Old historic places have always intrigued be. From churches to old buildings to age-old neighborhoods and towns, the older they are, with their past preserved, the more they seem to impress me. There’s one thing I find common at such places, something I like the most and it would not be wrong if I say that it actually is the thing I enjoy the most when visiting age-old places. It’s the rustic charm that they have. You just have to just slow down a little and try to see beyond the obvious and you will realize how many stories lay undiscovered all around. The more you peel the layers, the more you realize how fascinating it is.

Thankfully, our part of the world has many such wonderful places to be explored and one such place is the Bandung in Indonesia.

Now I personally haven’t set my foot in Indonesia, let alone Badung but that doesn’t stop me from finding out about interesting places that suit my taste and add them to my to visit list. Just like most of Southeast Asia, where old colonial towns and historic places are quite common, courtesy the British colonization of the region and Indonesia too is no different in this aspect. Far from touristy Bali, Bandung boasts of a cooler climate than nearby capital city of Jakarta. Bandung mostly had been attracting domestic but that has been changing lately and the footfall of international tourist has been increasing.

While the domestic tourists and those from nearby Malaysia and Singapore come to Bandung for its nice weather and cheap shopping, the main attraction for the international tourists seems to be the volcanoes and the lakes of the region. With that, the number of accommodation options is better than ever before and many cheap hotel deals are available if you choose to spend some time finding them. There are now many great options to fit all budget, hotel ibis Bandung was one of those which I found suited my style of travel, for example.

Even though a little costly for international tourists on weekends, the Tangkuban Prahu volcano crater is something nobody wants to move. Another breathtakingly beautiful place to see is the Kawah Putih volcano lake and so is the Patenggang Lake, a lake with lush green tea gardens surrounding it for a good 50 kilometers. Now I have done my share of trekking in the Himalayas and have walked few mountains but have never seen a volcano face to face. This, however, is something I have been wanting to do ever since I read my friend and fellow-blogger Ankur’s this (Camping on a Live Volcano) post and I hope that it is not too late before I find myself there.

I have already talked about my love for old, colonial places in the beginning of this post but let me say it again. I love visiting old colonial places. We have enough such places here in India, some of which I have visited while some I haven’t and I can tell you there’s not one such place which has failed to make me happy after visiting them. So it’s quite natural that when I am researching about a new place to visit, I would obviously not miss digging about its past. It was the same with Bandung too and I was pleasantly surprised to know about its Dutch past, the beautiful remnants of which still remain, giving us a glimpse of the era gone by.

Do you too find old historic places charming?