BDO Day 1 │ JAKARTA to BANDUNG • Bullet Train!

Bandung

We’d heard so much about this regency — a shopper’s paradise, a cool climate escape, a place everyone seems to rave about. The main reason our Jakarta shopping had been relatively muted was simple: we were saving our energy (and money!) for Bandung.

We had an early night and woke up at 6:30am. Most of our packing was done the night before, so we only had a few loose ends to tie up. We got ready, checked out of Sigit’s lovely Airbnb, and left a small memento for him in the fridge.

At 8:00am, we headed downstairs and hailed a fixed fare Bluebird taxi to Stasiun Kereta Cepat Halim, the bullet train station. The fare was IDR95,000 (≈ MYR26/USD6/EUR6), and the ride took about 35 minutes.

The Bullet Train Adventure

At the station, we tried to buy tickets from the kiosks — only to discover that the next available train, regardless of class, was in the afternoon. Not ideal.

We tried our luck at the ticketing counter… and surprisingly secured seats on the 9:40am train.

We bought First Class tickets for IDR600,000 (≈ MYR162/USD37/EUR35) each to Stasiun Padalarang, both for today’s trip and our return journey two days later.

Because of our large bags, security advised us to take the elevator up to Level 2. After the scan, we were ushered into the VIP lounge at 9:00am.

At 9:17am, boarding began. A kind porter helped carry our heavy luggage up the escalator and into our coach — we thanked him with a small tip. We even managed a few selfies at the front of the train before it departed at 9:40am.

Five minutes into the journey, our hostess handed out a small goodie bag of light refreshments.

Within Jakarta city limits, the train cruised at 140–150 kph, but soon accelerated to well over 300 kph.

We made a brief stop at Stasiun Karawang at 9:56am, then continued toward Padalarang. Somewhere between Cikampek and Purwakarta, the train paused unexpectedly for a few minutes before resuming its journey.

Arrival in Padalarang

We arrived at Stasiun Padalarang at 10:15am, disembarked, and looked for the connecting train into Bandung city centre.

To our surprise, our First Class tickets included an usher, who guided us past the long queue and straight onto the KA Feeder train to Stasiun Bandung.

Our bags were placed safely in the coach at the front, and at 10:30am, we departed — our first real glimpse of Bandung unfolding outside the window.

We arrived at Stasiun Bandung half an hour later. Another porter appeared, took charge of our bags, guided us out of the station, and placed us into the first available Bluebird taxi.

Ten minutes later, we were on our way to our Airbnb.

What’s Next

Be sure to catch our next video — we check into the Airbnb at Tamansari Tera Residence.

Do visit our YouTube Channel Have Perut Will Travel)

📍 Location:

Thamrin Executive Residence - https://maps.app.goo.gl/UgNnAHXTXNUrZWGW7

Stasiun Kereta Cepat Halim - https://maps.app.goo.gl/zSJkBmtaHovsktyb7

Stasiun Kereta Cepat Padalarang - https://maps.app.goo.gl/qqCadJ9orRm3K81HA

Stasiun KA Feeder KCJB - https://maps.app.goo.gl/CA19EgFMXZ4fjhYQ7

Stasiun Bandung - https://maps.app.goo.gl/AeExa1Sxn8J3hcsh6

Tamansari Tera Residence - https://maps.app.goo.gl/hatdxY8woCJrYaaR9