We arrived via one hour flight from Bali and landed in Surabaya, on the island of Java. Java is a much different vibe from Bali; it is a much bigger and more populous island, with diverse big cities, huge temples, and many mosques, but not a stereotypical “island” paradise.
We felt the difference once we were on our way to the hotel; the traffic was horrendous, and a normally half hour ride took more than an hour. We saw big buildings and bright street lights, full sidewalks and many people. Surabaya is the capital of East Java and the second largest city by population in Indonesia, with 3 million people living in the city and 10 million in the surrounding areas of the city and was often times very busy.
Historically, Surabaya dates back to the 10th century, and has been an important port city since, especially when Indonesia was ruled by the Dutch. It was the largest city in the Dutch East Indies for 200 years. The name Surabaya comes from an ancient tale of Sura the shark and Baya the crocodile, the two greatest beasts in the area, and their battle for supremacy (to tell it most simply). We saw the shark fighting the crocodile all over the city, in monuments, paintings, fence gates, and even the sewer covers.
The hotel were we stayed, named the Hotel Majapahit, is of historical importance. It was originally built in 1910 and named Hotel Oranje; in 1930 it had a major renovation and the re-opening was attended by Charlie Chapman, Crown Prince Leopold III from Belgium and Princess Astrid from Sweden.
When Japan occupied Surabaya during World War II, they renamed it Hotel Yamato. When the Japanese lost the war and left Surabaya, a group of Dutch people raised the Dutch flag from the Hotel (the Dutch had ruled Indonesia for hundreds of years before the Japanese); local Indonesian youths took offense to this, and ripped the blue off the flag, leaving the red and white flag of Indonesia (as it is today), on September 19, 1945. That date is celebrated annually in the city, and is an important part of Indonesian independence from Colonialism.
The hotel itself is very impressive, designed in a Art Deco style, and we really enjoyed our time staying there as it was one of the nicest hotels we’ve stayed in with a distinctive old world charm.
They also had a great breakfast buffet and my favorite were the tiny pastry treats that would change daily.
The neighborhood surrounding the hotel was the most popular for visitors, located at the center was Tunjungan street, and we enjoyed walking around and taking it in.
It was an interesting contrast between many colonial era white buildings (most not in great shape) and newer office buildings. Inside, on the first right floors were huge malls, located directly across from the hotel. At night the buildings lit up quite nicely.
Inside the Tunjungan mall, where we watched a bit of a traditional dance performance, and did some window shopping to get out of the oppressive heat.
Down the street from the hotel was a coffeeshop named Javaroma, housed inside a decommissioned airplane, and that was a fun spot to have a pastry and coffee (and with really strong A/C).
We had some interesting times in Surabaya, stay tuned!
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