"Bandung - the nearest shopping heaven from KL" Top 5 Page for this destination Bandung by Arfah

Bandung - a city in West Java, Indonesia. Located in the central highlands...the city is known for its many universities, textile industry and many roadside cafes. Called Paris van Java (Paris of Java) by the Dutch, its high altitude location makes the weather pleasantly cool...owh well...not that cool...but i realized i didn't sweat a lot.

There're a wide selection of food in Bandung...factory outlets...shopping bazaar (Bandung Trade Centre)....it's truly a shopping heaven. Some of the famous and favourite places are the factory outlets around Jl. Riau (you'll find many here on the left and right side of the road). Some of my favourite at Jl. Riau are The Secret, Renaritti, Branded Outlet, The Heritage and The Summit. Another place where you'll find factory outlets is Jl. Dago. Here, some of which you should check out are Jet Set, Episode and Blossom. You will also find Terminal Tas...specializes in handbags here. There are also other factory outlets here. It's worth the walk from one outlet to another...coz they sell quite different products from one another (you'll notice the quality, brands and designs are different from one outlet to another). However, the best factory outlet in Bandung is definitely Rumah Mode. Here, you 'll find most up to date Indonesian clothes which I found very interesting and they also have a good range of decent clothes that are trendy and look very stylish...so, who says you can't look stylish when wearing something decent??? I realized that every of my trip to Bandung must be completed with a trip to Rumah Mode...be it a short one.

In one of my trips, I was introduced to Toko 3...honestly I'm not so sure where it's located...but definitely a bit far from the main town of Bandung. It's just another typical factory outlet...however it sells mainly jeans...which I found quite nice. I found a few Levi's which are similar to mine...but here they are sold with a far lower price. I believe it's imitations...but a real good one...even the material are of an exact quality. I might consider buying some in my next trip :)

I guess because of these Bandung is always visited by the people from Jakarta (especially on weekends or holidays) and of course the Malaysian...since it's just 2 hrs away by flight from Kuala Lumpur. The flight from Kuala Lumpur is quite cheap as well...it's around RM300 to n fro per person via Air Asia.

Ratu Crater

Other than shopping, visiting the famous Mt. Tangkuban Parahu n other nearby places such as Lembang...is also very worth it...if it so happen you're in Bandung for a few days. Along the way you get to see beautiful views of mountains around Bandung. I did this in one day...we left the hotel very early in the morning n we went straight to Tangkuban Parahu, then head to Sari Ater just to check out Bandung's hot springs resort...followed by a trail along the tea plantation... passed by flowers nurseries down the mountain...had lunch at Kg. Daun n finally went shopping to Jln. Cihampelas just before dinner. The only thing missing in the itinerary for that day was the visit to Bandung strawberries farm because it was raining...perhaps I'll do that on the next visit.

Asia Afrika Street

I found buildings in Bandung quite impressive, with unique architecture...be it old buildings from the Dutch time...or even new one...especially houses in the city. I would say ppl here really pay attention to design n architecture...blended in with the Indonesian style of landscape n garden...really nice.

The first visit I had to Bandung...I managed to crammed almost all the must do things in Bandung. I think I've been to all the hot shopping spots in Bandung: Jalan Riau, Jalan Dago, Jalan Cihampelas, Jln. Setiabudi, Cibaduyut (specializes in shoes) n not to forget the bazaar like place...Pasar Baru Bandung. If you're a big fan of printed cotton...Pasar Baru offers a wide selection of printed cotton with a very reasonable price. Something that cost RM50/USD14 per metre...here it's only around RM5/USD1.50...but of course cotton comes in many quality as well...depending on your budget and preference I'm sure you'll find something suitable here.

Each of these places got its own specialty. If you're looking for more branded stuff...for men, women n children...factory outlets would be best for you. Things sold at factory outlet also seemed to be more up to date than the one sold at Pasar Baru Bandung. If you're not a brand conscious person...you surely will enjoy Pasar Baru Bandung. At Pasar Baru you can find a lot of things such as batik, telekung (muslim women wear this for prayer), shoes, hand bags, luggage, clothes for men, women n children, bedlinen, textiles, carpets n also dry food such as the famous fried tempe. The best thing here...you can really bargain. However, it's always best to browse around first.

• Pros:Everything here is reasonable...
• Cons:Beggars n ppl selling don't know what following from behind....
• In a nutshell:I will definitely keep on going