Vacation in Bandung (Part 1)

Travelling by Silkair run by Singapore Airlines. Anywhere in Asia its always Silkair and there are only economy or business class seats.

Lunch at a Jap restaurant after checking into our flight. I used the receipt to enter Changi Millionaire draw. This year there is an additional Volvo car prize for people who spend more than $500 in one receipt.

National Day display in the center of the terminal.

Random vending machine outside the waiting lounge. You can buy stuff like cables and ear plugs but the random option is always fun. I tried it twice and got a pair of socks and an international adapter plug, 2 things I needed.

First dinner here in Bandung, we decided to eat at Restaurant Braga in the Braga district known for its cafes and music clubs. No live music here tonight but it didn't matter. We were here for this old almost historic place serving western and local dishes.

For dessert, old world charmers like cannoli, baked alaska and a special banana yoghurt cake. I've posted some new videos on youtube on my dinner here.

Check out the variety available, there is a whole bread counter I didn't take pictures of.

Driving along the streets of Bandung, the old style train still runs frequently, some locals still travel around by horse cart. The sides of the road are filled with food carts and warungs stack plates on their open windows to let patrons know what's on offer that day.

We headed southwest to the famous Kawah Putih Lake. The weather was nice and breezy, it took just a short walk into the nature reserve to see the green-yellow pools of water. It's really quite different, I've never seen anything like it before.

Glamping @ Tea Farm, if nobody told me I wouldn't have known it was a tea farm. The surrounding tents are for rent and the highlight truly has to be the Nasi Campur served in the wood ship in the middle of the plantation.

There are quite a few Strawberry Farms in Kawah Putih, as evidenced by the street vendors hawking all types of berry products and even soft toys. We stopped by one such farm to get some pre-packed fresh strawberries although they do offer picking by the pound for tourists. 

Lunched at this authentic bamboo thatch hut place.

Indonesian food in general is delicious and the presentation here is amazing. I would advise everyone to stay away from the sambal in Indonesia as it is hot! One bite and we were sweating from the chili fumes.

Just before heading back to Bandung town, stopped by a deer farm to feed those cute reindeers. When I turned around to head back to the bus, there were these tiny little black chickens hiding in the wood stock.

Surprise angklung performance in the evening when we arrived back in Bandung. First time watching an Indonesian traditional dance and I haven't heard one of these instruments since my school days.

Dinner at a hipster Chinese-Indonesian restaurant called Kampung something. Every dish was really good especially that sweet corn and egg drop soup. The restaurant even helped to wash the strawberries we bought and plate it up for dessert.

Souvenirs from Day 1 in Bandung Indonesia. Most were from the souvenir shop next door to the place we had dinner at. I got orange squash that seems to be the thing here, strawberry dodol and syrup as well as that cushion from Kawah Putih farms, some packets of green clay from the actual Kawah Putih Lake. The street vendors sell these ladies handbags in a pack of 10 so you can bring it home as souvenirs, I really like the batik print ones.

Guardian Pharmacy x Makeup haul

KFC for lunch and changed some Indonesian Rupiah ... fresh crisp notes.

Mini haul from Guardian Pharmacy coz of the sale offers, $5 cashback from $40 spend, free Spa Splash makeup remover from $50 spend on cosmetics, free Dettol soap bars from min $50 spend. I also entered a contest to win this black makeup luggage case & actually got it! I almost couldn't believe it. Hopefully all my makeup/skincare stuff can fit in. 

Couldn't be bothered to open the box and assemble it after collection as I am in the midst of packing up all my things. 

All I really bought was cosmetics and it was discounted by 10% to 20%. Except on the new brand Catrice, the prices are so low anyway there is no need for discounts.

Maybelline Pure Mineral Concealer  R.P $15.90 / S.P. $12.70

Catrice Mattifying Powder R.P. $7.90

Maybelline Clear Smooth All in One Pressed Powder R.P. $15.90 / S.P. $12.70

I purchased 5 items and got another 5 items for free!

Apricots...

I bought too much apricot jam and have been asked to use it up as there is no way I can finish eating all of it at breakfasts. So I checked the recipe books and my own memory for recipes, all I came up with is coronation chicken and I do not have spices for that.

So I made Sangria, Grilled Cheese sandwiches for lunch and baked Chicken with Salad for dinner, all using apricots.

The sangria used fruit emulsion as a base, you can add in chopped fruits if you want but I didn't. It's 3 whole apricots for emulsion and 3 whole apricots chopped up. 2 tablespoons lemon juice so the fruit doesn't go bad. 2 bottles of white wine and 2 cups of rose or elder flower liquor, I used cordial as there is enough liquor in the wine. Lastly, pour in 1 bottle of sparkling water for fizz.

This is a very popular grilled cheese sandwich combination - brie, apricots and bacon. You can drizzle on balsamic reduction that everyone is talking about, alternatively use Kecap Manis. I don't know if its the same thing but it sounds about there. It's just something sweet and sticky.

Baked apricot chicken that is similar to coronation chicken except without the spices and mayonnaise. Marinate the chicken in S&P as well as chili powder, then grill in a pan for a few minutes. Remove chicken and add in 1 cup of apricot, 1 cup of milk, 1 spoon of butter, chopped onions and fry until the onions are browned. Place chicken and gravy into the oven to bake for a few more minutes and its done.

This salad is made from what I had in the fridge, carrots and tomatoes. Make the dressing with olive oil, S&P, lemon juice, mustard and apricot preserves. If you have flavored salt around, you can use that instead and leave out the mustard.

Grocery Haul x Redmart

 

Another haul from Redmart because of the great sale values, foreign brands carried, free delivery and I won more Redmart vouchers from my previous purchases (thanks to Organic Valley Cheese and Dettol). That means I do not have to carry the items home from the supermarket myself. This time around I even managed to get $1 off for choosing a non-peak delivery time. 

