What To Do at Bandung – 4D3N Trip

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I went for a 4D3N Bandung trip with my colleagues and their family on middle of May.  The itinerary was arranged by the travel agency and here’s the places we visited during the trip. This might not be the most informative travelogue but if you have plan to visit Bandung, you may refer to some of these Bandung points of interest.

Bandung is Indonesia’s third largest city and is the provincial capital of West Java. Domestic and other tourists flood to Bandung for the shopping and exploring countryside graced with volcanoes, hot springs and tea plantations. Despite its reputation as a cool hillside town, the weather in Bandung is relatively warm, with an average day time temperature of 27°C. 

 

De Java Hotel Bandung

We stayed at the 4-star De JAVA Hotel Bandung is a 4-star hotel located on Jl. Sukajadi, Bandung. Location wise, there is a shopping mall right opposite the hotel and convenient shops along the same road. Our modern Javanese-style rooms was spacious (even with 3 beds) and well maintained. I’ll blog about the hotel later.

 

Paris Van Java

Located just opposite our hotel, Paris Van Java shopping mall definitely surprised us with its one of a kind ambiance. The interior combines Mediterranian architecture and lush greenery landscape which creates a ‘Resort Lifestyle Place’ as per its slogan.

The roof top garden with plants and waterfall!!

 

There’s even a mini zoo, aviary and Rumah Musang (Civet Cat House) in the mall!

 

Owl Manor

Sam was immediate intrigued by this Harry Potter Themed cafe which offers “Dine with Owl” experience and obviously her never-say-no daddy grated her wish like a Santa Claus. (─‿─)

 

Fancy have your ice cream with some cute cat companions?

 

Kawah Putih (White Crater), Ciwidey

This is my favourite tourist spot with magnificent scenery of crate lake in pastel green, complemented by clear blue sky and surrounding cliffs. The lake is 2,430 meters above sea level so the climate is often quite chilly.

Entrance fee: IDR 75k, Shuttle van: IDR 15k/way

 

Tangkuban Parahu

Tangkuban Parahu translated as “upturned boat” in Sundanese, is an active volcano 30 kilometres north of Bandung. It is another popular tourist spot with splendid panorama  view of volcano and the immense steaming crater below.

 

There are a lot of vendors selling souvenir, fruits as well as horse riding at this place. Nothing much to do here, half an hour for photography should be enough.

Entrance fee: IDR 50k

 

Farmhouse Lembang

A small Dutch themed garden with some nice and cute colourful buildings, prettly decorated with flowers and plants. Weather is comfortable here, a lil bit chilling and there is a replica of hobbiton (extra charges applied), which is great for photography. Shops selling souvenirs and food also available here.

Entrance fee: IDR 25k, the ticket can redeem a cup of milk (original/chocolate)

 

The mini petting zoo is small where the tourists can buy animal food (like carrot/milk) to feed the goats/sheep (?).

 

The sunbathing iguanas.

 

Great weather and beautiful sunflowers （＾ω＾）

 

Strawberry Picking,  Ciwidey

Ciwidey is a small town in southern Bandung.It is the gateway to the beautiful highland on the slope of mount Patuha. The cool weather here is perfect for strawberry farms. Hence, there are many strawberry farms at this area. Some farms are open for public for visiting as well as offer the hands on experience on strawberry picking. Strawberries here are basically small in size (like what we get at Cameron Highland, or smaller?) and tasted slightly sour but definitely sweeter than the latter. ◔_◔ Tourists will pay based on the wight of their ‘harvest’.

 

Glamping Lakeside & Tea Plantation @ Situ Patenggang, Ciwidey

The lake of Situ Patenggang is located 1600 meters above sea level and its cool climate isideal for tea plantations. The lake is surrounded by scenic tea plantations and green hills with lush rainforest. According to Sudanese folk story, Lake Patenggang was created by Ki Santang for his lover, Dewi Rengganis. That’s why there are Batu Cinta (Love Boulder) and Pulau Asmara (Amor Island) in this site

 

Pinisi Boat Shaped Restaurant Building in the Edge of a Cape of Lake Patenggang, Ciwidey.

Glamping Lake Side Rancabali on the shore of the lake.

Photo Source: https://www.dakatour.com/category/wisata-indonesia

 

Floating Market Lembang

This Bandung floating market is quite similar to its counterpart in Thailand, though much smaller. One can stroll at the landscaped garden, rent a peddling boat or visit the Kota Mini (additional IDR 25k).  Don’t put high expectation on this place I would say 😛

Entrance fee: IDR 20k (weekdays) & IDR 25k (weekends), the ticket can redeem a drink at the ticket counter.

 

Rumah Mode Factory Outlet

Being one of Indonesia’s largest manufactures for many international brands clothing, Bandung also know for its outlet shopping to find affordable designer wear. Rumah Mode is one of the popular/largest factory outlets with wide variety of choices, not only clothing but also shoes, bags, accessories, stationery and toys.

 

Kartika Sari

Other than the clothing factory outlets, cakes shopping at Kartika Sari also another activity that should’t be missed by travelers who visit Bandung. Operating since 1974, with banana bollen puff as their famous/signature product, Kartika Sari also offers wide variety of cakes, pastries, cookies, biscuits, snacks, chocolate and candies. I’ve bought a jar of sambal (Sambel Mertua) which is extremely spicy and addictive, tasted exactly like what I had at Bandung, good stuff!

 

Pisang Bollen with Cheese – It’s like a flaky (but not crispy) bread with banana and cheese stick filling. I can’t say it is delicious but very unique indeed.

 

Dining @ Bandung

The meal I had throughout my Bandung trip wasn’t really impressive. Basically the meal were almost the same everyday with a chicken/fish dish (fried/grilled/stew), stir fried vegetables and tofu/egg/tempe. 

 

The food was lackluster and luckily the saving grace of sambal did compensate the flavour a bit. I love their sambal, the spicier, the nicer!

 

Verdict: To be honest, I didn’t put high expectation for this Bandung trip as it is never on my list my of travel destinations. But Bandung still worth a visit for first timer like me. I’ll blog in detail some of the places such as White Crater, Farmhouse Lembang and Tangkuban Parahu, stay tune ya!