Finally...Our Bandung Trip...

It was a long delay in writing about our Bandung Trip (excitement pun dah kurang) as I kept on forgetting to transfer the picchas in the PC. Tak syoklah kalau takde photos! Anyway, this is what happened during the whole trip...Please ignore the date at the photos...it's hay-wired!

Thursday, 27th July 2006
We arrived at LCCT at around 6.30 a.m. It was my first trip to LCCT and to my suprise it is quite a distance from our KLIA (though they share the same runaway). Our flight should supposedly depart at 7.45 a.m (notice i use the word 'supposedly'?). Ashraff was wide awake and excited by then. Ibu had this mixed feeling - happy sebab dapat jalan2 ngan Ashraff and nervous sebab nak bawak Ashraff naik plane for the first time.

We were also a bit anxious on whether we will incur excess baggage’s charge as Bibik's stuffs were A LOT, i tell you...Let me see, she's checking-in 5 big and heavy bags and hand-carrying 1 sling bag and 2 paper bags. It was a handful! Alhamdulillah, tak excess baggage. It helped to check-in as a group.

In the departure hall, we got to queue at the so-called ‘VIP’ line as we are flying with an infant. This will give us the advantage to choose the best seat in the flight. Dapat tepi tingkap lagi syok. Tiba-tiba, the AirAsia’s staff stopped and asked me whether I am pregnant or not and if yes, whether I have filled out a form at the check-in counter. Huh?! Takde pun. The staff at the counter noticed I’m preggy but did not ask me for anything (except for my passport). So, the whole family has to wait in line while I have to fill up a certain form. By the time I finished filling up the form, the ‘non-VIP’ line dah takde orang dah, maknanya semua dah board the plane. Damn! There goes the opportunity for us to be able to seat together!

Just as expected, memang kitaorang terpaksa duduk berjauhan dalam plane tu. Mak and Abah was far at the back, Ashraff was seated next to me, while Bibik was just across the aisle from us. To make matters worse, there was a one-hour delay in take-off, for only God (and the pilot) knows why. Imagine a toddler being strapped at his seat for one hour! Okay, he did enjoy the new jigsaw book I bought for him for the first 20 minutes.
And after that, he started fidgeting, followed by a struggle to set himself free. He started calling for Tok Mak and Tok Abah. I just had to let him go before the whole cabin cracked with his high-pitched shout. But the Air Asia’s flight attendant warned me to put him back in his seat as the flight is about to take-off anytime. Gee! Kau ni pernah ada anak ke tak hah?! So, I tried my very best and most creative ways to entertain Ashraff in his seat with my Bibik’s help. Sampai berpeluh-peluh..sebab Ashraff sekejap nak pergi kat Bibik, sekejap nak balik pada Ibunya. Kalau tak bagi, menjerit. Boring sikit, menjerit. Dia diri atas kerusi, look behind, saw Tok Mak and Tok Abah, jerit lagi. Since Ashraff was the only infant / toddler in the flight, so I presumed we managed to attract the attention (or irritate) all the passengers in the plane, especially the one sitting in the same row as me and Ashraff. Kesian minah tu, nak tido pun tak boleh!

After one hour of struggle, whailing and crying, the plane finally took-off. Diam sediam-diamnya Ashraff at that time, enjoying the moment. Hahhh…lega… And after that, lagi lega, sebab Ashraff decided to take a nap. But since it was uncomfortable, so his nap only lasted for 45 mins, which I hope would be longer. Though it was a short nap, but it managed to rejuvenate Ashraff and fill up his energy tank. So, there he was my lil lad lari sana lari sini in the plane. Sekejap lari ke belakang, sekejap lari ke depan. Sekejap pergi ke tok mak, sekejap lari ke bibik. And the best part, he wanted me to follow him. So this heavily preggie lady pun terpaksalah mundar mandir kat aisle tu. Memang glamer habis! The last 30 mins of the 2-hour journey, Ashraff has started to become restless again. He shouted “Nak tuwun (turun) bawah! Nak tuwun bawah!” What??! Macamana nak turun bawah? We were like 30,000 feet above the sea level!

