Review: Hotel Caryota, Bandung

Hi there,

Here's another entry for my hotel review series. From Phuket Thailand lets move to Bandung Indonesia. Well, as i said earlier.. i'm not a fussy guest. As long as i can get a clean and comfy room, that's more than enough for me. Basically, you can put me into 5 stars hotel to any budget hotel. I won't complaint much as long as i can have a good sleep and nice hot bath! 


Note: definitely i'm not qualified to give star rating since i'll be more than generous to give any hotel that meets my expectation a good rating :p -- that's why i'm trying very hard to be more straightforward and linear in my reviews :)

hotel facade.. the signage

Location:  at Sukajadi district (same road as Paris Van Java Mall). Intersection to Setiabudi and Cihampelas can be reached by walking. There are bank (CIMB Niaga), spa (ZEN), factory outlet and restaurants nearby (Pak Chi Met, D’Cost Seafood etc)

Price: around IDR300k per nite - Deluxe room

 small room but comfortable enough

Room condition: Small room, overall the room & bathroom are clean, TV, Hot shower, Air-conditioner. Try to avoid the room facing the main road if u doesn’t want to get early wake up call.

 simple and clean bathroom

Facilities: great room service (the foods are tasteful and the price are not bad either), cheap laundry, they even helped me to iron my shirt (instead of sending the iron to my room), wake up call available (wake up call from the receptionist. not from the sound of the busy road :p)

 fried rice and hot tea - my selection for breakfast

Breakfast: Simple and limited menu. But hey, breakfast will be sent directly to your room! How nice is that? ;)

Extra: Caryota is just a basic hotel but the hospitality and the service are great. Whilst in Bandung all I wanted is just a nice place to rest after a long day of sightseeing and shopping, I guess I’ve made the right choice by staying at this hotel :)

That's all for now. Have a good day!

p/s: I hope my reviews can be useful to those in need of information. Since i'm an organized traveler, i always search for personal reviews beforehand (hence, i'm writing my review in english.. it will be easier for my readers from other countries. if adelaa kan :p) Reading other people reviews helped me to organize my trip better. Believe me, it does help a lot! So right now i'm doing the same favor. Jadinye saye bukan saje syok sendiri nak tempel2 review ala2 pengritik pulak.. hehe. Just sharing some info ngan uols. For full review of my previous trip, please check the labels on the right side of this blog. TQ :)

Regards,

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Jakarta & Bandung Trip - Part 2

Hello everybody,

Hope you guys are having great weekend. Mine is not bad either. hehehe. So, lets continue with my trip review :)

-- This gonna be a long post, so please bear with me okay ;p

Day 3:

We started our day quite early since we were heading to Mount Tangkuban Parahu for sightseeing session. Our driver (aka supir) waited patiently for us at the lobby since 7.30AM (almaklumlaa.. lima anak dara -- opss, empat anak dara dan sorang mak dara nak bersiap. surelaa makan mase. lagipun we ols amik family room. so kena pandai2 share bathroom tue). As usual, i loved to enjoy the views and taking pictures along the way up to the volcanic mountain :)

 fresh air.... the clear blue skies gave plus point to the view :)

 tea plantation

The journey from our hotel to Tangkuban Parahu took about 1 hour drive (depending on the traffic). That was my first time visiting Lembang area since i only went to White Crater (Kawah Putih) for sightseeing during my trip last year. So this is definitely a new experience for me. Overall i prefer White Crater eventhough the journey are much longer (it took me about 3 hours). 

Why? First - i can go straightly to the crater without needing to do some trekking (u need to go through about 2 hours trekking in order to reach the safest crater at Tangkuban Parahu which is Ratu Crater - Plus, u even need to pay for the tour guide. Well, i don't have much time for that since shopping was the main priority :p So i just enjoy the view from the upper part of the mountain). Second - there were no people bugging me to buy their stuffs throughout my visit (i can enjoy the view without having people bothering me at White Crater. Unlike at Tangkuban Parahu... I even don't have the guts to say NO to them! huh... unlucky me). Third - i don't have to regret buying souvenirs at higher price. Beware of this, usually sellers at Tangkuban Parahu will set the price more than double or triple of the price u can actually get. So if you really insist to buy the stuffs there, bargain as much as u want. For example - at first i was offered 1 packet of fridge magnet (consist of 2 pieces) for Rp100k (which the price was really absurd.. so i ask Rp100k for 3 packets). Actually u can get 5 packets for Rp100k! (if you are smart and persistent enough, you might save more). I felt like banging my head to the wall when i found out that i do not bargain enough for the souvenirs. Lesson learnt! Perhaps that was the first and the last trip to Tangkuban Parahu for me (or perhaps.. i should not look at the stuffs next time :p).

