Postcard from Bandung: One Night, Too Many Snacks and a Red Sky

My Bandung trip was supposed to be a quick one-night escape with my cousins. Spoiler: one night in Bandung is never quick.

Jakarta Bandung on Whoosh

The trip started before we even left, because my parents didn’t sleep. (Some things never change, no matter how old I get.) They swear it had nothing to do with me taking Whoosh, Indonesia’s first high-speed train.

I got to Halim Station 55 minutes early, naturally, and spent the wait texting my three cousins, who were taking their sweet time. Whoosh was my addition to this Girl Cousins’ trip. It was on my bucket list, and I guilted them into it. We sat in First Class, gossiped loudly, ignored the Whoosh lady asking us to turn our seats forward, and arrived in Bandung before I even opened my Beng Beng.

Lembang

Cousin Sanjoe was in charge, and we headed straight up to Lembang for breakfast.

Next stop, Orchid Forest. Pine trees, cool air, and gold leaf on things that absolutely did not need gold leaf, which is exactly why we ordered it. There were parrots. There were souvenirs. And there was milk, because you cannot go to Lembang and skip the milk. That’s the law.

Lunch was prasmanan, which means we ate like it was our last meal. Then the food coma hit, and everyone got sleepy.

The Pullman night

We checked into the Pullman Bandung Grand Central, but not before someone made a ruckus with the hotel staff. (A family trip isn’t a family trip without at least one scene.) Then came drinks, a really toxic South Indian movie and Batagor Kingsley.

And then the Lembang milk came back to haunt me. Loose motion, the unofficial souvenir of my Bandung trip.

Day two in Bandung

We woke up with big breakfast plans and couldn’t get into Sanjoe’s choice of place. So we ended up at Amoy instead, where the toast came out burnt. More souvenirs. A photobooth session, because cousins. A Japanese cafe. Then food again, because Bandung.

Somewhere between the photobooth and the third meal, I caught myself daydreaming about living here. Cooler air, good food, family nearby. It didn’t sound crazy at all.

Goodbye, Bandung

One last round of drinks. The sky turned red. And just like that, I felt sad. We headed back to the train station to be Whoosh-ed back to Jakarta.

Bandung, you were short, chaotic and delicious. Just like a cousin trip should be.

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