So, there goes another round of a-mommy-trying-hard-to entertain-toddler session with Ashraff. All my efforts seemed useless as Ashraff is the type yang very persuasive and persistent. Kalau dia nak turun bawah, means he wants it there and then. Seldom we are able to distract him from his original objective. Or probably Ibu is just not creative enough. But alhamdulillah, mak and abah were there to help me handling Ashraff’s tantrum.
After 30 minutes, we arrived safe and sound at Bandung’s airport. It was a small airport, just like our Kuala Terengganu’s airport. After going through a long queue at the Immigration, we finally got to meet Bibik’s family – Ihsan and Syifa’ (Bibik’s children), Ihsan’s teacher and his family and Benny, our driver for the day. We then checked in at the lovely Sukajadi Hotel and straight away went for a lunch at McDonalds in Istana Plaza. My lil boy, probably due to overjoy has refused to eat even a little bit. He is more interested in approaching kids slightly older than him and started calling them “Abang” or “Kakak”, which of course, made them confused as they were not referred to as “Abang” and “Kakak” in Indonesia. So, lagi sekali Ashraff tak duduk diam. By this time, I was pretty much exhausted running around, chasing him. Patient level pun dah semakin menurun. I totally wished hubby was there so we could take turn in handling him. Abah was a great help but I felt guilty if I let the old man do the chasing.

After the short lunch, Benny sent us straight back to the hotel. At the hotel, it was time for us to bid farewell to Bibik Aidah. I cried, really cried. I can’t imagine myself crying just to bid farewell to an Indonesian maid, but I did cry. She cried too. Even Mak cried. Guess it was pretty sad to let go of a good employee. I told her to take care of her health and she advised me to be really patient in handling children (tau ler yang I ni bukan penyabar orangnya..). Ashraff was oblivious to the situation, though I tell him again and again it’s time to say “Bye Bye For Good” to Bibik. He did say “Bye Bye” and then rushed to a nearby fish pond. Oh well….Yeah, that was it. I was officially maidless after that.

We went to our rooms, which is situated very near to the hotel lobby and facing the swimming pool. All of us were extremely tired and sleepy, so we took a nap. It was quite a long nap for me and even longer for Ashraff. Dia macam tak boleh bangun, sampai kena kejut. Tau pun penat mamat tu…

At 6.30 p.m, we made our way to the famous Chihampelas Street, which is famous for its factory outlets for branded clothing like Guess, Elle, Gap, Old Navy and..basically any brands that you can think of. Ashraff was thrilled to see the shops decorated with murals of superheros like Superman, Batman and Spiderman. Ibu was even more excited to see branded goods in mark-down prices…hehehe…Apa lagi, boronglah! One advice for those who intend to visit Chihampelas is not to bring your stroller along coz it is truly not a stroller-friendly place (A ‘gendong’/sling will be more useful). Nasib kitaoranglah sebab terpaksa bawak empty stroller and took turn in carrying Ashraff at the same time. To let him walk by himself is dangerous coz the road is narrow and the traffic is crowded…and Ashraff memang susah untuk dipimpin. Oh yeah, one thing good about bringing an active toddler along will hinder you from buying more as you don’t have the luxury to browse through leisurely. Jimat duit…hehehe…

Ashraff in one of the shops at Chihampelas Street
Penat tak penat, we were there for two hours jugak. By 8.30 p.m., we were all very hungry. Abah teringin nak makan Nasi Padang. We tried to ask the local people where the nearest Nasi Padang restaurant. They recommended few places, but when we reached there, Mak macam tak lalu nak makan (probably due to the place’s condition) so we took a taxi and went back to the hotel to have our dinner. Again, budak kecik tu langsung tak nak makan. Asyik sibuk nak pergi tengok fish pond or the swimming pool. Nasib baik susu masih laku. So far, Ashraff is more active than the norm. Mungkin excited tempat baru kot…

We retired to bed at around 10.30 pm that night and look forward for a bright new day tomorrow…which apparently turned out to be more tiring….

