Jalan-jalan Ke Surabaya

This is the first of a series of posts for my Surabaya/ Mt. Bromo/ Ijen Crater backpacking trip.

I was roped in to join my friend, Ben and a bunch of his backpacker friends who planned this trip last year when AirAsia was having the zero fare promotion. My friend from Sabah, CK also joined the group after I told him about this trip.

Initially, there were supposed to be 8 of us. Ben had to drop out at the eleventh hour due to travel restriction by his company - no thanks to the recent outbreak of H1N1 virus. (Insert panic attack here!). But the trip must go on...

Thanks to our new "leader" and tour planner - James, we managed to add the Surabaya, Mt. Bromo and Kawah Ijen to our "been there, done that and bought the T-Shirt" list. :)

I have not travelled with the rest of the gang before (except for CK, who I expored Mt. Papandayan with last year). I am glad that we hit it off quite well.

Oh yeah! Because of this trip, I had to give up the inaugural Standard Chartered KL Marathon. The previous KL Marathons were usually held in March but when the new people took over, they pushed it to June - to a date that clashed with my Surabaya trip, much to my annoyance because I had booked the trip much earlier.

But from the nasty feedbacks that I heard from my runner friends, I guess I didn't miss anything at all for not running. Buahahahaha!

This is our adventure. Read on....

We arrived safely at Juanda Airport, Surabaya after a 2 Hours delay from the original flight.

These eerie looking figures are kids peering into the semi transparent glass wall at the airport. :)

I will remember this trip well because it is also the day when King of Pop died.

We stayed at this budget hotel, Irian Hotel. Somewhere near Jl. Kembang Jepun. This photo was taken the morning after we arrived.

Frankly, this is the first time I arrived at a destination without a hotel booking. I usually pre-booked my accommodation for my trip but with these guys, I just went with the flow....

The hotel was quite run down. Looked abit like an asylum. Or maybe a jail. Heheh!

After dumping our bags at the hotel, we went out to look for food. (Insert rumbling tummy sound effect here).

We decided to have a quick dinner at the roadside stall.

The menu, but where are the prices? It is always wise to ask for the price before ordering anything to avoid being "slaugthered".

Aha....the menu with price list. Now we can safely order...:)

Not really sure how to translate this to English but the slogan is funny! LOL!

Star fruit in our hotel's garden.

What a nice bowl of Soto Ayam (Chicken Rice Soup)to warm up the tummy in the morning!

Accident. If you have heart problem, please do not take the front passenger's seat! You would die of a heart attack! The drivers here are ruthless...

Kya Kya - The Chinatown of Surabaya.

The Jembatan Merah Monument, located near the Red Bridge.

The Catholic Church of Saint Virgin Mary. The oldest church in Surabaya. Beautiful glass panels and serene surroundings.

This is NO, I repeat - NO painted glass panel from a church! Heheh!

After the church, we snaked our ways through the busy streets of Surabaya to The House of Sampoerna, a famous label of cigarette in Indonesia. Inside you can visit the museum and see how ciggies are hand rolled by factory workers at amazing speed! Fantastic!

If love is blind, then what is the use of having bikini? This cracks me up! LOL!

The glass panels of the doors are decorated with the word "林" (pinyin Lín), the surname of the Sampoerna ciggie founder - Lim Seeng Tee, which incidently also my surname. Ahem!

Jagat Karana Hindu Temple....I didn't enter because of the hassle of wearing a sarong to cover my hairy legs...Heheh! Note to self: Next time, wear long pants if Hindu Temple is in the travel itinerary.

A meal is not a meal in Indonesia if it is not washed down with Teh Botol...Well almost! :)

This photo is taken at Kalimas Traditional Seaport where human strength is still used to load and unloaded stocks at the port. No forklift here. Heheh!

Can you see the corn raining down? This guy was carrying a torn bag of corn from the ship to the lorry.

We visited the oldest Chinese temple in Surabaya - The Hong Tiek Hian Temple.

Another Chinese temple?....

No, it is a mosque! See the word "Alif Lam Lam Ha" that spells ALLAH at the tip of the pagoda?

This is Cheng Hoo Mosque build in memoriam of Cheng Hoo. Cheng Hoo (鄭和) was a famous Chinese Admiral who believed to be a Muslim and helped spread the Islamic faith to the Java Islands.

Who said mosques have to be in the shape of domes from the Middle East? ;)

In one day, we visited a church, a Hindu temple, a Chinese temple and a mosque. That's complete, isn't it?

This is the Submarine Monument or Monumen Kapal Selam...Made from a real submarine. You can even visit the inside of the submarine. Do check out the periscope inside. It still works! :)

We took refuge from the hot sun into a mall next to the Submarine Monument. I don't remember its name but the anchor tenant is Matahari Dept Store, where CK and I bought a towel each since we forgotten to bring ours from home. After that...Makan time.....

Bakso - Meatballs soup with noodle. Love the chili sauce.

Tahu Goreng (Fried Toufu). Eaten with prawn paste and raw chilis.

Our last destination was Bratang Flora & Fauna Market. A one stop place for your gardening needs....

Later in the evening, we checked into a budget hotel near the airport called Permata Hotel. Looked ok but the place smelled abit weird. Anyway, can't complain, it was cheap.

Had rice with Bebek Goreng (Fried Duck) at the roadside stall washed down with Es Jeruk (Lime Juice). Yum!

Now here the video....highlighting various tourist spots in Surabaya. I just noticed the pillars of the House of Sampoerna are in the shaped of cigarettes! :)

Also check out how we were "disinfectant-ed" due to H1N1 outbreak upon arrival at the Juanda Airport.

ENJOY!

Coming Next: Sumber Tetek - The Breasts Fountain @ Candi Belahan. ;)