Friday, January 16, 2015

Surabaya

The 9:00 AM train from Banyuwangi to Surabaya, Indonesia's 2nd largest city with a population of just over 3 million, pulled out on time, and we had a pleasant trip across eastern Java winding our way around the massive volcanoes and enjoying the always changing scenes: rice fields, corn fields, villages crammed right up to the tracks, coffee plantations, and more mosques than one could count.

Our one whole day in Surabaya found us walking a big figure eight from the Kayon Flower Market up to the Ampel Mosque and back - 10 miles or so. People were friendly in this very active city, the sites worth seeing, there were several unexpected marvels, and we did not wilt in our first full day out in the tropical sun. Not to mention some splendid colonial architecture. ;-)

Sun-Ling says she'll always remember the one-legged man with a crutch selling newspapers just a few hundred meters from our hotel who greeted us at 7:30 AM with a big smile and a cheerful hello.

We arced around Volcano Ijen for the first hour of the journey.
Volcano Ijen - Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia

Our train at Banyuwangi Station.
Banyuwangi Station, East Java, Indonesia

Eksecutif (Executive) Class
Surabaya, Indonesia

In the hills.
Surabaya, Indonesia

At some points dwellings were right next to the tracks.
Surabaya, Indonesia

Threshing rice.
Surabaya, Indonesia

Planting rice.
Surabaya, Indonesia

Perfect movie for a train trip.
Surabaya, Indonesia

A shopping mall near our hotel has no shortage of familiar names.
Surabaya, Indonesia

A morning mobile market near our hotel.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

There are bike lanes on the main roads but we saw just a handful of cyclists using them.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Hotel Majapahit - circa 1910 to 1936 - with a both deco and nouveau stylings.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Cheng Ho Mosque - The only mosque in the city with Chinese architectural elements.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

The very impressive Dutch Colonial Post Office circa 1890's (my best guess).
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

We were pleasantly surprised (a marvel) to see this water refill station where we got our 1 Liter nalgene bottle refilled for 500 rupiah (about 4 cents). Tap water is not drinkable so we prefer to fill up instead of buying plastic water bottles just to throw them away when empty.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

We try a mochaccino from a small stand. Kinda the Indonesian version of Taiwanese bubble tea. It was quite good.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Typical transport in Chinatown.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

The Chinatown market.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Chinatown runs right into the Arab Quarter with its shops, covered souk, and mosque.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Ampel Mosque.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

The famous Sampoerna cigarette manufacturing empire appears to have been founded by the Lin family judging from the stained glass window next to the front door.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia


Colonial House built in 1880 where East meets West.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

More colonial architecture.
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Vegetarian dinner - Longtong Cap Gomek
Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

7 comments:

Crash Eddy said...

What is the "perfect movie for a train trip"? I'm clueless based on the captured image.

Kathy said...

I hope the movie didn't come with sound! Otherwise looks like a really nice train trip. Also looks like you're eating well.

Sun-Ling said...

@Crash, the movie was http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1706620/, sufficient enough clue?

Sun-Ling said...

@Kathy, we are eating excessively well. John didn't even post our hotel breakfasts. The buffets range 50-100+ vessels of various food, drink, and condiments. It's too decadent for me. We are taking an option without breakfast in Yogya.

Crash Eddy said...

Snowpiercer, never heard of it. But a train movie on a train is perfect!

WQZ said...

I'm thinking about drinking water issue as we prepare for Mexico city. I read that the government is promoting hard to drink safe tap water. Two years ago we lived on bottled water in Yucatan.

john said...

WQ, I don't have my travel journal with me, but SL and I both remember that we drank the tap water most places in Mexico including DF. We do always ask about the water but we don't ask "can we drink the tap water?"; we ask "do you drink the tap water?. Hope that helps. Here in Indonesia, most hotels have electric kettles in the room, so we boil the tap water then fill up our 1L nalgene bottles with it, letting it cool overnight. Also, some hotels have "water coolers" for refills. We don't want to leave a trail of empty plastic water bottles all over SE Asia.

Most Recent Post

Sri Lanka: Trincomalee

Trincomalee, on the east coast of the island, is the least touristed city of our Sri Lankan tour. There are beach resorts a few kilometers t...

Most Popular Posts of Last 30 Days