Friday, 28th July 2006
Look alike granddad and grandsonWe left the hotel at around 10.30 a.m, after having breakfast at the hotel. This time around we decided to take “Angkot”, a 10-seated van that acted like a public minibus, to bring us to Pasar Baru. Though it was meant for 10 people, but the driver jam-packed the van with like 18 people?! Masa tu dah sesak nafas! But it was a great experience. Ashraff didn’t mind at all. He just gave his usual cheeky smile to other passengers.Mak, Abah and Ashraff in the oh-so-stuffy Angkot
A helpful local passenger indicated us where to stop to go to Pasar Baru. The “Angkot’ dropped us in the middle of a wet market, and we have to manouver our way to find Pasar Baru, which is actually an 8-storey shopping complex. Masuk je kat dalam complex tu, terus berpinar bijik mata. If the Chihampelas’s factory outlets cater for Ashraff and Fitri’s stuffs, Pasar Baru is definitely my place. The place houses lovely embroidered clothing, nice telekungs, beautiful bed spreads and quality fabrics at a very cheap price. Certain levels of the complex are dedicated only for souvenirs, leather bags and shoes. The very top level is the mosque itself so Abah managed to perform his Friday prayer there. Apa lagi, makcik sorang ni rambang matalah…

My first stop was to buy “baju hamil” for myself. I bought one long sleeve baby-doll looking maternity blouse and one heavily embroidered blouse for only RM40 each. If ModernMum or MotherClub yang jual, mesti dah ratus-ratus punya. Rasa menyesal tak beli a few more as at that time I was thinking I have only 3 months to wear these garments. Then, I bought myself few ‘after birth’ embroidered blouses and t-shirts. Mak bought lovely embroidered jubah putih which she intends to wear for umrah or tarawih prayer for only RM24! Then we proceeded to the textile area. There, we borong few “sulam tebuk” material for kebaya, paired with matching “kain batik”, mostly priced at an average of RM50, depending on the material. I also bought one hand-painted fabric for only RM45. Very cheap for a hand-drawn material! I bought one for my mother-in-law as well.

I have to salute Abah for patiently waiting for us and at the same time chasing after Ashraff, who is free without his stroller, while we do our shopping. Ashraff free as a bird in Pasar Baru
Word of advice - You may bring your stroller to this place. Ashraff then had his afternoon nap at the mall, while we had our lunch comfortably without having to follow his butt.
We continued shopping as soon as Ashraff woke up from his sleep. Borong lagi..dan lagi… Memang duit banyak habis kat sana. Soon, Abah got really tired and insisted on going back to the hotel. While waiting for the taxi, I managed to grab a good buy – a Muslimah swim wear – for only RM40! Cheap aye?!

At night, we took a 10-mins walk to Carrefour and Sogo, planning to find a good place for dinner there. The place was just one-month old, and banyak lagi area yang masih dalam renovation. I really like the interior there as the floors are made of timber wood. Something different compared to our Carrefour here. I am looking forward to come back in few years time and see how the whole building looks like as from the miniature model, it looks really grand. Ala-ala castle gitu!

We retired to bed at around 11.30 p.m., that was after a hard time forcing Ashraff to sleep as he was more excited to be at the poolside rather than going in the room. Ni lah susahnya kalau bilik berdepan dengan swimming pool.

Saturday, 29th July 2006
We took a cab to the airport at 8.30 a.m as we have to catch a flight at around 10.00 a.m. Phobia from my last journey with Ashraff in the flight, I kept on praying that things would be easier for me this time around. Alhamdulillah, Ashraff slept throughout the journey. We reached LCCT at around 12.30 p.m., welcomed by my lovely hubby who I have not seen for the past two weeks as he has to work in Sabah. Happy, happy, happy.

Looking back at the pictures I took, I had this one slight regret. There is no photo of Chihampelas Street or Pasar Baru. I guess it was really a handful to snap photos with an active toddler in tow, and not forgetting barang yang banyak di tangan. Kena-kena pulak I’m the only one who knows how to handle the camera. Lagilah susah… Well, kalau ada rezeki, I would love to visit Bandung again. The two days trip tak cukuplah. Banyak tempat tak dapat pergi. And this time around, I’ll make sure hubby is around!