The Diary: Fabric Hunting in Bandung, Indonesia

Since high school, I have always dreamed of travelling with my best friends. Eight years later, at the age of 26, I have decided to get married. I decided to make it an excuse to bring my girls for fabric hunting at Bandung, Indonesia. Without further ado, let’s start from the day we reached Bandung.  

SURVEYING PRICES

5/1/2017 – Day 1 

As we arrived at Bandung airport, we took a cab to our hotel called Zodiak at Africa Hotel; RM477 for four nights. We only stayed in one place for six days and five nights here. When we checked in, we realized we got ourselves two rooms instead of one. I was very sure that I cancelled the other room two months before we flew off. However, the two rooms have been paid for so, we just accepted them. Probably an early wedding gift from Agoda to me, who knows?

After we settled in, we took an Uber to D’Fashion, 10 minutes away from our hotel. I have been studying the recommended shops beforehand to save time surveying. D’Fashion made it into my top list as they have everything under one roof, the tailor and all types of fabrics that I’m looking for.

We started searching for suitable fabrics from ground to top-level and everything was eye-catching to me. Because we arrived late in the evening, we couldn’t see all of the fabrics as the shop closed at 8.00 p.m. Most textile shops closed early around here so, keep that in mind.

We went back to the hotel while my stomach started to growl. Since arrival, we had not eaten anything as we were focusing on fabric hunting. So we had fried rice for dinner just outside the hotel for less than RM5.00 for one pack (a portion for two). After dinner, we started to cosy up a little with face masks while watching movies (with gossipping until late at night altogether of course!).

PASAR BARU

6/1/2017 – Day 2 

Did I mention that our hotel was just a walking distance away from Pasar Baru, one of the most famous shopping malls in Bandung? I wanted to find more cheap fabrics here but nothing that catches my eyes. Oh! Except for this beautiful white lace at level 2 or 3, I can’t remember exactly which give us a great deal!.

There were 2 to 3 floors of fabric shops at Pekan Baru and you can find different kinds of things from mini prayer robe, batik clothes, custom your suit and jeans, and even some cheap souvenirs. I can say it was the one-stop centre for all. We bought the mini prayer robe which comes in small packaging (easy to bring for travelling) and some souvenirs. The mini prayer robe is available in different qualities and designs, and the price is ranging from RM10 – RM60 per set. 

We then had lunch at the food court on the top floor that served different types of Indonesian food. Little that we know we got cheated when we were about to make our payment. The total bill was about RM300. So, plus-minus about RM75 per person for the 4 set meals of pecal lele (Indonesian food) we had. We were pissed and started to ignore every single person that came to us to promote their shops. When you are at Pasar Baru, you need to get used to people following you around non-stop to promote their shops. That is how we ended up getting conned.

Putting aside our anger, we then went outside the Pasar Baru area to see more fabrics. Along the way, I had this traditional cake at a food stall that looks like apam balik, a Malaysian food. It tasted sweet and crispy.

Anyway, we went back to D’Fashion as they have the fabrics that I want. Once we arrived, we were looking for the same salesperson who entertained us previously to get the same price as mentioned (note: do not change your salesperson as they will get mad; you will end up paying more than you should). 

I started buying some fabrics for my family with total spending of about RM400 for 13 family members. Each gets 4 meters long-plain fabric in striking orange. My preference is light orange to peach as I would think that my family will not want to wear the striking orange but I decided to follow my friend’s opinion. 

Moving on to my wedding dress, it took me hours to decide on the fabric. We even had our lunch at the shop which the shop bought for us. As I was making my decision, I asked my friends to look around and buy something for themselves (because it took me too long to choose). When I decided which fabrics I wanted, the promoter called the designer from Jakarta to quote me the pricing for the design I requested.

I asked the designer for my wedding dress to be completed within three days and I was charged with the express fee of RM500. The total cost for the dress was RM900 including the fabrics (super cheap!). I bought 5 meters for the lining and 1.5 meters for the 3D lace in a pink-peach colour. I agreed with the price and made my 50% deposit payment for it.

Please take note that you need to inform the shop earlier if you want a designer to tailor-made your dress, as the tailor will be coming from Jakarta and they will take a minimum of 3-days to complete a wedding dress but if you want the best result, do leave it for 5-days. Do you want to know how my wedding dress turned up to be? Keep reading!

MORE SHOPPING

7/1/2017 – Day 3

Today, we went back to Pasar Baru to buy some fabrics that we saw yesterday and purchase lace for my family. I think I bought a 6-meter lace for 3-people with a total of RM60 that looks similar to French lace but cheaper (I’m sorry I have forgotten the specific name). Remember the white lace that I like? I was able to get it by making my cute sad face to my friend, Adilah and she decided to buy it for me as an early wedding present (yay!). It cost RM300 for a 2-meter lace with lining (Thank you best friend!).

