Cloudy Cloud

LCCT - Bandung Flight...clouds,clouds,the pack Indonesia from above,the beautiful islands,i see the plane's shadow, i love! :)

ayeem ; wandering around, trying to find a way to fly to the sky, free as a bird!

How sweet to be a cloud floating in the Blue!My little spirit, see, sits in a foggy cloud, and stays for me.Clouds may come, but clouds must go, and they all have a silver lining. For behind each cloud you know, the sun, or moon, is shining.The cloud never comes from the quarter of the horizon from which we watch for it.A cloud cannot cast a shadow unless the sun is shining beyond it. A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed...It feels an impulsion...this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons...Happiness is like a cloud, if you stare at it long enough, it evaporates but behind every cloud is another cloud. :)

p/s - A promise is a cloud; fulfillment is rain.

Bandung Part VII : Paddy field

Saung Sawah, Ciwidey, Bandung

If you think life left you behind

think again ...

If you think even yourself abandon you

think again ...

Farmer works hard in the paddy field

Trying to help his family

It's not about surviving

It's about stand strong facing life

If you think you're done with life

think again ...

And if you think there is nothing left for you

think again ...

There are so much to do

to enjoy

to pray

and to appreciate

Do start again learning 'bout life from

that farmer on the paddy field

Bandung Part VI : Shopaholic's Heart

First Row : Seximo, Jalan Riau Shopping Outlet, nice interior design!

Second Row:Pasar Baru, kebaya heaven!

Third Row: Paris Van Java, the biggest shopping mall in Bandung!

Forth Row: Rumah Mode, the most popular factory outlet!

Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply dunno where to go shopping! The quickest way to know a woman is to go shopping with her. I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist. When a woman depressed, they eat or go shopping.Men invade another country. It's a whole different way of thinking.If a men liked shopping, they's call it research. Shopping is better than sex;if you're not satisfied after shopping you can make an exchange for something you really like. If i like, i'll check my money, i'll buy, pure impulse shopping!

p/s - Jalan Dago, Jalan Riau, Jalan Cipaganti;Bandung Factory Outlets all explored!This is what we, women call exercise!Check out other FO if you were there; The Heritage, The Secret :)

Bandung Part V: Strawberry Kiss

I've already settled on a wish! At first I wanted a lifetime of supply of strawberries...but now I think I'm gonna go for a super-cute boyfriend!:)

p/s - I eat strawberries with chicken not with cream or choc shell, tho different i think they can suit each other....Just like us; you and me.

Bandung Part IV : Kawah Putih

Kawah Putih and me!

After tired of the hectic culinary or shopping tourism in northern Bandung, we visited the montane area in the south, and enjoyed the exotic panorama and the fresh, cold mountain air. The forests and tea plantations are more lush than those in the north, and offer an opportunity for natural adventures that will relieve our fatigue. Cellular signals are generally absent in the area, so we could rest assured that nobody will disturb our holiday. :) The southern tourist area of Ciwidey is located about 35 kilometers from downtown Bandung, and is quite accessible.

The first interesting site — and the favorite among visitors — is the Kawah Putih (White Crater), which looks like a lake surrounded by mountains. The water is warm and has a high sulfur content, and the sun’s rays frequently change the color of the water from milky white into bluish green.

The Kawah Putih is formed by the active volcano of Mount Patuha, situated 2,343 meters above sea level. This crater is more famous than Kawah Saat to the west of Patuha. Both craters were formed between the 10th to 12th centuries by the eruption of Mount Patuha.

Locals living around the crater once thought it to be haunted because of the many ancestral graves in the area, which was formerly called Gunung Sepuh (Mountain of the Elders). Patuha comes from the Sundanese word Patua, meaning “very old man”.

The beauty of the crater was brought to light by Dutchman Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn, who exposed it to the public in 1837. History also records that the Dutch built Zwavel Otgining Kawah Putih, a sulfur factory, in the area. During the Japanese occupation of 1942-45, the factory assumed its Japanese name, the Kawah Putih Kenzanka Gokoya Ciwidey.

Today, visitors to Kawah Putih can wade in the waters of Kawah Putih to cure minor dermatological diseases. It is said the water here can heal rashes, even eczema and ringworm.

To visit Kawah Putih, make sure that you get there before 10 a.m., because a mist descends in late morning, especially during the rainy season. The thick mist can obscure the beautiful panorama around the crater lake, the banks of which resembles a sandy beach. Nice one! :)

p/s- I still smelt sulfur!yucks~!

Bandung Part III: Tangkuban Parahu

Tangkuban Parahu

The scenery, amazing, just like a painting behind me! The weather, nice, perfect lighting for perfect camera snapping :)!So here goes, the camera whore and the non-potential-model-to-be in Tangkuban Parahu :P~

Tangkuban Perahu, or Tangkuban Parahu in local Sundanese dialect, is an active volcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, Indonesia. It is a popular tourist attraction where tourists can hike or ride to the edge of the crater to view the hot water springs upclose, and buy eggs cooked on its hot surface. This stratovolcano is on the island of Java and last erupted in 1983.Its elevation is about 7,000 feets from the sea and it was a lil cold up there!

In April 2005 the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised an alert, forbidding visitors from going up the volcano. "Sensors on the slopes of the two mountains - Anak Krakatoa on the southern tip of Sumatra Island and Tangkuban Perahu in Java - picked up an increase in volcanic activity and a build up of gases, said government volcanologist Syamsul Rizal."

There is a local legend of the Mountain.The name translates roughly to "upturning of (a) boat" or "upturned boat" in Sundanese, referring to the local legend of its creation. The story tells of "Dayang Sumbi", a beauty who lived in West Java. She cast away her son "Sangkuriang" for disobedience, and in her sadness was granted the power of eternal youth by the gods. After many years in exile, Sangkuriang decided to return to his home, long after the two had forgotten and failed to recognize each other. Sangkuriang fell in love with Dayang Sumbi and planned to marry her, only for Dayang Sumbi to recognize his birthmark just as he was about to go hunting. In order to prevent the marriage from taking place, Dayang Sumbi asked Sangkuriang to (1) build a dam on the river Citarum and (2) build a large boat to cross the river, both before the sunrise. Sangkuriang meditated and summoned mythical ogre-like creatures -buta hejo or green giant(s)- to do his bidding. Dayang Sumbi saw that the tasks were almost completed and called on her workers to spread red silk cloths east of the city, to give the impression of impending sunrise. Sangkuriang was fooled, and upon believing that he had failed, kicked the dam and the unfinished boat, resulting in severe flooding and the creation of Tangkuban perahu from the hull of the boat.

Tho there are many souvenir sold up there, the driver warned us to buy anything from them as most of them were cheating the tourist.Just imagine, the price for a stupid keychain is RM2!And the sellers were like forcing us to buy their things!My friends did buy belerang(sulfur) from the nearby stall as that the ony thing that we thot worth it to buy.Anyhow, we can't get such things from other places in Bandung City for much cheaper price as the belerang were taken from the deep down the dead volcano. They said that belerang is good for our skin. I dunno, i havent try it yet and i dun think i will because i hate the smell.It made me cough and that severe cough still not getting well even after few days at arriving in Malaysia.

p/s- I'm still *sick* today! And i think i'm addicted to cough syrup!help me!

Bandung Part II : Foods Crave

Sleep 'til you're hungry, eat 'til you're sleepy!haha :)

What I like about Indonesia is FOOD. I am never choosy about food. I eat and try everything. On my visit i ended up finishing my money for food :) tho, it wasn't that expensive to eat there. I've tried Padang, Minang, Jogja and Sunda foods and they all were delicious!Teh Botol is Indonesian's favourite drink.Have a sip and you won't regret!

