Our first day in Bandung is over. Can’t believe it. We are so thankful to have Hidayah’s relatives who live in Bandung and who were kind enough to bring us a tour around their hometown! They arrived at the hotel just as we checked in and Today is all about food & shopping! Looking forward to visiting more places tomorrow though. :D
So our 4D3N adventure to Bandung began on the 6th January 2016. I couldn’t stop thanking Allah, Nurfatiin and Halaltrip for such an opportunity, really, a truly amazing, opportunity to visit wonderful Indonesia! :D
When we first arrived at the majestic, Noor hotel, we were in complete awe of the beauty of the exterior and the lobby.
They truly live up to their Islamic concept as stated on the website. We felt like we were in Istanbul as they were playing Arabic music and the interiors were very Mediterranean. The moment we checked in, they served us with Zam-zam water and dates.
As we entered our room, we were greeted with such a majestic sight, Masya’Allah, we felt like two princesses entering a chamber in some Islamic castle, found in Aladdin’s world. At the foot of the bed was a basket of telekung (prayer veil), sejadah (prayer mat), tasbih (prayer beads), a Quran and books of daily prayers. Masya’Allah, how convenient! After settling down and taking pictures of the room, we went for lunch with Hidayah’s relatives.
Meet the Kusumawijaya family! We are really thankful for their kind generosity! Thank goodness Raka and Haekal were having their school holidays, so they were the ones who brought us around Bandung! :D
We had our lunch at a restaurant named Sindang Reret. (RM. Sindang Reret, Jl. Surapati, Bandung.) We had hot piping rice with Ikan gurame goreng, Cumi bakar saus tiram, Gepuk goreng karuhun, Sop buntut, Sayur asem, Oseng kangkung and Mmm enak banget!
You have the choice of sitting cross-legged at the pondok and eating the traditional way or the modern way, or rather the western way, at tables and chairs. Truly an Indonesian style indeed.
After lunch we headed to Rumah Mode! The first factory outlet in Bandung according to Tante Visi. We shopped until dawn! We spent hours in there. MasyaAllah!
Shopping heaven in Bandung really. Hid’s male cousin Raka who drove us around had to wait in the car for quite some time. Poor thing. Guys always wait for girls when they shop. Hehe. Maaf Raka! ;) Anyway the shopping was worth it, as quality brands were sold at super cheap prices! I felt like a millionaire as I really spent like one. Hehe. Oh and we even bumped into Eeyore! :) How cute!
Next it was visiting Paris Van Java; another shopping paradise. Such a pretty mall! However, we didn’t shop there as the boutiques can be found in Singapore. You can find H&M, Topshop, Zara over there, and pretty much like a mini Orchard Road in Bandung. So we just admired the pretty light decorations hanging from the ceiling. Different aisles had different decorations! I took a video of the place instead of pictures though. Cause a video gets to capture the pretty sight better. :)
There are pretty hip and quaint cafes around Paris Van Java too! Check out this one.
We were hungry from all that walking again and so instead of patronizing the quaint cafes in Paris Van Java, Tante brought us to Ayam Goreng Suharti to let me try the authentic village chicken. It was Hid’s second time in 2 years since her last visit – and my first! It was indeed different. The chicken was more succulent and tender, and the crispy bits were indeed a good combination! Oh not to forget, you must eat it with the sambal! Oomph! Definitely better than finger licking good. ;)
Thought we were done with food? Nope!
Tante said the night was still young so asked Raka to bring us to a super interesting cafe called Tokyo Connection. It didn’t look like a Japanese cafe at all! It sold sushi, but we were looking for hot tea and desserts to end off our night so we had that instead. :) Such a quaint looking cafè from the outside but its interior was that of a mixture of chill diner with a mysterious, classy aura to it. More like a place you can have secret rendezvous at night. ;)
It was so cosy that we only left when they were closing. Well we arrived around 9 and they closed at 10:15. The cafe is so affordable! We only spent about 13 SGD for drinks and the Nutella ice cream pancake! #wortheveryrupiah Cafe hopping in Bandung will never burn a hole in your pocket! Hehe.
Right after that we returned back to our hotel. The bed is too pretty I just didn’t feel like messing it up.
Lol. Ok I better get some shut eye as it’s going to be a long day tomorrow! Visiting nature and seeing His beautiful creations next! :D
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