During the June holidays, my family and I went on a trip to Jakarta and Bandung. We were all really excited as we were travelling together with our extended family members. So it was a big group of us. It was also to be Nuha's first flight.
Our flight was an evening flight so as soon as we touched down in Jakarta, we proceeded straight to the hotel for a rest.
The following day, we made our way to Bandung. On the way to Bandung, we stopped by Taman Safari. Taman Safari now is sooooooo much better than the last time I went (which was 5 years ago, I think). The kids (and the adults) enjoyed themselves so much. The animals will come really close to you. Some will wait by the window of your vehicle hoping that you will feed them. You can buy the food from the roadside stalls (you'll see them as you are nearing Taman Safari). The stalls sell carrots and some other vegetables. We did not buy any so we did not get to feed them. I am not sure whether Taman Safari allows us to feed the animals though I did not see any signs prohibiting one from doing so. I did see a few other people who fed the animals. If you ask me, I don't think one should be feeding the animals unless the Park itself sells the food for the animals' consumption.
I recommend making a trip to Taman Safari if you are travelling between Jakarta and Bandung. Your kids will really love this trip. Even the tigers and lions were up close. We had to stop our vehicle to allow a tiger to cross. But please remember NOT to open your windows especially when you are around the tigers and lions. We saw one person who actually opened his car door while at the tigers' area and another car actually honked at him to stop him. Thankfully nothing happened and he closed the door. I have no idea why he opened the door in the first place.
There is also like small area for children to play. There are rides and of course, pony rides and elephant rides. There is also a foodcourt where we stopped to have our lunch. While having our lunch, we saw the clouds descend. It was truly a beautiful sight! (I forgot to mention that Taman Safari is on high grounds). It started to get cold and drizzle.
After lunch, we made our way up to Puncak. I've been to Puncak a couple of times. 'Puncak' means 'peak' in English. So we literally travelled up to the peak. What you can do here is have a break, sit at one of the stalls and enjoy the Pisang Bakar with tea while taking in the beautiful view around you. However, this time round, we did not stop as it was raining. Instead, we made our way to Bandung. We made a couple of stops along the way for toilet breaks and prayers. For Muslims, there is actually a very big and beautiful mosque up in Puncak. I can't remember the name of it though.
Unfortunately for us, we got stuck in a very bad traffic jam (both Bandung's and Jakarta's traffic are really bad). A tip though, if you are driving to Puncak or Bandung, avoid the weekends. After 3p.m. is also bad coz of people returning from work. Due to the jam, we reached Bandung in the evening. Even so, we managed to visit 2 factory outlets. (Shopping in Bandung is a must!)
After that we checked into our hotel, Ibis Bandung Trans Studio. It is a new hotel. Nice, clean and awesome breakfast. It is located next to the Trans Studio which is a new theme park. We checked into the hotel around 10.30p.m. Everyone was tired and ready to sleep. So once we get into the room, everyone changed into their pyjamas. Ulfa started crying and Auni wanted to watch a little television so hubby and I decided maybe we could order some midnight snack. Hubby then went to boil some water. He felt a bit woozy and went to sit on the bed. We were all on the bed looking through the menu when we heard the knock on our door. When hubby checked, there was no one there. Then there was a second knock. This time round it was my brother and his family. He told us that there were tremors and people are evacuating the building. That explains why hubby felt woozy. He thought he was getting dizzy when in fact it was the building shaking. I didn't feel it coz I was on the bed. We just had time to grab whatever was important and go down to the lobby.
My proudest moment was looking at Auni, who took upon the role of the carer. Seeing that my sister-in-law was experiencing vertigo and nausea, she held on to my sis-in-law's hand and stayed with her throughout the wait. She kept on checking whether sis-in-law was alright and when the building was declared safe, she sent sis-in-law to her room and told her to have a good rest and that everything will be better the next day.
I must commend the staff of Ibis Bandung Trans Studio. They kept us updated on the situation and provided drinks to all who were at the lobby to calm our nerves.
When we returned to our rooms, hubby and my girls all fell asleep instantly (they were beat). I kept a bottle of water (half filled) next to me so that I could see if the building was shaking (Yes, I was paranoid!).
The next morning, we had a wonderful breakfast. We were torn between checking our Trans Studio Bandung and Tangkuban Perahu. We thought of letting the rest go to Tangkuban Perahu while hubby, the girls and I have fun at Trans Studio. However, Auni and Ulfa wanted to join their cousins who were going to Tangkuban Perahu so we didn't get a chance to explore Trans Studio Bandung. On the way to Tangkuban Perahu, we say a demonstration going on. Another interesting experience...
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| Demonstration in progress |
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| View on the way to Tangkuban Perahu |
We then went to Tangkuban Perahu, which is a volcano. It was truly a sight, except for street vendors who follow you everywhere you go, insisting that you buy whatever they were selling, at exorbitant prices. That kinda spoilt everything for me. I felt so claustrophobic cause these people were following us around and talking to us about whatever they were selling. I felt that I couldn't enjoy the scenery and I couldn't even bond with my family members cause these people were constantly interrupting us all the time. My advice is, you can skip this place, unless you do not mind the street vendors.
Thereafter, we returned to Bandung for more shopping before heading back to Jakarta. We left Bandung at around 7p.m. and only reached Jakarta at 1A.M.!!! Why you ask, we were stuck in a jam. Yes, traffic jam, at night, on the highway. This time round with the heavy vehicles. I supposed all the container trucks were out doing their deliveries at night. When we reached Jakarta, we got caught in a flood. Our bus did go through the flood. But some areas were too deep so we took a detour.
We spent the next 2 days in Jakarta. We did lots of shopping (I am so glad that I've got all GIRLS, and they love shopping too). We decided to give DUFAN a miss coz we were afraid the area could be flooded.
All in all, I thought our trip could have been better planned. I would love to go to Trans Studio Bandung. However, it was tough planning as we did not expect the traffic jam to be really bad. But I am glad for the experience (tremors and floods). I was able to see the side of Auni that I have not seen before. The experience I had there, was one that I will never forget.