at 1830meter above sea level

Mount Tangkuban Parahu -- the crater

There was nothing much interesting there except the scenery (perhaps i should explore more but i was too busy looking for souvenirs -- haha.. served me right!). We only spent about two hours there then we headed to Kampung Daun for lunch. We really fell in love with the calm atmosphere there. Having our meal in a beautiful hut beside a small stream was really peaceful. We ate like there was no tomorrow! We don't even bother about the time. We really had a splendid evening there. The foods was great.. and of course, the ambiance really added to the point (the price we paid was incomparable to any fine dining here. all in all, really worth it!)

 beautiful view :)

our lunch at Kampung Daun.. yummy!

Eventhough we were bloated to the max, surprisingly there was energy left for shopping! hahaha. So there goes the time when we were terrorizing factory outlets at Setiabudi road. Of course we went to the famous Rumah Mode first! Then we went to Fashion World (replacing Natural -- my fav FO during last year trip. Well, 3 of us bought same ZARA jacket there. hahaha. dah macam kembar siam. selamat x lima2 beli yang same), Donatello and others.

 at Fashion World entrance

After splurging our money at Setiabudi, we moved to Dago area. That was really challenging scenario since we have more factory outlets to explore and yet we don't have enough money to spend :(

We walked in Central Fashion, Grande, Jetset and Blossom (we have to restricted ourselves to these 4 F.O only.. can't imagine if we explored more. huhuhu. more FO means more money to spend!). Like the days before, we shopped till the end of the operation hour! hahaha. Shopping is like therapy. You won't feel hungry or tired when there's a lot to catch :p

But still, we headed to Dago Pakar hillside to have our dinner. This time i chose The Valley Restaurant for us (offered wide range of western cuisines.. and of course, lots of good looking waiter ready to serves you. sumenye pun ganteng bangat! kenyang perut dan bersih mata kami mlm itu :p) The foods was great and the ambiance was really nice. We had very interesting conversation there and were laughing like nobody's business. We went back with happy heart, full stomach, itchy foots and empty wallet! hahaha =}

 my Chicken Cordon Bleu

our catch of the day -- note that the number of our shopping bags gradually decreased (just like the money in our wallets! hahaha)

Day 4:

We started our day with some shopping at Kartika Sari (a bakery shop). We bought lots of brownies to bring back home and continued our bargain hunting at Pasar Baru! Can u believe it? hahaha. We returned there for final shopping on textile. We even bought 4 bags  for our luggage (big sizes! -- since we only came with backpacks. hihihi). We then checked out of the hotel and headed to Riau road. We went to Summit, Heritage and Cascade for our last F.O visit. 

went to Pak Chi Met for lunch.. very nice Sundanese food :)

Since we were already exhausted, we decided to pamper ourselves at the spa before we went back to Jakarta. I did foot reflexology and ear candling since we don't have much time. Otherwise, i'll definitely opt for full body massage! (super duper cheap... irresistible okeh!)

Mariaty's Spa facade

inside the spa (it's an art gallery too. you can buy the stuffs there if you are interested)

ear candling session

After some retreat at the spa, we then had our dinner at Grande's Cafe. We said bye2 to Bandung and left for Jakarta around 10PM. We were sent to Jakarta by Zafira's Car. At Jakarta, we chose a hotel near the airport for our convenience. The hotel also provide free airport shuttle so we wont be rushing and having headache thinking about transportation on our last day. We reached Jakarta at midnight.. so basically after we cleaned ourselves we dozed off and slept like a log! :p

Day 5:

After breakfast we re-packed our stuffs and ready to go back. We almost fainted looking at the total luggage. Never thought that all of us are shopaholics! (but of course, my sis is champion among all :p) hahaha... Nevertheless, this trip definitely was fun & meaningful to all of us :)

There goes my story... looking forward for next trip! Well, for family day perhaps. hehehe (^__^)

p/s: we were shocked to find out that Randy aka Galang (the actor of sinetron Cinta Kirana) was at Bandung the day we left for Jakarta. We even passed by the mall he did a gig on the next morning during our way back to Jakarta. If we knew it earlier, we might decided to stay! *sigh* hahaha. Galang oohh Galang :p

Till then.