Charmin disposable seat covers, for use in public toilets when I am travelling. 

Airwick freshmatic refills x2, 4-in-1 aerosols (odour eliminating, lemon scented) also x2, aroma gel stick ups that are patches you stick in your wardrobe/car/room. 

More Dettol shower gels coz I really liked the Gold range of glitter shower gels and the menthol ones are nice too, it leaves a cool tingling feeling.

Betty Crocker Star Wars fruit flavored snacks, it's gummies packed in individual serving size packets.

John West dressed crab in a can, never tried it before. Planning to put this on salads and toasts.

Schweppes blood orange in glass for myself to try before getting more and ginger ale 1.25L bottle.

And I got loads of beverages because my home has nothing except sports drinks left.

Vita Coco 1L coconut water x2

Snapple peach tea & pink lemonade

Florida's Natural 1.75L juices x3

Ribena sparkling original can 24 x 330ml

Ribena sparkling orange can 24 x 330ml

Some stuff for cooking meals: enoki mushrooms, garlic ginger paste, chaat masala. Then I got some stuff for tea-time: Meiji nata de coco yoghurt, 2 packs frozen youtiao (I've never seen these before).

Getting there by Trains

Getting to China by plane is really common. I was considering other options boat/cruise or even on land by car/train, I am not even going to contemplate bus. When I read this tripzilla article on how a bunch of girls managed to travel from Singapore to Europe over land in 7 weeks for S$3,000 (per person) I was simply amazed! There are more such adventures on blogs and travel sites.

Personally, I think I might make it if it were all luxury, maybe Oriental Express might consider planning one such journey from Singapore through China to Europe. For now, the luxury train Eastern-Oriental Express runs from Singapore to Bangkok Thailand over 3 days and the nearest departure dates are 14 Sept 2017 (usd $4,262) or 24 Sept 2017 (usd $6,250). 

 

Alternatively, you can get from Singapore to Bangkok via local trains that have at least 1 run a day. Travelling Gold Class on KTM ETS from Singapore to Bangkok will take 3 or 4 days and cost less than S$100, not including lodging and customs fees. Of course you will have to change trains and book overnight stays in a B&B on the way there. Or try and catch an overnight sleeper train (pic below). Firstly, you have to travel across the border from Singapore to JB Sentral by bus in order to catch a train to KL. The stations are KL to Penang to Padang Besar (border) to Bangkok.

From Bangkok you can take a train to Nong Khai station and onto Thanaleng Laos (1hr outside Vientiane Laos). This part of the journey will cost less than S$100, not including lodging and customs fees. Therafter, all land travel in Laos is by bus. You can travel to Luang Prabang by boat or bus for another S$50 or so, 10 to 12 hours. From Luang Prabang to Hanoi by bus for under S$100, not including lodging and customs fees. 

From Hanoi to Shanghai, you have to stopover at Nanning. So its 12 hours from Hanoi to Nanning for under S$100 and another 12 hours from Nanning to Shanghai for under S$200, prices do not include lodging or customs fees. The alternate route is Hanoi to Lao Cai - Hekou (border checkpoint) to Shanghai.

$650 for transportation

$250 fees and taxes

$350 for lodging

$350 for food

Total cost $1600

Total journey time is 8 or 9 days at least

Compare that to a direct flight from Singapore to Shanghai on Singapore Airlines economy class. The journey will take 5 hrs 20 mins, no stopovers, one-way and cost S$1,306 including taxes.

Getting a Ride...

Everyone has heard about how expensive cars cost in Singapore and the registration, road tax, COE just kills it. I was considering alternatives and the first thing I thought of was second hand cars. Not those sitting in the used car lots for years but rather those with a few years remaining on the COE. That way I can save money & effort to still get a pretty decent ride. Used cars are old enough so I won't cringe if I dent it and new enough to not worry about car servicing, although everyone warns you about that.

Looking at sgcarmart, I found a Chevrolet Aveo 5 with 3 months on the COE for just S$2,900. It was registered in 2007 so its 10 years old. Back then, the retail price would have been around $80,000 and COE $40,000, plus another $20,000 for registration, road tax etc. So this price is just ridiculous to me. For under $10,000 category, this was the only new-ish car I could find, all the other vehicles are kinda vintage-y. 

I am also really impartial to this Renault Kangoo, also made in 2007 and has about 4 months left on its COE. Selling for S$5,000. The original retail price of this car is around $60,000 plus another $60,000 for the other stuff. You can load a bunch of things into the back. For example, goods to sell or buy, groceries for your eatery or yourself, all your worldly possessions.

If you have more people to transport, the Mercedes Benz Sprinter seems fairly popular @ $17,000 with a year left on its COE. Sits 14 people including driver.

Getting into China

I've taken vacations in China before and never had to worry about it, it seems Singaporeans too require visas to enter China if planning to stay more than 15 days. Entry visas are also required for Hong Kong and Macao through a different application process. The visa application costs under $200 each and allow stays from 3 months (the most common) to 5 years.   

China doesn't recognize international driver licence and in addition to that, tourists are not allowed to drive vehicles. Foreigners with a valid residence visa (PR or Citizen) can apply for a China driving licence. If they already have a driver's licence in their home country, they just need to pass a theory test. As for right-hand drive or left-hand drive, it depends on the location you are in (state specific). 

To apply for PR in China you need to be directly related to a Chinese Resident/Citizen, make a minimum investment of USD $100,000 in China, have a job in China guaranteed by your company or have made an important contribution to the country. Previously, the temporary residence permit allowed over 60 year old retirees to purchase a landed home in China in order to get a residence permit. Not sure if that is still valid today.