Semarang

Capital of central Java

July 2024

Semarang is the capital city of Central Java and an important regional center and port today. It's about 4 hours by train from Surabaya and the journey is very pleasant across flat irrigated lands. On landing in Semarang, went and checked into a guest house called Arya Graham (note the Sanskrit name). 

In the evening, had a steak at a nearby steak joint. Steak joints can also be seen in the cities and I suppose this is a legacy that the Dutch had left to the Indonesians. Everyone advertises the Sirloin steak and I got one made Medium Rare which was not bad.

The Railways and Old Town

The next day, I went off to explore Semarang. 

First stop was at Lawang Sewu, the former colonial era headquarters of the Dutch East Indies Railway Company. The building is very well preserved and pretty impressive with a decent exhibit showcasing the history of the railways in Indonesia. Indonesia was the second country in Asia after India to establish rail transport and the first line was between Semarang into Central Java and was used to transport agricultural commodities and mining products from the hinterlands to the port. 

After a tour of the museum, I went over to the Semarang old town area. The area had many Dutch buildings and while there has been an effort at restoring them, it didn't have the charm of Jakarta or Surabaya old town area. I visited the Semarang Contemporary art gallery which had a decent collection. Nearby was an antique market and I browsed through the exhibits which had old cassettes, masks and old prints.

Lunch was Mangga Muda (Young Mango) which had duck, tofu, tempeh, egg and young mango sauce. I had a drink called kelapa jeruk which was an interesting mix of  Orange juice with coconut. 

Chinese Temple

In the evening, went off to visit Sam Poo Kong, the oldest Chinese temple in Semarang. It was originally established by the great Chinese explorer Admiral Zheng He between 1400 to 1416 and has undergone multiple renovations. The temple showcases the Chinese roots of the Indonesian Chinese and now is shared by all ethnicities and religions. The complex has five temples and is built using mixed Chinese and Java architectural styles. The overall complex is pretty impressive.

I then went to Mlinjo Cafe and Restaurant where I had an Empal gentong, a spicy Indonesian curry-like beef soup originating in Cirebon, West Java. It is a variety of the Soto cuisine and is similar to gulai which is usually cooked with firewood in a gentong stove (Javanese for clay pot). The soup was excellent and the beef pieces tender. It was a good day spent. 

Next Destination

From Semarang, I had planned to go to some Islands in the North Coast called Karimunjawa. However, I couldn't get eh ferry ticket because it was over the weekend and at this time of the year, there are a lot of tourists who come to the Island.

So I decided to go to Bandung instead, in Central Java before I went back to Jakarta to take my flight. Bandung is surrounded by volcanoes and plantations and the base for travel to those areas. It is also the site of the famous Bandung Conference which gave birth to the Non Aligned movement. I took a shared mini Van to Bandung which was about a 5 hour journey.