Surabaya

The Shark and the Crocodile

July 2024

The train from Malang to Surabaya is around 2 hours and 15 minutes and on arrival, I checked myself onto Choice City Hotel which was at the top of a mall, the BG Junction mall. 

The next day morning, I set out to explore Surabaya. Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta. A port city, it is a vibrant sprawling metropolis with a thriving China Town and Arab quarter. It is well known for the Battle of Surabaya which was instrumental in getting support for Indonesian independence. It is a clean and Green city which continued to surprise me with my experience of Indian Cities and not so high expectations when I came to Indonesia. Surabaya is named after the Pali words Sura (Asura) and Bhaya (fear) which is the founding of the city after the Majapahit won against the Mongols in 1293 AD. I reflected on what would happen if Indonesia insisted on renaming all their cities because of their Hindu names and keep Muslim names instead. The country has incorporated their past into the present and is rolling on into their future, a critical difference between the people of Indonesia Vs India where we seem to be regressing into the past.  

Old Town

The first place to start was China Town and the Hong Tiek Hien Temple, the oldest temple in Surabaya. There are Altars of Chinese Gods and Goddesses, Buddha and even a small altar for Indian Gods, so that no one is left out. There was a friendly Muslim guy who was exercising on the temple premises and he was happy to pose for me. 

I next went to the Sunan Ample Mosque which is the oldest mosque in East Java and where Sunan Ample's tomb is located. He was one of the nine revered saints Wali Songo credited for the spread of Islam in Java.

The area near Ample has various Warungs selling snacks and street food. I changed upon something a little different, a bakery called Anita Family Bakery. Inside the shop was a whole variety of  cakes and pastries and I was s happy to buy an assortment based on what the shop attendant suggested.

From the China Town, I went to the Old Town Center. At the Kota Lama area there are many old colonial buildings and the red bridge which was the site of the Battle of Surabaya. Beside it is a replica of remains of General Mallaby's exploded car.  The area was pretty lively with a photography crew taking photographs of what looked like a period Chinese character and locals who were busy taking photographs. 

High Streets

In the evenings, the high streets of Surabaya come alive with young people crowding the cafes and restaurants. The action was around JL Tunjungan street which included all the big hotels including the Majapahit which was the location where the Flag incident happened on September 19th 1945. Here a crowd gathered and the Dutch flag was torn and the blue part removed to keep the Red and White of the Indonesian Flag. 

Soon it was time to move on and I started moving back West towards Central Java and the city of Semarang which was also on the coast.