Money tips:
1. Change your Rupiah in Malaysia if you can.
2. If you are bringing US Dollars, make sure they are brand new, crisp clean and non-folded! Mint if possible. The Indonesians have this thing about quality of the dollar bills. Even a very mild fold will give you 20% less of the market rate. No kidding, I personally went through that. I had six US$100 bills which were flat and clean but the money changer ran his fingers through the notes several times and only 2 of them made the full rate!
3. US$100 = Rp.1,105,000 (based on market rates and high quality notes)
4. Credit Cards accepted there so hallelujah! There are ATM's throughout town.
5. Money changers there do not open on Weekends. Except the one at the airport.
6. Hotels give you sucky rates! Serious, US$100 = Rp.900,000 from Hotel.
Seriously, our airport in Langkawi is bigger than the Bandung Airport. Their arrival hall takes the cake. The plus point is that is located in the heart of the city. How about that! Takes only about 5 to 10 minutes to town by cab. Well, please be prepared for a wait when you depart from the plane as it may take a while to clear immigration.
They only have about 2 counters for the immigration. After you pass, you need to u-turn and get your bags scanned. From there, the same scanner used for your hand luggage is used for your check in luggage. Only one miserable conveyor belt which ends in a small little cramped place. So if you dilly dally around all excited about Bandung and stand far back, you will have to make your way through people standing around and dig through piles of bags.
Airport Tip: After passport/scan hand luggage, go wait at the end of the conveyor for your bag to come. Also a good trick is to check in your luggage in LCCT and ask them to label your bags 'Fragile' so it comes out first.
So, right after you get your luggage, you will be greeted by the taxi table guy which would probably be Pak Rudy. He will sell you taxi tickets to your hotel and usually priced about Rp35,000 (RM11.20). He will also ask you if you want to hire a van for daily use and will probably give you his number. His price is Rp.350,000 for a sedan (4 pax) 9am - 9pm and Rp.450,000 for a mini MPV (4-6 pax) per day. The bloody hotel offered a Rp.700,000 price for a van per day!
So, we settled for the mini MPV. Our driver was Pak Harun and he was totally amazing. He drives a cab full time when he is not driving for tourist. So, he knows the places pretty well. He is also super polite and soft spoken. Also always 30 minutes early for pick up from your hotel. They will send you to your destination and wait for you while you shop. When you are done, they will take you to your next destination. I really admire their waiting spirit.
Tour Van Info:
Pak Rudy (+62 085 6215 1705) - Boss
Pak Harun (+62 813 2224 2435) - Driver
Taxi Tips: If you choose to move around by Taxi, I would recommend you take only 2 taxi companies.
Bluebird or GR as these taxis use meters.
Other taxis like the picture above do not use meters so prices may vary from the initial price offered.
General Tips
Bandung is one hour behind Malaysia. So, it is actually good if you do not change the time on your watch. You will be waking up at 8am and rushing for breakfast and next thing you know, you woke up too early which is awesome. For me that is. Shopping closes at 9pm throughout Bandung.
Bandung is also relatively a safe area and the people are very nice and polite. Traffic is utter madness there on the weekends and if you are faint hearted, just keep your eyes off the traffic while being driven around. They literally inch their way next to your van. I personally think the traffic there is so much worst compared to us here so be thankful for our traffic and system. Oh, they just love tooting their horns every now and then.
I wanted to try the local beca, but apparently these two were too busy that time. Tons of them around town so if you are up to it, then give it a shot for a nearby ride.
The local Angkut bus service. A small mini van bus for the locals. Priced anywhere from Rp1,000 to Rp.3,000 depending on the distance. There must be thousands of them running around town.
Most of them are packed and occasionally you will see a local 'busker' at the door of the van singing away while strumming on his guitar for some spare change. They are just about everywhere in the traffic jams. Buskers, Beggers, Sellers of many kinds of things.
Bubble seller in town.
In sizes from Small to XXL.
Begging for change is a common sight too. Surprising enough, when a few of them approached me, I politely said no and they walked away. They do not harass you like they do here in Malaysia. Hmm...
Hotels are abundant there and some even offer extre extra services too. We just booked the 'Go Holiday Package' and stayed at the Arion Swiss-BelHotel in town. Very nice 3-Star Hotel. Large rooms and excellent service.
Friendly hotel staff too. They speak basic English too and are always smiling. Tips are up to you. I just gave the bell boy for carrying the bags up to the room. Rp.1,000 or Rp.2,000. Anyway, Rp.1,000 = RM0.32 cents. So, no biggie.
King size bed, 52 channels on TV, Room Service and the works! Spa available too with excellent service (no, not that type!) They offer room visit for massages as well. But you need to pre-book in advance. We tried the 3 hour full package at the spa. Priced at Rp.800,000 for two. Massage, Scrub and Sauna. Absolutely fantastic!
Me calling Pak Harun the driver.
The weather is pretty cooling compared to Malaysia but don't go bringing your Genting Jackets as the weather in the city is just nice. Averaging around 28 Celcius to 31 Celcius it is such a feeling compared to back home in Malaysia. A good pair of walking shoes as you WILL be walking a lot. Don't try too hard to be trendy and fashionable in your MNG and high heels. No one is going to look at you. They can understand our basic Malay but pay attention to the Indonesian Malay. Ibu = Maam and Pak = Mr.
Finally, I would advise to travel just before the weekend. Reason being, it gets so major jammed up on weekends everywhere. Money changers aren't open and tons of local tourist from Jakarta who come there. From Wed to Sat would be nice. Yes, you need about 3 nights minimum there if you plan a shopping frenzy. This excludes the sightseeing out of Bandung. You know, the Volcano and Tea Plantation....hehe. I didn't bother to go for those as it would take up half the day. Maybe my next next trip. Who knows.
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If you noticed, I did not post anything about Pasar Baru. Reason was that it had absolutely nothing for me. I passed by many times and my friends made a quick visit to only be disappointed. So, from what I saw, it was like a huge Mydin outlet in Masjid India. Lots of cheap souvenirs and Muslim headscarfs. With a few 'Bandung' t-shirts. Most probably, the Malay people would appreciate it better.
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