We met at T1 at 7.30am and as usual Luxiang was late. He was not late by few minutes but half an hour late. We checked in first since his boarding pass is under a separate airticket. The queue for the self check in counter was short compared to the normal check in counter. Even though admin fee is no longer implemented for counter check in, I would still prefer web check in to save the queuing time.
After waiting for Luxiang to check in, we cleared the immigration and went into the departure transit lounge. While the rest are browsing at the duty free shops, my sis and I went to the washroom. I knew that T1 is undergoing upgrading and the toilet is not spared too. This is one of the most beautiful toilet which I have stepped into.
I don't feel that I'm stepping into the washroom
View of the parking bay from the washroom
Our flight departed on time and reached Bandung 1hr 50min later. Bandung is 1hr time zone later than Singapore hence we saved 1hr of travelling time in Bandung.
Husein Sastranegara International Airport
No aerobridge at the airport
Waiting for this flight to cross the tarmac
There are only 3 immigration counters and 2 are for foreigners. It took us almost 45min to clear the immigration even though we are the first 20 at the queue. The baggage are already waiting for us at the baggage carousel. We collected our luggage and exited the arrival hall.
There are not many people waiting outside the arrival hall and I couldnt find anyone holding a cardboard with my name. I called Pak Tam and he told me that the driver will be reaching soon and hang up my call before I could ask him further. We waited for almost 20min before our driver reach the airport. It turn out that our driver couldnt communicate in English with us, what a big turn off! I have specifically requested for English speaking driver in the email and Pak Tam assured me that the driver could speak English. I have printed out the itinerary so I use this to instruct the driver where we wanted to go.
We have authentic Sudanese food at Bumbu Desa. Address: Jl Laswi No. 1, Jl Pasirkaliki No. 160 and Rumah Mode Jl Dr. Setiabudhi No. 4. Opening hours: Mon – Sun: 10am – 10pm (last order: 9:30pm), closed on public holidays. I'm not sure which branch the driver brought us to but it's definitely not the rumah mode branch.
There is a choice of sitting at the tables or on the floor inside the huts. The food is ordered by choosing from the food displayed and it will be cooked or heated up. I ordered avocado juice as it is a must try and it's cheap. The avocado itself itself is tasteless and chocolate syrup is added into the juice to make it sweet. The food are so-so only, the tastiest food is the potato and beans patty. The chicken don't have much meat and we joked that because it's kampong chicken. Just once for the experience is enough.
A wide choice of dishes
Choice of seating
Avocado juice
Appetiser
Dishes we selected
After our lunch, we head to the first factory outlet (FO) - Rumah Mode (Jl Setiabudi 41F). Our driver parked at Mode Plus FO which is just beside Rumah Mode as parking is chargeable in Rumah Mode.
Signature statue of Rumah Mode
Rumah Mode is pack with people at every corner. It is segregated into woman, man and kids section, fitting rooms are easily available. We spent about an hour in Rumah Mode and I bought a T-shirt, a sport top and a pair of pajamas for IDR244,700 ~ S$34.
There are cafes in the vicinity of Rumah Mode. I like the concept of Bandung's factory outlet. Guys can wait at the cafe and have a cup of coffee while the ladies are busy shopping. Ladies can also take a rest after shopping.
After shopping at Rumah Mode, we walked to Mode Plus and Fashion World (Jl Setiabudi 43) which are located next door. The variety of clothes here are is not as fashionable as the ones at Rumah Mode, this explains why there is no crowd here. I only bought a dress from Fashion World.
Big billboard of the factory outlet
Pinkish factory outlet
Do you feel that you are stepping into a factory outlet?
As it's almost 2pm, we went to the hotel and check in. The check in process was quite slow as it took us almost 30min to check in although there was no queue at all. We were assigned 2 non-smoking rooms and a smoking room even though I have requested for non smoking room when booking the rooms. I requested for a change of room and the receptionist replied that all the room are fully booked. =( Luxiang and hubby took the smoking room and it turns out that there is no cigarettes smell inside the room. My sis and I took the executive twin bed room as ours was upgraded from a deluxe room. =p
Hotel's lobby
Executive room
View of the surrounding
After settling down, we went out again. Luxiang stayed in the hotel as he was tired. We went to Diaz (Jl Sederhana 9) which sells mainly bags and shoes. I would advise to skip this as all the bags are counterfeit goods. We left Diaz FO shortly and head for Jalan Dago.
Diaz factory outlet
Pasupati bridge
Teenagers playing soccer under the bridge
Transvesite
Sugarcane on the move
We wanted to start shopping at the Secret FO but parking was full. Hence the driver dropped us at The Summit FO (Jl Riau 61). We spend about 1/2hr here and it started to rain. We waited at the cafe while hubby continued to shop. Hubby really went crazy over the clothes when shopping in Bandung.
Summit FO
We went back to hotel to pick Luxiang for dinner as all of us are hungry. It took us about an hour to reach the hotel due to heavy traffic jam. While waiting for Luxiang to come down, we asked the hotel's receptionist to translate for us to inform the driver that we wanted to visit the supermarket after our massage. Then it took us another half an hour to reach Pak Chet Mek (157 Jl Sukajadi, opposite Hotel Sukajadi).
Pak Chit Mat restaurant
Nice cascading water at the entrance
Interior of Pak Chit Mat
Where is Nemo?
We ordered the Paket Ulam Ikan set which comes with a grilled fish, grilled prawn, grilled squid, rice and either bottle tea or mineral water. We chose mineral water as there is complimentary tea served. For the choice of fish, we choose black pomfret (bawal) and have it BBQ. The set cost IDR65,450 ~ S$9 after taxes. Bloggers who have patronise Pak Chet Mek do not encourage ordering their chicken as they are tiny.
Set meal
Choice of fish
Paket Ulam Ikan set
Variety of sauces & chilies
After our dinner, we crossed the street to Zen reflexology for massage. Add: Jl Sukajadi 182 and opening hours: 10am - 11pm. The slot for body massage is full hence we settled for leg massage. Some of us wanted the Foot Reflex Theraphy but no slot is available. All of us had 90min of indulgence foot relaxing for IDR65,000 ~ S$9.
Massage pricing and I like their slogan!
Booking our massage
Spices and aromatherapy oil
Like the sound of the water from this bamboo display
We were asked to remove our shoes and slippers were provided. Then each of us is given a key with number which is used to identify the masseur assigned to us. When our masseur called our number, we went in with them to a dimly lighted room. The first level is for leg massage and the second level is for body massage. The masseurs washed and scrub our legs first. Then we were guided to the massage chair where we have our legs massage. There is a TV set and headset at each massage chair. I turned off the TV after watching for less than 5min as the massage is so comfortable that I fall asleep. A hot stone beanbag pillow was place on the neck which is to improve the blood circulation. The beanbag can be shifted if it's too hot on the neck. However my peace was soon interrupted as there is a man beside me who snore like nobody's business. Hubby was very pissed off and he tried to shake this man but no avail. I like the fact the the masseur will use warm towel to clean away the aromatherapy oil on my hands and legs as I dislike the sticky feeling after massage. The masseur will served a cup of ginger tea at the end of the massage.
The leg massage is very special as the masseur use hot stone to rub our lower leg and spray a type of spice water which makes it SHIOK!
Waiting for our masseur
Nice basin deco
A nice painting in the toilet
By the time we finished our leg massage, it's already 10pm and the supermarket has already closed. We booked for body massage tomorrow before returning back to the hotel.
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