Trip to Surabaya and Sidoarjo

Surabaya

The Downtown of Surabaya (source: own documentation, 2017)

Surabaya is a capital city of East Java Province, and the second largest city after the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta. It is included as a metropolitan area of Gerbangkertosusila. Gerbangkertosusila is an acronym consists all 5 regencies and 2 cities such as Gresik, Bangkalan, Mojokerto (both are regency and city), Surabaya itself, Sidoarjo, and Lamongan.

Located at the northern coast of East Java province near Madura island, Surabaya has one of largest maritime hub, also it has a large naval base too. Surabaya is served by Juanda International Airport in the neighboring regency of Sidoarjo, and only approximately 40 minutes from Bali. It has many train stations such as Surabaya-Gubeng, Surabaya-Pasar Turi, Wonokromo, etc. It has a most notable mega-bridge of Indonesia, Suramadu Bridge, connecting Surabaya and the island of Madura.

Juanda International Airport Terminal 2 south of Rwy 10/28 (source: own documentation, 2017)

When I first time went to Surabaya, the city was in development until now, such as toll roads, airport, bridges, and other infrastructural development. In 2006, the toll road connecting Surabaya and Gempol (Pasuruan Regency) was inundated by a mud volcano in Porong. Making the Porong section of the toll road closed. So, the government built an arterial road to replace the severed toll road and eventually, a toll road was built from Gempol to Kejapanan, and later the construction of new toll road is still underway. In that time before 2006, I went to Surabaya by a car with my family. After that, I took a plane to Surabaya until now. My last visit to Surabaya was in September 2017 by plane.

Surabaya has many histories from its foundings, the vast developments, to the battle against the colonial governments. These faithful events can be seen in these monuments and old buildings such as Heroes Monument (Tugu Pahlawan), Sharp Bamboo Monument (Tugu Bambu Runcing), Hotel Majapahit (which the most prominent event took here), Police Station (now a museum), East Java Governor Office, Darmo Hospital (designed by C. Citroen), Zangrandi Ice Cream House, KRI Pasoepati, etc.

Zangrandi Ice Cream House (source: own documentation, 2017)

My favorite thing about the city is a culinary things. Surabaya has much of delicious cuisine, such as Rawon (which is my favorite cuisine and the most renowned food in East Java), Soto Ayam, Iga Penyet, Empal Penyet, Lontong Balap, Pecel, Kupang, many varieties of Eel, etc. Also, it has much varieties of desserts. Such as Dureng (durian ice cream in bread), Macedonia, Tutti Frutti, etc. My favorite snack is an Almond Crispy which has many flavors, such as cheese, chocolate, mocca, and matcha green tea.

Sidoarjo

Sidoarjo Monument (source: own documentation, 2017)

Sidoarjo is a regency located at the south of the capital city of East Java, Surabaya. It also included as a metropolitan area of Gerbangkertosusila. Sidoarjo has a large bus terminal called Purabaya which located at Bungurasih, Waru, Sidoarjo. It has an international airport that I mentioned earlier in this article. It also connected by a toll road from Surabaya and Gempol. It has a large mud volcano located at Porong that inundated several villages and a closed the toll road.

Sidoarjo Toll Plaza in Surabaya-Gempol Toll Road (source: own documentation, 2017)

Sidoarjo is a powerhouse of making high quality leather bags and suitcases. This type of industry are located in Tanggulangin and surrounding areas. One of known place is INTAKO (Bag and Suitcase Industry).

Traffic Sign consists Cultural Objects in Sidoarjo (source: own documentation, 2017)

Sidoarjo has much of history too. It can be seen by many ancient buildings which predominantly from the Majapahit Era, such as Candi Pari, Candi Sumur, Candi Tawangalun, etc.
In Sidoarjo, there are much of souvenir shops, mainly about snacks that can be bought as a souvenirs for family, friends, etc. One of the most favorable place to buy snacks is in Tanjung. It has many varieties of snack such as terung, teripang, dried fruits, candies, bandeng asep (smoked milkfish), food condiments, shrimps, etc.

So, let's travel when have good time!