Regards,

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Jakarta & Bandung Trip - Part 1

Hi there, as i promised.. here's the update of my Indonesia Trip (eceh, macamlaa ade org request xpun nak bace kan.. hihihi). I bought AA's Zero Fares tix last year. Total price of my return tix = MYR75 including 30kg luggage on the way back! Super duper cheap right? hehehe (okay, nmpk sgt saye tamak sampai beli maximum luggage kan.. haha :p) According to the initial plan, there were suppose to be 8 of us in this trip. But 3 of my BFF had last min changes in their plan. So, there were 5 pax left. 

Day 1:

3 of us had morning flight while the other 2 had evening flight. Me, neesa and fiza took Skybus from KL Sentral to LCCT @ 7.30AM. Since we already did self-check in through AA's website,  we don't bother much about the time. Our flight was a little bit late since the air traffic was busy that morning. We arrived at Soekarno Hatta Airport before noon and waited at the airport till my sis and nida arrived (actually we can meet up at the mall or hotel later but we were not keen to left them at the airport and go shopping while waiting for them.  prior to that we planned to shop first at Tanah Abang then go back to the airport but that can be tedious since we heard the traffic at central Jakarta always congested. we do not dare to predict the traffic flows so we decided to wait) 

Overall, we enjoyed our 5 days trip to the max! It was my first  all-girls oversea trip -- definitely gonna be the sweetest memory for me (sampaikan rasa nak je extend sampai next week nyer.. x puas shopping.. haha) 

evening at Jakarta -- MONAS (Monumen Nasional)

Our lunch @ the airport -- Koufu Food Court

Upon arrival, we took chartered MPV at the airport and went to Gambir train station to buy our tickets to Bandung next morning. The driver was very kind and he even followed us wherever we go since he afraid that we might get lost. Thank you so much Pak Bambang! We'll definitely hire you again if we ever been in Jakarta. We checked in at Mangga 2 area but unfortunately Mangga 2 closed before 7PM. How i wish Mangga 2 and Tanah Abang open till midnight! We spent our first day strolling at Mangga 2 Square. Did some shopping (where i bought tonnes of DVD.. hehe) and get enough rest to continue our journey the next day.

Day 2:

Had our breakfast and then headed to Gambir (we took cabs.. but later found out that using chartered van aka Cipaganti is much cheaper). The executive coach was comfortable enough and the view along the way was breathtaking. The train passed through few villages and moved between hills.

nice scenery. one of the villages

 can u tell the height of the railways? (gayat wesss)

the view -- before you reach Bandung. rasa macam tgh main farmville je :p

3 hours journey by train was really worth it! Alhamdulillah, the weather was great throughout our trip (till our last day). Anyway, we were greeted by Zafira Car driver at the Bandung station (i booked their MPV for 3 days. Did the booking a day prior to the trip without any deposit! Million thanks to Pak Tarmidzi -- Zafira's owner -- for his attentiveness and hospitality)

Our first destination was Pasar Baru (i'm not sure how many million rupiah we spent there.. definitely rambang mata!) I bought materials for my wedding dress there (for solemnization to be exact - since i'm done with reception attires). I even bought the materials for my family members and my girls! Bought few kebaya and kurung for my business too. Sangat2 puas hati! (kalau shopping kat KL brape ribu laa gamaknye habis kan.. huhu)

Definitely a shopping heaven -- esp for textile! Lace, chiffon, jacquard, silk, cotton.. u name it.. everything is under one roof

 Nice combination :)

you can find pre-made dress too. just bargain as much as you can 

We had our late lunch at Pasar Baru food court. Enjoyed jus alpukat (must try!) and nasi timbel so much (around 5PM baru cari foods kot.. punyelaa semangat berkobar2 tuk shopping, sampai lupe nak makan. bile dah ketaq lutut baru terkial2 cari tempat makan. hahaha)

We continued our shopping spree at Pasar Baru till the end of its operation hours (haha.. how bad is that?) Then we headed to Toko Tiga (shopped for some Tees and for the guys) & Secret factory outlet at Riau.

