Surabaya Travel Guide

This is just a comparison....

1. I stay in 4 star hotel in Surabaya for a night, my tummy want some bite to eat. So I call the room service asking for one portion of Sup Buntut with Nasi Uduk (steam rice) and a glass of water. And they charge me IDR 78000 (about $8). Damn... that rice is only half of the dish and the soup...ough. I can eat them all with a single strike!!

2. Still hungry that night... So, I take a ride around this city for a while, gather with local, make a phone call with many of my ol'friends, and plan a dinner with them (10 person), we prefer to have Indonesian fried duck with nasi uduk as our menu, so I stop in one of cheap eatery that can be found along the sidewalk 'round this city (There so many of them). The meal was good, I'm so stuffed... It's only cost IDR 80000 (about $9)  and that was for 10 portion!!

The morale from this story.
"Forgot the room service!! Take your shoes and walk away.. Find the sideways... and get stuffed! You're in Surabaya dude!!"

Surabaya is not only the name of a place, it's an attitude. Even though the people is part of the "Javanese" realm, they're not the soft-spoken and calm Javanese type... they're more outspoken, assertive, and sometimes even brash and intimidating. maybe it's the curse of their folk-tale origin, being the spot where there's a fight between a "sura" or shark, and a "baya" or buaya or crocodile.  They call themselves "arek Suroboyo" after the glorious resistance they put against the Allied forces which they see as a force aiming to colonialize Indonesia once more. This further ignite their defiant attitude. Its culinary uniqueness are also well-defined with selection such as rujak cingur and a myriad of beef stews. You can also plan a trip to the legendary scenic place Bromo from this city. Surabaya has most major five-star hotels, and is one of Indonesia's big cities.