1001 Reasons to Visit Bandung
Nuryahati Sailima, 24, of Selangor, Malaysia, did not mind at all that she had to wear a surgical mask for about an hour on an Air Asia flight that flew her from Kuala Lumpur to Bandung, the capital of West Java, last Friday.
The swine flu issue has prompted the Malaysian government to take precautionary steps by obliging its citizens to wear masks on plane trips. However, this did not hinder Nurhayati's determination to bring her two-year-old daughter and her mother to visit Bandung.
"I want to go to Pasar Baru to look for cheap textiles," said Nurhayati who spent three days in Bandung shopping and eating out.
Nurhayati was picked up by a tour guide from a local travel agent. Most Malaysians use the services of travel agents because they feel more secure.
I want to go to Pasar Baru to look for cheap textiles
Ahmad Zulkifli and his three friends, on the other hand, came to Bandung from Kuala Lumpur on their own. Zulkifli, 27, said that he had visited Bandung four times prior to this trip for the delicious food and shopping bargains.
"The textiles and garments here are equal to those in Singapore, while the prices are much lower," said Zulkifli.
Pasar Baru, lines of distros and factory outlets on Jl. Juanda (Dago), Jl. Martadinata (Riau) as well as Jl. Setiabudi are the main places where Malaysian tourists spend most of their money. Jeans outlets also attract these tourists and make them feel at home.
Air Asia started its flights to Bandung way back in 2004 and since then Malaysians have flooded the city. Zulkifli said that the Air Asia fare to Bandung was cheaper than to Jakarta.
Bandung in Zukifli's opinion is very attractive as the city is not too large and has many shady areas and colonial buildings. It is quite different from Jakarta, with its entertainment spots and modern malls, which still do not compare with those of Kuala Lumpur.
"I don't want to belittle Jakarta, but Bandung is quite unique. Here one can still find many friendly people to talk with," explained Zulkifli.
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Secondly, because tourism has never been of major concern to Bandung , facilities and infrastructure is somewhat visitor unfriendly. There is no effective and comprehensible public transport except for the road raging angkots (minivans). In addition, side walks are a pain and parks are a rarity. Indeed, the Kota Kembang (flower city) or Parijs van Java (Paris of Java) nicknames rarely invoke a sense of pride, but more often a smirk from Bandung inhabitants.
Most of the branded shoes might not be the real thing even though, many still are of good quality and it is hard to tell if it concerns the real thing or not. Other than that most shoes are Indonesian brands, again of good enough quality and economically priced.
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