Good News!.. Concert Travellers

Even if you already own their album, to watch them performed LIVE would be the greatest moment that happen in your life. But for Malaysian, we always missed out some of this good performance. Our best hope is our jiran terdekat Singapura, Jakarta or Bangkok. 

Terbaca satu artikel di The Star mengenai AirAsia X dan Big Day Out. (BDO adalah satu acara Music Festival yang dianjurkan setiap tahun di Australia) The lineup for 2009 already impressed us – Neil Young, Artic Monkeys, The Ting Tings, Prodigy and more.. 

AirAsia X sedang berusaha untuk mewujudkan satu kerjasama dengan pihak penganjur untuk menyediakan pakej menarik buat peminat-peminat muzik di Malaysia. So, keep your fingers crossed guys... or else, you can always do your own budget travelling. 

Click here for the link to Star Online article.

*Hope to see Metallica touring South East Asia again. Missed it when they performed live in Singapore for promoting the BLACK album in 1993.

Nidji - Laskar Pelangi

A new song for the soundtrack of a new movie by Riri Riza (3 hari untuk selamanya, Gie, Kuldesak) is taken from the best selling novel in Indonesia "Laskar Pelangi" by Andrea Hirata. The story is about the struggling of an inspiring teacher and the 10 students for education at SD Muhammadyah school in the poverty-stricken Gantong village, Belitung.

The film & music producer, Mira Lesmana asked the band to "Baca novelnya,Baru nulis lagu". This is for the band to get the inspiration and feel the courage, hope, sad and happiness of the 10 high-spirited students in fight for their better future. Yes, and from the first listen, the song turnout beautifully. Tak sabar rasanya for the movie & soundtrack to be release di Malaysia.

This video clip reminded me of the song "Hard Sun" by Eddie Vedder from the movie "Into The Wild". Mungkin secara kebetulan kot.. sebab kedua-duanya diambil dari kacamata seorang backpacker.

Suasana Hari nak Raya

Selamat Hari Raya to all Muslimin and Muslimat. Mohon maaf zahir dan batin andai ada tersinggung kata sepanjang kami mula mem'blogging'. Dah agak lama juga tak update this blog.. well, busy for Hari Raya preparation & open house.

So, we start this month's blog with some of the pictures that we didn't manage to upload before Hari Raya. These were taken around Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Masjid India during last week of Ramadhan.

There were still people going out for their last minute shopping. Why? cos bargain hunting normally starts around this time and sometimes it continue until Malam Raya. 

At Sogo Department Store, one of the famous shopping mall in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, people queueing as early as 9am to get in. What so special about this mall? Everyone has their own opinion but we guess you should venture this 10th floor mall yourself. Cos even if is not festive season, Sogo still packed with customers. Hmm.. wonder why?

*Also a nice spot for "lepak-lepak" after shopping, picture taking or doing nothing.

*Buying for berbuka puasa.

*The bargain hunting goes on..

Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman is a popular spot for "kain ela", tudung, baju kurung, butik pengantin, kedai buku and also gadgets like camera and handphone. Places like Harrison (textile), Gulati's (textile), Bunga Riben (wedding), Pustaka Minerva (bookstore), Medan Mara (tailors) and Maju Junction (camera goods), to name afew.. go jalan-jalan along this street, more shops and variety awaits you.

Bazar Ramadhan di Jalan Masjid India pun dipenuhi orangramai yang go for their last minute shopping. Kerepek & kuih memang fast selling item specially towards end of Ramadhan. Nak habiskan stok? Maybe.. tapi kalau beli banyak dapat diskaun, why not...hehehe. Our favourite kerepek and kuih during raya ni tentulah Kerepek Pisang Tanduk & Kuih Dahlia. Lagi sedap kalau ada kopi secawan...

Juga terdapat pelbagai barangan lain yang dijual seperti hiasan ketupat, butang baju melayu, songkok, beg tangan dan aksesori. But for us yang paling menarik sekali di bazar ramadhan ini ialah melihat gelagat para peniaga using their skills and creativity to promote their sales. 

*Berminat untuk ke Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman dan Jalan Masjid India, anda boleh menaiki public transport seperti  RapidKL bas dan lrt. (LRT berhenti di stesen Masjid Jamek dan Bandaraya) atau Metro Bus.

On my way home, tiba-tiba teringat this raya song titled "Raya" by actor/comedian Jalil Hamid. Jarang sekali stesen-stesen radio Era baru Yang Panas put this song on their playlist... Why? 

Teh Botol by Sasro

The bottle design itself is classic. Reminssance of the old Coca-cola's bottle. Lots of street vendors and shop selling it. So, you can't get it out of your sight but to try it for yourself what the taste like..