That's me contemplating whether i should buy that black dress or not. I've picked black Zara dress before i reached that section. At the end, i bought 2 black dresses and black pants (mmg lady in black sungguh :p)

Again, at Secret we shopped till late hours. We only stopped when we felt hungry. hehehe. Then we headed to Riung Sari Restaurant for dinner. I ordered chicken satay.. just to taste the difference between Malaysian satay.. definitely was too tired to digest some rice.. that's why i ordered simple meal :p

 Indonesian satay (to be precise -- Bandung satay)

So, there goes our first day of shopping spree. I think i spent 2/3 of my money on the first day. Continued with CC on the following days (yes! most of us tend to overspent here. so jage2laa ye.. hehe.. tobat... tobat)

Checked in at the hotel with tonnes of luggage!

First day at Bandung turned out to be really tiring but awesome! We shopped till we dropped. Memang kering segala fulus yang ada. hihihi. Will continue with Day 3-5 reviews on the next post okay!

Till then.

Regards,

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Bandung Trip Part 2

Hi there,

Well.. this is just a delayed post

Enjoy the pics ya :)






on the way to Kawah Putih - among the scenery u will get to see :)


the famous White Crater (Kawah Putih). it was raining when i arrived (didn't manage to get the clear bluish water scenery)


some pics on Kawah Putih.. (not satisfied with my pics.. should visit again i guess.. huhuhu :p)


nice isn't it? very alluring.. really wanted to touch the water but didn't dare enough


the crater.. don't stay there for too long as the sulfur odor is quite strong... unless u want to experience itchy nose and throat :D



Fire scene - at Cibaduyut area.. that was on my way back from Kawah Putih.


inside Paris Van Java Mall


nice decoration. i love butterflies!! :)


Cihampelas Walk aka CiWalk entrance


CiWalk Main Building


Cascade (one of the Factory Outlets) - the building attached to Heritage FO.


my dinner set at Sierra Restaurant (at Dago Pakar)


Sierra's ambiance (outside area.. facing the city)


Karmila Hotel - where i stayed for 2 days


Breakfast at Caryota Hotel (they serve breakfast to your room.. that's nice right?)


the well-known Teh Botol (purposely ordered normal Ice Tea.. just to compare the taste)

To those yang bakal visit Bandung (especially for the first timer).. have fun searching for info ya... if ade sebarang pertanyaan.. feel free to ask (^_^)

Regards,
PP

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Bandung Trip

Hi there,

Today I’m gonna share some details of my previous trip to Bandung, Indonesia (went there few months back actually.. it's a lame story :p). Well, I’m planning another visit to Indonesia this year (will cover Jakarta and Bandung in 5 days trip). Really can’t wait for it since my sisters and friends will tag along. Definitely a SHOPPING TRIP for us! Awesome!! :)

Okay, back to the story. Here we go…

First list --- The Do’s

- Make some survey before your trip especially if you are an organized traveler like me. I don’t like last minute plan especially when I’m going to the place I’m not used to.
- Exchange enough money beforehand (bring your credit card – in case of emergency. Most people will overspent in Bandung, that is when your credit card became your savior :p)
- Check the weather (bringing an umbrella or raincoat might be handy while traveling during rainy season; as for Bandung, the season starts on October till January I think)
- Please prepare airport tax as it is not included in your return flight ticket (u need to pay during your departure – cost IDR75k per pax).
- Prepare small changes if u intend to use local transport aka Angkutan Kota (Angkot). You should ask the locals for the routes. If you want to take a cab, pick the ones that use meter (Blue Bird & Gemah Ripah – if they don’t want to use it, force them to… or otherwise, make a good bargain.. or at least, a reasonable one. hehehe).



