2023 Alaska, Asia, Australia, Arabian Peninsula Trip
Day 62/105 - Surabaya, Indonesia - Scenic(ish)
This morning, we find ourselves in Surabaya, Indonesia as we continue our trek eastward along Java's northern shore. According to our guide, Surabaya is made for the shark and the crocodile. Interestingly enough, I checked Google Translate with both Javanese and Indonesian. Baya or Buaya does translate to crocodile. But shark is Hui and Sur or Sura don't translate to anything. Oh well, the city's mascots are a shark and crocodile. They can be seen all over including on the city's coat of arms and on all the sewer access panels like the one above.
Before I get into today's activities, I want to mention something I forgot from yesterday. As we came back to port, our guide sang us a song and then passed out the words so we could all sing along. Ultimately, he had a busload of tourists belting out an Indonesian song.
Berung Kakak Tua
Hinggap Di Jendela
Nenek Sudah Tua
Giginya Tinggal Dua
Trek Dung, Trek Dung, Trek Dung, La La La
Trek Dung, Trek Dung, Trek Dung, La La La
Trek Dung, Trek Dung, Trek Dung, La La La
Berung Kakak Tua
There seems to be no translation from Javanese for the refrain, but the verse goes something like this:
Old Brother Bird
Close to the Window
Grandma is Old
There are Two Teeth Left
It was funny when we were singing it. Now, it is even funnier.
On to today. Surabaya's port is much more picturesque than nearly anywhere we've been lately. Even though it is an industrial port, there is an area for cruise ships that is much nicer.
We were greeted by dancers and musicians during our docking procedure.
Our tour today was the included tour, Scenic Surabaya. It was a local bus tour that made stops at the Governor's statue and house, a Buddhist temple, a flower market, the City Hall, and a shop.
We started our drive and made a drive-by of Heroes Monument (Tugu Pahlawan) built to honor those civilians that lost their lives in the 1945 Battle of Surabaya.
Governor's residence
Our first stop was on a backstreet. We walked a few short blocks to reach the Governor's residence. There was also a large statue of the first Governor across the street from the residence.
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| Several vendors had small shops set up along the way |
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| You can see the shark and crocodile featured on the sewer access plates |
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| The Governor's residence |
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| The Indonesian coat of arms was prominently displayed |
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| There was a large police presence as there were planned peaceful demonstrations |
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| Surabaya's first Governor |
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| The area is a mix of old and new |
We walked to our next stop - a Buddhist temple.
Toko Dolog
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| The entry |
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| Arlona wanted to make sure I saw the cool elephant carvings |
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| There we go |
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| The main altar |
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| Note the Indonesian coat of arms up top |
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| A carving and snoozing cats |
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| As we walked back to the bus, I spotted this over a doorway |
We headed off to the next destination. We passed by the iconic Suro and Boyo Statue of the fighting shark and crocodile.
We were surprised by how many Christian churches we saw in this predominantly Muslim country.
Next up, we passed by the Surabaya Submarine Monument. The KRI Pasopati is an actual Russian whiskey-class submarine that was part of the Indonesian navy for many years. It was eventually decommissioned and now sits here as a museum.
Pasar Kayoon flower market
This was a traditional flower market with vendors cutting and arranging flowers.
Many of the shops had a birdcage out front.
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| We saw all this cut bamboo and weren’t sure what they did with it |
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| The ladies in the group were allowed to take a small arrangement |
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| Here’s what they do with the bamboo – they fill the bottom of the pot with cut bamboo to help retain water and stabilize the stems |
City Hall
Next up was a visit to Surabaya’s City Hall where we were given tasty snacks and treated to a local dance performance.
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| Wild orchids were growing outside |
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| Our greeters |
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| The city's coat of arms featuring the shark and crocodile |
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| Video surveillance – note the photographer in the lower left of the screen surveilling the surveillance |
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| Our lovely dancers |
The announcer said that if a dancer asks, you must dance, so…
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| Arlona did her usual amazing job – here, she is giving the heart sign to her dance instructors |
We departed for our final stop.
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| Of course, we passed plenty of mosques |
Surabaya Kiyra Gallery
This stop was quite disappointing – it was a small shop. That was it. We were given 30 minutes here – that’s about 20 minutes more than we needed. There simply wasn’t much here. It used to be a large mall with lots of shops to explore. Now, it is one small store and government offices.
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| OK – the salmon crisps were a little interesting |
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| This was outside |
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| There were also two cannons outside |
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| OK, let’s call it one-and-a-half cannons |
We made the return trip to the port and the awaiting Viking Orion.
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Not sure who this is |
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We made one more pass by Heroes Monument |
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| This was an impressive mosque |
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| There were at least four domes |
We got back to the ship and welcomed the air conditioning. Even though we live in central Florida where the summers are hot and humid, it is different here. You begin sweating as you walk outside. I can’t imagine what it was like here hundreds of years ago.
We set sail early today – about 2:15 p.m. – to make our way to the next Indonesian island, Bali. As we set sail, it was once again time to pray and the mosque in the port area started playing the lyrical call to prayer as we glided out of port.
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