Grand Preanger Bandung

... different at the mall. Like everywhere . . . same stores . . . so I return to the hotel to check out and it is around 11:30. When I return I am told that the bus company has called. I really don't quite understand what is happening as they say that if I was leaving earlier the bus would be me up at the hotel but because I am leaving at 1pm I have to go to their office!!!! The hotel tells me they will drive me to the office and I ...

I started the day by visiting the tourist office. I really didn't get much information other than there is a tour that I can take for 500,000 and once I decide if I am going to take it, the fellow (the only one at the office) will write out the itinerary!!! It basically sounds like a rented car and driver and am told that the driver does not speak much english!!! I guess ...

... not quite in the same condition as the one in Ciberon but it is the best I could find at that price. Others that I checked out were in the 800,000 range or same price with no wifi. After checking in and getting my luggage at the other hotel it is close to 6 pm so I decide to have diner at the hotel and go back to the room and plan my stay at Bandung.

Learned about the earthquake on Sumatra via email from the US. We didn't feel a thing and the locals don't complain to their guests, I guess.

We;re off to Bandung today. Very slow day, waiting for our ride. The route takes us thru Puncak Pass, a resort area for the locals. Its elevation makes it refreshing, but the traffic is a horror. On weekends it is so bad that commercial transport, like our mini bus, has to bypas it and take a long way around.

... out of my freetime. It was nice to talk to the teenagers and feel like a rockstar. I think maybe a couple of less days would have been perfect as the ricefields and tea plantations weren't my cup of tea (sorry about the pun!). If it was proper volunteering, where they were in dire need of help, short staffed etc I would have been compelled to stay longer, but it seems like they have westerners visit often and have good facilities and teachers. Overall though a great time was had.

... That's all I pay." Meanwhile the passengers tried to convince me 30,000 was the price--********. I could get a bus to Jakarta for 30,000. I try to hand him 3000. He will not take it and says 30,000. I say, "OK, I pay you 2000 instead", leave it on the seat, and walk away. The point of this is not the money. It's about being treated like I was less than a man, that I was a walking ATM machine/mark to ...

Matka jatkui lempipaikasta Pangandaranista 23.paiva kohti Bandungia, joka on yks isoimpia kaupunkeja Jaavalla. Buukattiin minibussi sille matkalle koska saatiin joa tarpeeksemme paikallisbusseista ;) Matka kesti noin 6h ja maksoi 80 000rupiaa henkilo. Bandungin paassa meinas ja puhti loppua kun minibusi kierteli kortteleita ja kavi eri kulmilla heittamassa paketteja ja riisisakkeja jne. Lopulta meiat jatettiin juna-asemalle mista me lahettiin ettimaan Lonely Planetin ...

... weekends. I was lucky enough to be invited to stay at his parents place where we received hospitality like you could never imagine. From the time we arrived to the time we left his mother was constantly fussing over us, ensuring we always had a full cup of tea, a full plate of food, and enough snacks to keep us going all night. Even if we said we weren't hungry, she would still slip around behind you and when you weren't looking would slip a plate piled high with fried ...

... I'd be happy to serve the same food to guests at my house...it was really good... After eating, the kids whisked Callista away. As usual, she was quite the novelty. The kids had a blast playing together. Laughing, screaming, running around. Just like normal kids (but better behaved J ). And they are normal kids, but the thing that always hits me is that they are so happy. They are living a tough life, but it doesn't seem to faze them much. I'm not so na ...