Surabaya - Post Report Question and Answers
What have been the highlights of your time in this country? Best trips or experiences?
Indonesia, and especially Java, are home to some of the world's most highly developed cultures. Indonesians are constitutionally obligated to celebrate that diversity, and it is on display everywhere you go. Traveling through the Consular district is like visiting different countries when it comes to food, art, religion, dance, and history. If you like spicy food, Indonesian is a culinary wonderland, especially when it comes to seafood. People are very friendly and tolerant, and are always thrilled to meet a foreigner who speaks Indonesian. - Nov 2018
Reasonably safe. Lots more sunshine and light than I expected for a big city. It's a sprawling city, like Los Angeles, or London, so it really depends on where you live in the city. Out in the suburbs, it is less congested. There is always a constant breeze, which is nice. - Oct 2015
For me, Surabaya doesn't have many highlights. It's an industrial city with booming manufacturing and shipping industries. The highlights have been getting out of the city and traveling: to Bali, Lombok, Yogyakarta, etc., but even these trips have been just okay. I think the ability to travel from Surabaya is its highlight (you're a 1- to 4-hour flight from just about any type of tourism or adventure you can imagine... mountains, jungles, volcanoes, Komodo Dragons, orangutans, elephants, tigers, SCUBA, world-class surfing, etc.). Bangkok and Singapore are close-by as well. Many colleagues rave about their time here and how wonderful Surabaya and East Java (and beyond) are. These colleagues also tend to be single or childless. Family travel tends to be a little more dicey, as accommodations can sometimes leave a lot to be desired. We've also been limited by lack of quality childcare. - Apr 2015
Surfing the world's best waves, sunsets on gorgeous beaches, partying in Bali, and meeting and working with the friendly Javanese people. - Oct 2012
Bali is a 30 minute flight away. We probably went to Bali over ten times in the 2 years we were there. - May 2012
travel to remote unpolluted/unspoiled parts of the country; fishing with locals; riding my motorcycle to a semi-dormant volcano; people genuinely friendly; visiting Borobudor, one of the seven wonders of the world; wonderfully spicy hot food (warning: Indonesians have a love affair with fried foods); ability to travel absolutely anyplace in the country and feel perfectly safe - Oct 2010