Accommodation – Hotel rates are slightly the same with Malaysian rate. For about MYR80-120 you can get a nice budget hotel (not very posh style, but at least you can get a clean room and nice place to rest). After all, u will spend most of your time touring the town. Why should you spend much on the accommodation? If u are not picky person, 1-2 stars hotel or even ‘Melati’ hotel will cater your needs. I stayed at Caryota Hotel at Jl. Sukajadi and Karmila Hotel at Jl. Ir. Juanda (Dago) during my last trip. The hotels are clean and comfortable, but I prefer Caryota more as the area is not very congested (you should ask the room that not facing the main road, otherwise, you’ll get wake up call on 5 a.m every morning). Location wise, Karmila is better as Factory Outlets (FOs), restaurants (about 100m from KFC) and shopping malls are stone away from the hotel. I must say their service is good, they will assist you in any way they could. You’ll get free wifi at Caryota’s lobby. As for Karmila, I’m not sure whether they have wifi or not, need to ask the reception if you intend to use it.



F&B – I went for dinner at Sierra Restaurant on Dago Pakar hill upon arrival. Nice ambient, cool weather (should bring a jacket or cardigan as it might be chilly at night). There are few other famous restaurants around that area that u should try like Dakken, The View, The Valley and Lisung Restaurant. In terms of local delicacies, the foods are tasteful but usually they have small portion of chicken, so u might want to opt for fish instead as they serve big fishes. Some of the restaurants are Pak Chi Met (there are few branches, but I went to the one at Jl. Sukajadi, opposite Sukajadi Hotel), Bumbu Desa (inside Rumah Mode area), Cabe Rawit (behind Grande factory outlet), Dapur Sangkuriang (near Rumah Mode) and of course the famous Kampung Daun. Don’t worry… Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds, Starbucks, JCo and some other fast food chains are everywhere. Food stalls are abundant too (if you don’t have sensitive stomach, you should try some of it. i.e Ice cream durian, bakso or pisang keju).





Shopping – some of the places that I think worth a visit

Pasar Baru: Heaven for textile! I love their laces, Japanese cotton and kebaya sulam



Toko Tiga: Levi’s jeans at lower price and shirts! :)
Factory Outlets: there are three main areas for FOs. My personal pick are Rumah Mode & Natural (Jl. Setiabudhi). The Heritage, Cascade, ForMen & Branded Club at Riau (Jl. Martadinata). Grande, Jetset & Blossom at Dago (Jl. Ir. Juanda). Not all goods are genuine, so you better check carefully before making any purchase. Well, I just grab anything that I loved. You get what you pay right!



If you want genuine branded handbags at very cheap price, I don’t think you will get it in Bandung. I even looked for grade AAA imitation handbags as someone ordered it but my search end to no avail. Maybe they are out of stock at that time. Who knows…

Sight seeing – Usually tourists will go to the North part (Lembang) to visit Tangkuban Perahu (active volcano) but I want to try something new and went to the South part (Ciwidey) instead. Ride to Lembang took only 45 mins – 1 hour (using highway) but it took around 2 ½ - 3 hours to Ciwidey. The ride was a little bit tiring but the view along the way was very interesting. The most famous spot at Ciwidey must be the Kawah Putih (White Crater). The scenery was breathtaking! If you have more time, a short trip to Situ Patenggan (Lake) and Ranca Bali (tea plantation area) would be worthwhile.

Extra tips

– If you intend to use your local bankcard make sure u call the customer service before you fly and ask them to turn on your bankcard's overseas flag. I think bankcard with PLUS and VISA logo are accepted there.
– Try to travel during weekdays to avoid heavy traffic (pronounced as macet by Indonesian)
– Get a free map at the Tourist Centre. It will be very useful for your trip
– Don’t forget to try the spa (recommended – Roger’s Spa & Vintage Chic Spa)
– Must buy souvenir (ole-ole) from Bandung = Kartika Sari & Amanda’s brownies. Their chocolate chip brownies are superb!!
– Use local mobile number instead of roaming (roaming will cost u a bomb!). Better get local simcard – as for this case, I choose Simpati network. Use text rather than making phone call, it will saves u a lot! (but if you are there for 1-2 days, I think it is okay if you stick to your own number)
– If you want to change your money, I suggest you go to Golden Money Changer as they provide the best rates (I went to the branch near Pasar Baru and spotted another one along Dago area)




Well, i think that's all for now. Will post more photos later.

Till then.

Regards,
PP

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