that I wanted to get some takoyaki before our journey back to Jakarta the next day but unfortunately Paskal only opens at night. Boo-hoo =(

Since we left Bandung quite early, we managed to arrive in Jakarta somewhere around 3 pm. So I persuaded my friends to let me bring them to Taman Mini Indonesia. It's actually a huge park that consists of the many different types of architectural houses among the Indonesian provinces. I've been here before on my first trip to Jakarta, where my cousin (who was and currently is still residing in Jakarta) brought me here.

This is a replica of a traditional house in Kalimantan (Sarawak's neighboring state). If you're a Sarawakian, you would notice that the architecture is similar to Sarawak's native Bidayuh houses. The building behind me is called a Barok, it's actually some sort of a living room for the longhouses (if I'm not mistaken). Since Sarawak and Kalimantan are neighbors, there are bound to be Sarawakian Bidayuh and Indonesian Bidayuh, same race, same culture, but unfortunately, different nationalities.

This is not a house of any province in Indonesia. But I loved the architecture anyway. Looks like a fairytale castle, so much so that I imagine Sleeping Beauty might be in one of those rooms overlooking the park =).

On our last night in Indonesia, we had our dinner at Sate Khas Senayan, absolutely delicious food, relaxing atmosphere and the best part, free wifi!

We left Jakarta on the morning flight. When we arrived at the International Arrival Hall, we realized that Harrods was open for business. Kak Ratna got herself some pretty bags and purses while I got myself some pretty photos. Serendipity, right?

Til my next travel update, have a great weekend peeps! I'll be off to a wedding tomorrow, hosted in the same hall where I'll be hosting mine. So tonight, I'll have to prep Nikki so that I'll be able to take some photos for my future reference.

Good night everyone! Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite =P

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Fashionista Escapades: Jakarta, Indonesia

I simply don't know why does it seem as if my travels seems to lead me to Indonesia. It could be due to the fact that my grandfather's an Indonesian, but it could simply be the simple reason that their currency is way much smaller than ours, which simply translates to more items to purchase (which is oh so true here).

At Grand Indonesia, one of the largest shopping malls in Jakarta.

So I had the opportunity to visit Jakarta again last year in November. My first visit there was in 2005 so it was nice going somewhere that I was a bit familiar with. At least, I knew where the shopping complexes was. 

What is so apparent in Jakarta is the monstrous TRAFFIC JAM. It is absolutely horrible. I really think the Indonesian government should DO something about it. And most importantly they should do it SOON, before it swallows the metropolis, of course. 

We stayed at Ibis Hotel nearby to Mangga Dua. Although the location wasn't that great for me, however it was handy staying just behind a shopping complex. Which actually for us, Mangga Dua was actually two shopping complexes blended into one (there was an old Mangga Dua and a new one). And there was another one named Mangga Dua Baru (if I'm not mistaken). The best part about Mangga Dua is that it's not really a shopping complex so you can still haggle for a CHEAP BARGAIN. The not so great part is that it only opens til 5 pm (which totally puzzles me) and it sells mainly imitation products. Now it's not that I don't support the imitation market (which I honestly don't) but the fact is, why go for imitation? It is absolutely WRONG for a fashionista to parade an imitation product! I pity those designers. They come up with the style but somebody else is ripping off the profits *sigh*.

Now, if you're a backpacker, then I recommend you to stay at Jalan Jaksa which is a backpacker's haven. It's still in the middle of the city (Jakarta is HUGE so everywhere is in the middle of the city, unless your in the suburbs of course) and it's not far from everywhere. Not far still means that you have to either take a taxi or a mini van which they call 'Angkutan Kota' which functions as a bus, really.

Tanah Abang.

The best thing I liked about Jakarta is the many choices of shopping malls to choose from. And the best part is go can either choose to go high end, like Senayan Plaza or low end, like Tanah Abang. For me, I absolutely adore Tanah Abang. It sells a lot of fabrics and apparels which  fabrics are my one true love in shopping. 

So if you're thinking of making Jakarta your next destination, my advice is be careful of pickpockets. It seems that they are everywhere. And DO NOT leave your valuables in your hotel room. You might never know when a thief might be paying a visit to your room. 

Other than that, Happy Shopping Peeps!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo