In Bandung, Indonesia (Part 2)

Continuing the volcanic theme of the previous day, the next trip was again into the hills north of Bandung, this time to a small spa with hot springs. The drive went up through the plantations of fruits and vegetables and along an estate road. The section of the spa we visited had three swimming pools. The water was warm, like going swimming in bathwater. Henry, who sometimes has difficulties keeping his mouth closed, informed us that it tasted funny, a little like a fizzy drink.

The warm, sulphurous water is claimed to be good for your skin, so just the thing for Henry and me.

Below a few photos.

Enjoying the warm water. (From left to right, Jim, Henry, Peter, Carolyn)

Katie having a little snack.

Crops growing in the Lembang area.

After the spa, we headed back to Bandung and a good meal at the new Pangandaran restaurant. The restaurant is named after Pangandaran ,the village where Sule is from and where Sule and Carolyn had their cottage until it was swept away in the tsunami of July 2006.

Pangandaran Restaurant, Bandung.

The grilled fish was very good, and the children enjoyed their after-dinner yoghurt (bought from the stand at the back of the restaurant).

The following day was a school day for Peter, Jim and Katie, so only the guests, Carolyn and Sule had time for sightseeing, which was in fact more of a shopping trip.


The first port of call was a coffee factory, Koffie Fabriek Aroma, Bandung. The owner kindly showed us around and explained the process. Koffee Fabriek Aroma deserves support as it is committed to working without cutting corners. The business began in the 1930s and the current owner took over from his father. The same methods and machinery, imported from Germany, are used as from the beginning; the coffee beans are stored for eight years before being roasted and sold. A claimed advantage of the process is that the coffee is kinder on the stomach. One way of telling that coffee has been matured properly is to look at the coffee beans, they should be matte. If the beans are shiny, the maturation has been speeded up with the use of chemicals.

For anyone wanting to visit, the details are: Koffie Fabriek Aroma, Jalan Banceuy 51, Bandung, tel. (022) 4230473.

Henry in the coffee factory (Peter in the background). Henry, of course, enjoyed seeing the machines for roasting and sorting etc.

From the coffee factory we next went to a shop selling Indonesian cultural artefacts. Adjoning the shop was a small workshop making wayang kulit puppets.

Making the clothes


Making the heads.


The finished Wayang puppets.

After lunch, the boys went home while the ladies continued shopping. Bandung is a centre of the Indonesian textile industry and there are many so-called 'outlets' selling seconds and overuns.


The next day was already time to head to the airport and back to Malaysia. One last ride in the Zebra and then it was through the gates into the departure lounge of Bandung Airport.

Departure at Bandung Airport. Henry clowning around as usual. The Zebra is in the background.

For pictures of the aircraft to Malaysia, see the previous post "To Bandung, Indonesia."



While we left Bandung, we didn't leave Indonesia completely behind. When we had returned back to Finland, I had to buy a new winter jacket and got one with a nice spider logo. On returning home, I looked at the lining and found a little tag, "Made in Indonesia". Even with a discount of 20%, I had to pay the equivalent of four months' salary for an Indonesian worker, which really makes me wonder about the equity of the current global economic system.