We spent two days in Bandung, using it mainly as a base to visit the surrounding natural attractions...
Travel Diary Details - Bandung Area
Bandung and Surrounds
Most of the decent hotels and shopping districts are located around Jalan Asia Africa and we caught a becak there from the terminal bis (main bus terminal) for 2000rp.
Hotel prices can be high in Bandung and it is getting difficult to find value-for-money in the inner city district. We were on the rebound from a disappointing experience in Puncack and decided to live it up for a few days. We headed to the salubrious, classic colonial architecture of the Savoy Homman and managed to bargain them down to a reasonable price of $US50 for one of their budget rooms.
TIP:Being on a budget shouldn't mean sacrificing enjoyment. Treat yourself every now and again if you feel a little down - it's not going to break the bank. In this case we also proved a little-known point - up-market hotels often do have budget rooms. Just ask.
We saw a couple of quality guesthouse alternatives in the quiet and attractive suburbs on the north side of the city, an area dominated by elegant Dutch architecture. The Tourist Centre promotes these smaller hotels/guesthouses as alternatives for budget travellers, and they are good value at less than US$30 for a double with breakfast. One traveller recommended the Nyland Hotel at Jalan Cipaganti 14 as clean, spacious and convenient.
Bandung is a large and expensive city, busy and difficult to orient yourself once you are away from the main shopping areas. Taxis are metered in the business district and are cheap. For excursions outside of town allow about 15,000rp/hour for a car and driver. We negotiated an all day trip to Lembang, Tangkuban Perahu and Ciater for $US20 - they want more if you book through the Tourist Office to allow for "commissions" so just hang around the alun alun (main city square) and look interested - someone will see you.
The tour agencies are expensive - one place (Wisma tours on Jalan Cihampelas) wanted $US50 each for the same day tour we organised with a taxi driver for $US20 for two.
The "Jeans Bazaar" on Jalan Cihampelas is an experience. It is one street (almost a kilometre) of denim clothes shops, fast-food joints and shopping centres. It's crammed with the most bizarre advertising props and gimmicks you can imagine. This is where all the locals shop and you can get reasonable quality for half the price of the city stores. Karen bought some jeans here and they've lasted as well as any she would have bought in Australia.
There are many reasonable places to eat and several cafes and wonderful cake and pastry shops on Jalan Braga, but one place worth a mention for authenticity, value and friendliness is the Rose Flower on Jalan Ahmed Yani. The soups are fantastic and you can get your fill on food and beer for under 40,000Rp for two; this is Chinese cuisine at its best.
The ITB (University) is set on magnificent grounds and it's worth coming here just for the traditional architecture and grandeur of the buildings. Nearby is the Bandung zoo. The enclosures are tiny and the site, although parklike, is very dirty, not well kept and generally disgusting. Many of these animals are not happy.
Allow a full day for Lembang, Tangkuban Perahu and Ciater. Stop at Lembang to look at the many plant nurseries that line the streets. It's the perfect climate up here and everything seems to grow so well. There's an entrance gate to Tangkuban Perahu where you pay to enter the park and from here it's another five kilometres up to the crater on a very steep, long and winding road.
The place is overrun with Indonesian tourists and hundreds of hawkers line the mountain trails charging inflated prices for anything and everything. It's a bit of a party atmosphere with lots of families and plenty of food stalls. The main crater is dormant and a spectacular sight.
TIPS:Get there early because the clouds roll in about one o'clock, and allow a few hours to have a good look around.
The trail down to the active craters viewing station is a couple of kilometres and an easy walk. You can go down into the main active craters - it is a well trodden track - and then cut back to the "transport station" which is actually about 2km back down the main road up to the crater. Get your driver to pick you up here, it's better than the two-kilometre walk back up to the main car park!
The tea plantations at Ciater are interesting and there are many panoramas to be seen along the mountains, but I reckon the Puncack area is more scenic. Ciater Hot Springs Resort is popular with the natives - ram fighting, mosque music, swimming, horse riding and more. It's 2,500rp to get in and it's a good place to meet some locals, relax and have a bight to eat. As with most places we visited in Java, if you stand still for too long someone will ask to take your photograph.
Some general observations about Bandung: there are a lot of people just hanging around and alot of unemployment. Since the city is much bigger than Bogor and the towns of the Puncack area, the Moslem influence is not as obvious and women are treated more openly. The city does, however, have its fair share of problems and seems to be getting a bit like a smaller version of Jakarta. My advice is to base yourself on the outskirts and spend your time exploring the many sights the countryside around Bandung has to offer.
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND BANDUNG CITY AS AN ESPECIALLY INTERESTING DESTINATION, BUT WOULD RECOMMEND A COUPLE OF DAYS TO VISIT IT'S NEIGHBOURING NATURAL ATTRACTIONS
Bandung to Yogyakarta
You have many choices - bus, train or air. The bus takes forever, the train takes even longer but is more comfortable, and the plane takes about 45 minutes. Bouraq is the only airline that flies this sector, but it does fly most days at 6:30am (if the plane is working). The Bouraq office is at Jalan Cihampelas 27 and you can organise everything on the spot for about US$30 per ticket.
TIP:Get to the airport well before boarding time because they occasionally over-book the flight. It's strictly first-come, first-served for seat allocation whether you already have a ticket or not.
The aircraft is an old Vickers Viscount and it flies at only 14,000 feet. You get a great view of the surrounding countryside - no food but you do get a drink and some boiled lollies. The flight is an attraction itself and quite inexpensive, but I guess you do take a risk; the day we flew it took them three hours to repair the plane before it was ready for boarding (a common occurrence so we are told!)