Golf in Melaka, MALAYSIA

27/6/2007 (Wednesday)

We had an appointment with a Singaporean colleague, Tim, in Melaka today. Instead of having Tim to drive all the way to KL or us to Singapore, we decided to meet half way at A’Famosa Golf Club in Alor Gajah, Melaka. We reached Alor Gajah in less than 1 hour despite several stretches of road construction works along the highway. Driving Zack’s super fast BMW made traveling on the highway an enjoyable experience.

It was still too early for Zack and I to proceed to the club house. So we stopped at a roadside restaurant for roti canai and coffee. Then, just before we reached the A’Famosa entrance, we stopped for some durians, buying from a lorry parked at the roadside. It was very good durian from the tembaga species. We bought some for Tim and his friend, Eugene.

We were met at the bag drop area by Filipino girl caddies. They were A’Famosa’s latest addition. Since they were too fresh, just one week on the job, to be of any assistance on the golf course, we decided to do away with caddies. Otherwise, we would spend more time teaching them than getting their help.

We started at the Rockies nine, hitting the first hole that has water running in the middle and dog leg left. Tim was the better golfer amongst us. He is a single handicapper. Getting pars seemed to be so easy for him while we were really struggling to score below double boogey. He reported a score of 40 and I got 49. I had good drives as usual but my approach shots were a big let down. The weather was super hot today. Eugene was really struggling in the heat.

Zack teeing off at Hole 9, Rockies Course, watched by Tim

We took a long rest after the first nine and then continued at the Crocodile nine. This nine has a more challenging layout and some holes could be really long. The par 4 crocodile hole demanded a long tee shot and a précised approach shot to the green. Both Tim and I had good tee shots but my second shot was short to the green and found water. This was the hole where a golfer was bitten by a crocodile while trying to retrieve his ball from an errant shot. I know this guy from a friend and we met a few times. Once, he even showed me the scar left by the crocodile’s bite on his leg.
Tim looking for his tee at the crocodile Hole 7

Tim had another good round of 38 for a total of 78. I just managed to stay belaow 100 but I had a good time. A'Famosa is dubbed as the best resort course in Malaysia. The course is well maintained and some holes give you that adrenalin rush. It is a strongly recommended golf course to play or stay for the family.

After the game and before shower, we had a durian feast at the parking lot. We went looking for the seller of the durians on our way back, but he must have left. So we stopped at another roadside seller and bought the whole lorry load of durians for our Singaporean friends. The durian season just started in Melaka.

Eugene, Tim & Zack having a durian feast at the parking lot

Wedding Reception, Perak, MALAYSIA

16/6/2007

After breakfast, this Saturday morning, we drove back to Ton’s kampong in Bagan Serai, Perak. We were to attend the wedding of Hafiz, my step auntie’s (Rohani) son in Parit Buntar. The drive back was a breeze along the North – South Highway. We stopped to buy some fruits at the Bukit Gantang rest area. It took us about 4 hours to reach my parents in laws’ house. Like many houses in the north, it was built by the road along the irrigation canal, in this case called Parit Mentara 2.

After lunch at the in-laws’ house and a short rest, Anas & I went fishing along the irrigation canal. We didn’t catch anything.

After Maghrib prayers, we went to the auntie’s house to check on the wedding preparation. It was actually a shop lot in Parit Buntar. We had dinner there. After dinner we went back to the parents’ house in Bagan Serai where Ton’s sister and family were waiting for us. We had a small family gathering.

17/6/2007

It's Hafiz’s big day. The wedding reception was held at a hall, Dewan Merdeka in Parit Buntar town. We were early, had our meals first and waited for almost an hour for the bride and groom to arrive.

After the reception, we went back to rest and later in the evening drove back to Kuala Lumpur. We stopped at Ulu Bernam rest area for pau and coffee break. We arrived at our house around 9PM.

Shopping in Bandung, INDONESIA

Day1 (4-6-2007)

We woke up at 4 am to go to the airport to catch our flight at 7.35 am on Air Asia AK 966 to Bandung. When we got to the LCCT, the place was already crowded with travelers. It happened to be the mid year school holidays.

The flight took slightly more than 2 hours. When we reached Bandung, we met our neighbours, Rohaya and family who happened to be on the same flight. We were met at Bandung’s Husein Sasteranegara Airport by our guide, Riza Sakti from Bupa Tours (HP 62 81 220 55883, tel. 62 2270004163), who would be chaperoning us for the next 4 days. We went to check in our hotel, Arion-Swissbel Hotel located in the city area.