Then, we had a friend who was studying here during our visit and she agreed to bring us to Toko Tiga, Rumah Mode, and Cihampelas Walk. But first, we went to Balubur Town Square for our lunch at The Kiosk Baltos. The prices aren’t that is reasonable with a peaceful ambience and delicious food. So I can give a 10 out of 10 for this restaurant.

Next, the crazy ME decided to tailor-made my nikah dress too! (the solemnization dress), using my wedding gift fabrics that I just received. I thought it will be easier to complete my dresses in Bandung. The place that I send to was 10 minutes away from Pasar Baru (I’m so sorry I have forgotten the name) that can finish my dress within 2-days with an RM300 fee (spoiler alert: it turns out to be a disaster!). 

We went to Rumah Mode which I ended up buying two pairs of work pants at the Zara outlet for RM100. The price was reasonable and the quality was better than the factory outlet in India but of course, the price matches with quality. After Rumah Mode and Cihampelas, we headed to Upnormal Café for dinner (the food are cheap). The café was famous for its Indomie and some other snacks. Here, you can find university students hanging out, discussing assignments, and enjoying their dinner, all at once. They also have discussion rooms and a playroom that they can book to use. We ended up playing cards until late. 

LEMBANG SIGHTSEEING

8/1/2017 – Day 4 

Today was the sightseeing day in Lembang, located about an hour’s drive from the hotel. We were planning to catch a sunrise in the morning but got cancelled as we woke up late and went straight to Maribaya lodge. Please do not leave any room in front of you so that no one can cut queues. We ended up having to wait from 2 to 4 hours in line to get to the photo spot and we ended up taking only ONE photo as the line was just unbelievable (plus, the rude people that were cutting queues!).

There were five famous photo spots that you can take photos from and each spot has different pricing, in addition to the entrance fee of Rp 35,000 for the weekend (please refer to the website for other photo spot details). The five famous spots were sky tree, hammock, zip bike, mountain swings, and Bamboo sky. 

Please be reminded that you are not allowed to take your own photos as your photos are to be taken by the hired photographers and can be collected when exiting. Each photo spot you would like to have on your phone or sent to your email will require you to pay Rp 10,000. The best option is to bring your thumb drive to get good-quality pictures. They will ask you to download an app for the transfer, but it did not work for us. Refer to the website for further details https://www.thelodgemaribaya.com/price-list/. 

Next, we went to Taman Wisata Grafika, the snow-white replica houses with an entrance fee of Rp 20,000. You can enjoy a lot of different activities here. However, the ATVs were only for kids. We decided to enjoy taking photos and hang out without doing any of the activities. The prices for each activity may range from Rp 5,000 to Rp 25,000. This place is perfect for a family vacation as they provide a full package of accommodation and activities altogether. 

In the evening, we went to Dusun Bambu, the famous bird nest eatery in Lembang. As we arrived at the parking lot, we had to queue for the shuttle to transfer to the restaurant. The bird nest tables were fully booked so, we didn’t have the chance to experience our dinner there (a day before booking is required). They have different types of rooms depending on your number of pax. The bigger the pax, the bigger the price. We ended up having our dinner at Burangrang Dapur Indonesia overlooking the floating chalet. Most of the restaurants here were pricey but worth enjoying if you are planning to visit. 

MY WEDDING DRESS DAY!

9/1/2019 – Day 5

Today was the most exciting day of all time as I can’t wait to see both of my dresses. We went to get the white dress first and the result was disappointing! They did not follow my proper instructions. I was crying inside! There’s nothing I can do about it as we will be going back tomorrow morning. I already started my day with the first sad news, so now moving on to the reception dress. 

While we were on our way to D’ Fashion, I was praying for it to be not as bad as the white dress. As I arrived, my reaction was neutral as when I’ve seen the dress. After I tried it on, the dress was big. BUT thank god it was better than the white dress. I know my friends did not like it the moment I walked out of the dressing room. The tailor can fix the dress if I can stay longer but unfortunately, my flight is tomorrow (too late for that).

As we had a little bit more time, we went around the area to see Toko Tiga (because we didn’t get the chance to visit it previously) 

and had some local lunch and dinner for the day. We went around Bandung using Uber all the way and the ride-sharing for 4-pax was less than RM6 for 10 minutes distance.

WRAP UP

10/1/2019 – Day 6

Our flight took off at 10.00 a.m. and I can tell you that we had quite a tiring yet fun experience travelling in Bandung for fabric hunting. Well, to save a few hundred for your wedding dress, it was worth it. Spending time with my best friends are just priceless. 

If you have some extra budget, I would suggest extending your stay if you would like to visit Bandung to run your wedding errands. Better yet, stop at Jakarta for a night or two for the fabric hunting. I think they have more awesome designers there as compared to Bandung as I was once told.