Ok, let me start crapping about the food, the first food i want to introduce is Nasi Mawut.Nasi Mawut means extraordinary rice. It's basically a fried rice, what's extraordinary about it is because there are noodle in the rice and a whole bunch of other unusual ingredients. There are fried shrimp ball (not shrimp, but shrimp ball), sawi (veggies), gizzard and heart (The rice then was fried with the special sauce.It's spicy and a bit sweet. It's served with pickled cucumber (acar), and Shrimp cracker (kerupuk).

Next one i want to introduce is Bakmi.Bakmi is literally translated to English as "meat noodles". Bakmi was brought to Indonesia by Chinese merchants, and is today a common dish especially in Indonesian Chinatowns. The dish has also been further developed to more closely align with Indonesian tastes. Bakmi is between Chinese style noodles and Japanese Udons in thickness, and there are several variants of bakmi in Indonesia.e.g Bakmi Godhok, Bakmi Nyemek and Bakmi Goreng.

One of my favourite food in Bandung is Mie Kocok Kaki Sapi Bakso. Mie Kocok is the special food in Bandung.Something the people in Bandung will talk about.The famous Mie Kocok includes veggie (tauge,sawi), yellow mee, soup and cow's leg.It is usually sold in hawker stalls along the road.It priced between Rp 7,000 to Rp 8000 (about RM2-3).

The fourth dish to introduce is Nasi Timbel. I myself have no idea what does 'Timbel' mean, anyway, nasi Timbel consists of rice (wrapped in banana leaf), lalapan/raw vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, long beans, Lemon Basil etc), sambal terasi (shrimp-paste chili sauce), tempe (made of fermented soybean), tahu (fried beancurd), ayam goreng (fried chicken) or gurame goreng (fried fish), empal (fried beef), and ikan asin (salted fish). This is one of my favorite Indonesian dishes, Indonesian love hot and spicy foods, most of them always include 'sambal' in their meals, tasty!

The belly rules the mind!

Last but not least, the Siomay Bandung.A light meal which has a similarity form like the Chinese Dim Sum, shaped like ice cream cone except the bottom is flat and made traditionally from mackerel fish meat served with peanut sauce. Sometimes the main ingredient can be made from prawn and other fish also. Siomay is eaten with a peanut paste, sweet soy sauce and a dash of lime juice. Other complements to siomay bandung are steamed cabbage, steamed potatoes, steamed bitter gourd and steamed tofu.

There are a lot more food to enlight here but i guess the above ' food tale' is more than enough. Other dishes that i think worth to try are; Nasi Remes, Nasi Uduk (kinda similiar with Nasi Lemak Malaysia), Lotek, Lontong, Nasi Soto Betawi, Surabi, Soto, Bakso, Batagor, Otak-Otak, Pepes ikan, Iga Bakar,Lomie, Nasi Gila, Kupat Tahu,Eskrim Durian and Kikil Cimandiri.

p/s- Food!Food!Food! I Love food!That's why ayeem gemoks!

Bandung Part I : Donuts

yep, yep donuts make me do-nuts :D

What I regonized about Indonesia is DONUTS.When I first arrived in Bandung, I could see donuts and coffee retailers everywhere; from Dunkin Donuts to J.CO Donuts. Even, there are also donuts sales in Pasar Baru!I was a lil envious as in Malaysia we don't have such.I do love donuts so much but in Ipoh i can only get Big Apple Donut, neither Dunkins nor J.COs. At arriving we went to Cihampelas Walk to get a taste of the donuts :) We stopped by at J.CO Donuts to have a bite :P~J.Co is the fastest growing donut & coffee chain in South-East Asia. As of May 2008, J.CO operates 38 outlets through out Southeast-Asian countries namely Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The company planned to expand its chain in the Philippines in mid 2008. I've tried J.CO Donuts earlier in Malaysia before. I've went to both of their franchise in Malaysia; in Pavillion KL and Sunway Pyramid, but to eat the J.CO Donut at its originate country was my first time experience, and it was like being in donuts heaven :)

p/s- www.jcodonuts.com/ get a peek of my fav donuts and webie :)