Who says there’s nothing in Surabaya?
The city has more to offer than meets the eye, writes
“SKIP Surabaya and go straight to Bromo. Then spend the rest of the trip in Malang,” said Oni, a tour guide recommended to me by a friend of a friend who used to work in a cigarette factory in Malang, Indonesia.
“Surabaya is just a big city. Not many places to visit. And since you’re flying all the way to East Java, Bromo is a must to visit,” came another message from Oni on WhatsApp.
These messages go back and forth in my head as the MPV cruises on the Surabaya-Gempol Highway to Malang for the first leg of our 4D3N East Java trip.
What if Oni is right? What if there’s really nothing for me at Surabaya and there’s only a handful in Malang? And Bromo is a place no one should miss when in East Java?
Well, no mountain lover would choose the typical cityscape of Surabaya over the breathtaking view of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park where Mount Bromo shares the massive 800-sq km area with Semeru (the highest mountain in Java), ancient volcano Tengger, and lakes and rivers. But I chose to skip Bromo and spend one night in Malang and the last two nights in Surabaya.
Time is the deciding factor as all I want from this trip is total control on my time. No rush, just go with the flow.
The smooth 90-minute drive on the highway to Malang doesn’t really help to calm my worries.
service that charges a daily fee. We go on an itinerary that is changeable anytime, anywhere.
“I want rice with hot spicy sambal,” I reply without hesitation.
“We go Warung SS then,” he replies. My small group agrees unanimously. Imagine our excitement when we see the restaurant menu. It has 32 choices of sambal, rated from regular to super hot with five-chili rating!
What a good start to our first day in Malang. We go on a leisurely drive around the city, checking the classic Toko Oen, an old-style Dutch coffee shop that has been around since the 1930s.
Just before checking into our hotel, ibis Styles Malang, Danny takes us to Kampung Warna Warni, once a polluted and impoverished village called Kampung Jodipan that shot to social-media fame when a community project turned it into a multi-coloured community.
Opposite Kampung Warna Warni is Kampung Biru. Yes, it’s a village with all houses painted in the shade of blue. The colour-themed village concept has spread to Kampung Putih located 3km away.
Our hotel is located at the main road that leads to the city centre and in front of it is the city’s gastronomic heaven offering the usual fast food chain restaurants and swanky restaurants to old-school rumah makan.
Though we wish we can check out the food joints across the street, we choose to dine in at the sTreats Restaurant since it has been a long day. The food does not disappoint at all.
The following day is another long day for us even though there are only two stops — Batu Flower Garden and Muzium Angkut.
My online search on the places to visit in Malang brought me to these two, and mind you, almost all the findings showed The old and new together. Hotel Majapahit Surabaya and the towering Tunjungan Mall complex. long lists of places to visit and things to do in Malang and the neighbouring hill town, Batu. Since we only have a full day in Malang, we reckon these two are enough to represent its beautiful nature and its vast number of unique museums.
Batu Flower Garden, located an hour’s drive from Malang, is a unique landscaped hillside garden. But it is not a typical flower garden where you can freely stop anywhere to take photos.
What makes the garden unique are its photo-op spots. There are 10 photo spots, all in a variety of settings from the adventurous over the cliff swing, spine-churning hammock tower and fun Hobbiton Village to a Red Indian tent.
Each has its own crew of photographer and assistant. Only park photographers are allowed to take photos for visitors. Each spot is priced differently based on its uniqueness and difficulties.
So, how does it work? The Rp25,000 (RM7) entrance fee only entitles one to three posses at two spots — Flower and Love Spots, and one file of photos. At the ticketing counter, there’s a huge display of the spots and prices.
The final fee we each pay at the counter is Rp50,000 as we have chosen two more spots — the swings and cliff chair.
Though it’s just basically a photography session with beautiful nature as backdrop, Batu Flower Garden is fun and exciting. It is tiring too as it involves a lot of walking up and down a hill to go from one spot to the other.
Half day gone, we then head to Muzium Angkut, a 3.8-hectare museum that houses more than 500 exhibits of means of transportation — both old and new. It is said to be the first museum of its kind in the region.
I thought it would take less than two hours as I’m not a fan of museums. But I didn’t know that we’re in for a surprise!
Muzium Angkut blows us away. It gets us hooked on each exhibit and makes us go to every section — from beautiful vintage cars and two-wheelers to replicas of aircraft and the floating market complete with boats selling food and souvenirs.
When we finally leave the museum, it’s six in the evening. We waste no time making our way back to Surabaya for the second leg of our holiday.
Of all the places in our East Java itinerary, I look forward to Hotel Majapahit Surabaya the most.
Dinner at Indigo Restaurant is simple but delicious. I wish we reached the hotel much earlier to enjoy its famous afternoon high tea at Lobby Lounge.
Available from 2pm to 6pm, it is ranked one of top three things to do while in Surabaya, among other things like a visit to House of Sampoerna Cigarette Factory and a shopping spree at Tunjungan Plaza.
The reviews I read on the high tea didn’t say much about the food and drinks, but all gave rave reviews on the colonial experience at the historic hotel. That piqued my curiosity.
Hotel Majapahit Surabaya, under the lights, looks regal and magnificent. The rich colonial aura comes from almost