* This is our impression after having a Teh Botol.. with the background song "The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones playing in our heads.. Hehehe.

Slurp!!.. Whoa! Enak Banget.. and it straight away become my favourite. So, whenever i feel thirsty or having my lunch or dinner, at least one bottle of Teh Botol is a must. They also have it in Tetra-pack but i feel the bottle pack taste better. I'm not sure whether can find it in Kuala Lumpur but if it sell here, i'm sure gonna buy. For your information, they even beat the sales of Coca-cola in Indonesia. So, whenever you in Indonesia and bump into Teh Botol. Try it.. you might end up hate it or get addicted to it.

Jalan-jalan di Bandung

After having heavy breakfast at the hotel, we are ready to venture our 2nd day with full energy.

Why heavy breakfast? Cos we are going to Pasar Baru, bangunan 6 tingkat yang menempatkan pelbagai jenis kain ela, tudung, telekung, kebaya, kasut, barang kelengkapan haji & umrah, kerepek, hiasan rumah, hasil kraf dan etc,etc...

Pasar Baru dibuka seawal jam 9 pagi. So, kalau siapa yang ingin bershopping sakan, baik datang awal sebab orang masih tidak ramai dan boleh 2-3 kali ulang ke kedai yang anda berkenan. Juga terdapat pasar basah yang menjual pelbagai jenis sayur-sayuran dan daging yang terletak ditingkat bawah.

Jeng..Jeng..Jeng!... and here's the result after spending about few hours ..

From Pasar Baru, we continue our journey to Jalan Cihampelas or famously known as "Jean Street". You can see a giant replica of Superman, Spiderman, X-Men and Rambo once you get here. A lot of custom made jeans, leather goods, printed t-shirt, metal accessories, toys, snacks and etc,etc.. selling here. Even brownies..

Brownies jual kat gerai tepi jalan!!.. This my first reaction when i saw it. I really love brownies. Seeing them selling it openly, put me in a doubt. Can the taste be as good as the one selling at Starbucks or any other cafes?  I took a bite and the taste...Yummy!!. (i bought 2 box and is nicely pack). Kartika Sari Brownies Kukus is the product that only sold in Bandung. It's delicious especially when it's hot and new. Watch for expiring date when you buy it. (It's good for one week but if you  put inside a refrigerator and keep it warp, it'll last longer)

Tapi yang paling best ialah mereka jual Air Rifle secara terbuka(diguna untuk menembak burung) dan boleh dicuba jika anda berminat.. Is it's legal to sell? Yes! the guy said  cos the measurement is not exceeding the REAL Rifle.. Hmm..

*In a wake of a new millennium heroes and comic superheroes, Sly Stallone "Rambo" legacy still alive and kicking at Jalan Cihampelas, Bandung. Hmm..any chances for Rambo part 5?

Bandung memang terkenal dengan Distro (Distribution Store). The shop that distribute indie labels & publishing like clothing, music, shoes, magazine, collectibles & limited stuff. There are about 200 distros in Bandung and UNKL347 is one of the famous store. They are considered pioneer for bringing the underground clothing scene to the mainstream market and has open a branch outside Indonesia. For more info on UNKL347, click here.

We end our shopping journey in Bandung at another factory outlets - Heritage and Cascade. (Well i guessed you already know what's inside ya)... 

So, after dropkan barang-barang shopping kat hotel, we all go out for makan. This time at Kampung Daun. We thought it was just another makan place macam kat area Kampung Baru.. Ternyata salah!! 

Like Naili's Place at Sentul but this one.. Wonderful!. The place was beautiful, breathtaking with the sound of nature, waterfall and great ambiance. You have to experience yourself and i'm sure you'll love it.

*Click here for more info about Kampung Daun.. Sorry, the pictures a bit blurred due to the cameraman got too excited.

*Me and my wife - feeling romantic with the ambiance and suddenly the song "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure playing in my head... hehe!

Oh yeah.. a bit info on the hotel we stayed.. (whopps!.. sorry, it’s suppose to be mentioned earlier.) Mutiara Hotel is located at Jalan Kebon Kawung, the nearest hotel to the Bandung train station (10 mins by walk) and 15 mins trip from Bandung Airport by car.

We like the hotel interior cause it has that classic old look, greenery and relaxing environment. The room? It has all your basic needs – Bed, Shower, TV, air-con, swimming pool and the best part is, the hotel is near to the Kartika Sari Brownies Outlet (the brownies we mentioned earlier). You can have it freshly baked and best ole-ole to bring home. 

For more info and details, type on Google search “Mutiara Hotel Bandung”.