charmant. accueil de la population excellent

This is a point where to start with if you want to know more about Wali Songo. I've been to all Nine, farthest being Cirebon from Surabaya. It wasn't bad at all, except trying to scrape through the pot-holes along the road. The pot holes are very big and trust me you don't want to be stranded down in the middle of the night changing your tires.

I loved the journey from Surabaya all the way to Cirebon and then back. It was an eye opener. What more when you are visiting the Wali Songo.

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.

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!!"

prepare to be stared at when you hear a price, take 80% off and start negotiating from there expect a lot of "Hello mister!", even if u are a woman :) good luck finding showers - most Indonesian homes only have a wash basin and a scoop

Not far from the city, we went to visit Gunung Bromo. An enormous volcano crater, with smaler volcanos insite. Wauu if you come near, you have to go

For all of you who want to travel in Surabaya do not bring so much many in your wallet. If you want to walk in the street and use goverment transportation. Just bring some money and put your money in another small wallet.

If all of you want to have a room in the central of surabaya you can get a room in Tunjungan Hotel, Serathon Hotel, J W Marriot, Mandarin Oriental Hotel

On arriving in Surabaya, Indonesia, I was told by a local "In Indonesia we have 4 seasons, summer, summer, summer and summer"  My guide did not lie, in my experience Indonesia is the hottest place on earth

Surabaya itu seperti Jakarta, hanya macetnya gak semacet Jakarta. Panasnya sih sama... tapi kemajuannya... ketinggalan 10thn dari Jakarta. Yah well, Starbucks Surabaya baru menjual coaster logonya belum lama ini... so.. jangan berharap kemajuan Kota Besar ini seperti Jakarta yaa...