Our hotel, Arion-Swissbelhotel, "the best boutique hotel" in Bandung

After a short rest, we drove to Tangkuban Perahu, a popular tourist site to view volcanic crater from the rim. We had been to the place before and since we needed some photos for the blog, we decided to visit the place again. It took about an hour to reach the top. The road up to the crater was in deplorable conditions despite the entrance fees charged. There were far too many peddlers of all sorts of things at the place who turned out to be quite a nuisance to the visitors. They would harass the visitors all the way during the short stay at the place. After taking a few photos, we left Tangkuban Perahu. The road down the mountain was better than the one going up. We noticed that the volcanic crater was less active than when we were there 2 years earlier. The smell of sulfur permeated the air but the smoldering was noticeably less.

Ton, Anas and I at the rim of volcanic crater of Tangkuban Perahu

We stopped for lunch at Warung Ampera in Lembang, which is about halfway between Tangkuban Perahu and Bandung. The town was typical of any other Indonesian towns, crowded and disorganized. There were horse carriages called “dilman” plying the streets of Lembang and dirtying them as well.

Dilman in Lembang

After lunch, we headed back to Bandung straight to Rumah Mode, the more famous factory outlet in Bandung. Bandung has a host of factory outlets (we were told there were more than 40) selling branded items at factory prices. Shopping was the main agenda of our trip to Bandung and Rumah Mode was top on our list. It was also time to renew my wardrobe. I also checked out the neighboring outlet called Mode Plus and bought some Versace jeans. Ton had her hands busy shopping while we waited at the café in the premises. Rumah Mode was nicely presented in a huge one storey bungalow with very profound Balinese décor. Most other factory outlets in Bandung are found in single or double storey bungalow-style shopping premises. It was a different concept than the mall-style shopping outlets that we are familiar with. They have ample parking space and a place to sit and wait while your other half is busy buying out the store.

Ton & a tired Anas in front of Rumah Mode

The early morning flight, the trip up the mountain and the shopping spree were taking tolls on us. We decided to go back to the hotel for a rest. We took a short nap. When we woke up, it was almost dinner time. We decided to go to the more familiar restaurant called Cianjur. The foods were very much more to our palates and I would recommend this place anytime. After dinner, we decided to go for a tour of Cihampelas Walk, a brand new shopping mall. It was a nice mall but lacked the uniqueness of a factory outlet. We made a quick tour of the place and decided to go back to the hotel to catch on our sleep.

Day 2 (5-6-2007)

We were supposed to drive to Jakarta today and spend 2 nights there. The original plan was one night in Bandung then off to Jakarta for 2 nights and back to Bandung to catch our flight on the 5th day. I managed to convince Ton not to go to Jakarta as it would be more pleasant in Bandung compared to Jakarta. So we decided to go up another mountain to Kawah Putih for another visit to a volcanic crater.

I asked Riza to stop at Bandung Indah Golf & Country Club on the way to Kawah Putih. I wanted to buy logo ball to add to my collection. I had played at this golf course about 2 years back. Riza managed to find the place after stopping a few times to ask for direction. There was no logo ball.

We continued our journey along the country road passing through Kopo town and Ciwidey district. We passed through local villages that thrived on strawberry farms, terrace rice fields and small ponds of fish farms. This area was very scenic and we stopped a few times to take some photos. I also noticed that this place appeared to be very much self sufficient, unlike the normally poor rural villages of Indonesia. Even the houses have tiled roofs instead of thatch roofs which are more predominant in a poorer setting. Every household seemed to have a small plot of strawberries planted in poly bags in their front yards, rice fields and fish ponds.

Typical village in Ciwidey district with strawberries, terraced rice field and fish pond

After about 2 hours driving, we reached Kawah Putih. Again, the road up to the top was in a sorry state. Somehow the money charged for entrance was not used to maintain the road. Kawah Putih was a more secluded place compared to Tangkuban Perahu. The climate was a lot cooler and we were the only ones not wearing any warm clothing. We went all the way inside the crater which was smoldering due to the difference in temperature between the hot water and the cooler air. The place appeared to be less developed than Tangkuban Perahu. Even the sellers were less aggressive in trying to make their sales. It was a better place to visit as far as volcanic crater is concerned. We met newlyweds who came to the place for photo session. Strawberries were cheap here, we bought some as well as jam and they even had strawberry dodol.

