Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city after Jakarta, was the first stop of my journey throughout East Java. This time I was having Padil & Poey as my companions. Due to time constraint, we only had 24hours to spend in the city as we still have Mount Bromo, Ijen & Bali to visit later in our expedition. Among the few places that we manage to squeeze into our short stopover in Surabaya are:
1) Masjid Al Akbar (Al Akbar Mosque)
The mosque’s tower or minaret
Also known as Masjid Agung by the locals, it is the largest mosque in the city. It has a tower or minaret where visitors are allowed to go up for a small fee. We paid 3000 rupiah and took a ride on an ‘extra’ slow elevator which brings us to the top (trust me it was really slow!). At the top, there’s an all round glass panel which allows one to have a 360 degree view of Surabaya skyline.
Arial view of the mosque from the tower
Me with the skyline of Surabaya city
2) House of Sampoerna
the main building at the house of sampoerna
This building was built by Sampoerna, the tobacco company. It’s a museum, art gallery and small factory joint together. You will be greeted by girls that would accompany you to tour the building and they will be explaining to you about how the process of making cigarettes.
the museum section
On the top floor, visitors will be able to see the small factory operating. I was really amused with the girls whom are making handmade cigarettes using traditional equipment. The great part was they are doing it at an ULTRA FAST speed that you wouldn’t believe it.
the factory
3) Surabaya Heritage Track
the tour bus
It’s a bus tour that will bring you around the city and covers most of the heritage buildings in Surabaya. The bus starts from the House of Sampoerna and tours the city for about an hour. You will guided by an english speaking tour guide whom will explain about the history and also the surrounding buildings. It is free of charge. You will only need to register your name at the counter (inside the House of Sampoerna compound) to get the pass.
among the views during the tour
4) Monumen Kapal Selam (Submarine Museum)
the submarine monument
This monument houses a 1952 soviet built submarine. Visitors will be able to get inside the submarine and experience how’s life would be inside a submarine. Space was really limited inside as you would have to duck yourself and move through the door s to get across to the other sections. It’s really worth a visit for those who would like to experience being inside a submarine.
inside the submarine
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Place to dine
Dapur Desa
sate kakap
many other dishes
They serve delicious traditional Indonesian food here. Among the great menu that we tried there was Ayam Bakar Bumbu Rujak (Grilled chicken), Sate seafood (Seafood skewer), Cumi Bakar (Grilled squid), Daging Bakar Jepit (Grilled beef), Sate Kakap (Snapper Satay). All of them are yummy & delicious. There are lots more of variety that you can choose from. Details of the restaurant are as below:
Dapur Desa
Jln. Basuki Rahmat no 72
Surabaya Jawa Timur
Indonesia.
Tel. +62(031)5463999, Fax.+62 (031)5478980
Place to stay
Da Rifi Hostel
It is situated in a housing area just about 10 minutes from the airport. If you are traveling on a low budget, this would be an ideal place for you. The price will definitely meet a backpackers budget and the place is cozy & clean. The toilets are also clean. The owner, Dyana was really friendly and the hospitality given to us was wonderful. It made us feel like home. Breakfast is provided during your stay plus the hot & cold drinking water and laundry is also free of charge. However, I would suggest you to bring a mosquito repellent as in the area there are quite a lot of mosquitoes. One of her staff, Anang was also very helpful in guiding us throughout our 3 nights trip around East Java region. Details of the hostel are as below :
Da Rifi Hostel
Jl. Duku II /190, Pondok Candra Indah, Surabaya 60
Surabaya, Indonesia
Tel: +62 8133 474 3870 or +6287756259435
http://www.darifi.hostel.com/
Email : da_rifi@yahoo.co.id
tolong phone numbernya di ubah. karena +62856 4618 9959 sudah tidak berlaku lagi. gantinya adalah +6287756259435. terima kasih sangat.
Ok anang.. sudah ditukar 🙂
Hi,
Love your website: the lovely photos, the short but interesting write out. Can’t stand reading the same old boring facts. Yours is refreshing to read and to the point. Only the bare facts. Keep up the good work.
One point though. About the black background. When I copy the information, it is a hassle to print on MS Word. The black background gets transfered to the file. I’m not that IT savvy.
I was supposed to go for a course on WordPress but I miss the dateline because I didn’t open my email. Will my name appear on the internet. I’ll rather be anon. Please don’t make my email visible. Paranoid in KL. Please let us enter our email using at instead of @
Hi,
1) Thanks for the compliment. Appreciate it 😉
2) About the background, I’m not sure why you’re getting it when you copy. I tried to copy into Words 2007 and it only displays the content plus the pics. Maybe you can copy it to notepad to get the content only, but you won’t get the pics this way
3) The name you enter will be shown but the email will not be visible to public. Just write your name as anon then if you want to remain anon. About the @, it’s the default wordpress setting. Can’t do much about it
Duh. Belum pernah ke Surabaya nih.
Semoga ada kesempatan main ke Surabaya.
Thanks for this article