Anas & I standing on a mound inside the crater of Kawah Putih.

It rained very heavily as we were coming down from the top. We stopped at a hot spring called Cimanggu where Anas and I went for a dip. Then we drove back to Bandung for lunch. After lunch at the Pizza Hut, we went back to the hotel. I was beginning to develop a throbbing headache, a regular occurrence by now.

By 7.30 pm, we decided to check out the factory outlets along Jalan Riau. We went to Heritage first and then Cascade which adjoins Heritage. These places closed at 9 pm. We skipped dinner since we had late lunch. When we got back to our hotel, we went looking for a massage. Ton wanted to have a body treatment. Since the place was fully booked, we put up our names for the next day.

Day 3 (6-6-2007)

Today it was time to check out the Pasar Baru Trade Center. This is a comfortable shopping complex selling all sorts of things. Bargaining is a must. I prefer the more up market factory outlets. I waited at the food court on level 5 while Ton was doing her shopping rounds. We met our neighbors, Rohaya and her family. We had nasi timbel for lunch. It was rice rolled up in banana leaf served with fried chicken, salted fish, tempe, vegetable, sambal and sayur asam, a local favorite of Sundanese origin.

Nasi Timbel

After lunch we went to Jalan Riau where most factory outlets are located. We decided to leave Ton there. Anas wanted to go swimming at the hotel. I had enough shopping for one day. In the evening, I had a good massage by the swimming pool on top of the hotel building. Ton had her body treatment. I asked my masseur, Mona, to recommend a nice place for dinner. She suggested either Ampera or Cibiuk. We went to have dinner at Cibiuk. It was a disappointing meal so much so that I had to order food from room service on our return.

Day 4 (7-6-2007)

We went back to Pasar Baru to buy some batik shirts and other stuffs for the folks back home. After a short shopping round, we drove to the nearby golf courses, Dago Endah GC and brand new Mountain View GC. Both are located on top of the hill overlooking Bandung with cool weather and panoramic view. Unfortunately they did not carry logo golf balls. Anyway, it was a nostalgic trip to the golf courses as I was here a few years back.

Pasar Baru

We decided to go back to Rumah Mode for last round shopping before leaving Bandung. We had lunch at the café. Surprisingly, the menu catered more towards Malaysian taste. It must have been due to the throng of Malaysian shoppers coming to the place. I had Penang char kuey tiaw. Then off to Jalan Dago for more factory outlets. We stopped at a place to buy some brownie kukus to take home.

I asked the hotel receptionist to recommend a restaurant for us to have dinner. The receptionist, Nina, confidently recommended Bumbu Desa. She even went further to guarantee it. Bumbu Desa happened to be the best Indonesian restaurant in Bandung for the year 2006. The restaurant, set up with a nice décor serves pre cooked meals. After choosing your foods then the foods will be reheated. I always prefer freshly cooked meals like Cianjur. Apparently, Bandung’s best was not good enough for me. Anyway, it was a good dinner.


We went for a walk along Jalan Cihampelas, otherwise known as the Jeans Street. There were quite a number of things to buy here. I bought 2 oil paintings of rice fields for a meagre Rp50,000 (RM20.00).

Day 5 (8-6-2007)

We left early for the airport to catch our flight at 9.05 AM. We were asked whether we wanted to stay inside at a lounge for a fee by the sales girls at the airport. For Rp 15,000 (RM6.00) the lounge looked more of a better option than the waiting room. Anas could use the free internet.

To me Bandung is a nice place to come for a family vacation, shopping or golfing. The weather is cooler and the people are a lot more friendlier than Indonesia’s major cities. It is a beautiful city. The streets are lined up with matured trees giving that impression of a place that cares for the environment. I would rank Bandung as the top 2 destinations in Indonesia with Bali being the top. However, Bali is more for the western tourists as things are on the expensive side in US dollars.

I would make Bandung top of my shopping destination for the family. With so many factory outlets, make sure you bring extra bags. Air Asia flies direct from Kuala Lumpur to Bandung, the only airlines to do so. Just look out for the never ending bargain air fares and head straight to friendly Bandung.