Weekends and Holidays

For many teachers one of Surabaya’s biggest plus points is its location, and the opportunity for travel beyond the city.

On a clear day great volcanic peaks can be seen from the city centre, looming to the south. And to the north across a narrow channel, the island of Madura, a deeply traditional rural backwater, is just 20 minutes from the city by ferry.

Unlike Jakarta, which is hard to escape for just a few days, there are plenty of possibilities for weekend trips from Surabaya. Very close at hand, Madura is a great place to explore if you have your own transport, and provides a startling contrast to urban Surabaya. Just across the water, Madura is a place of low limestone hills, forest and sprawling rice terraces. In the East and Northeast of the island there are empty, undeveloped beaches, and a network of quiet lanes through palm trees and tiny villages. It’s also a place completely untouched by mass tourism – or tourism of any kind. If such a thing exists, perhaps this is “the Real Indonesia”.

Back on mainland Java there are quick getaways close to Surabaya. The little hill resorts of Trawas and Tretes are a couple of hours away to the south, on the flanks of the volcanic uplands. Raised from the heat of the coastal plains, they have great views, and trips up to volcanic summits are possible. A little further away the small city of Malang lies in a broad saddle between the Bromo-Tengger massif to the east, and the Arjuno-Welirang volcano complex to the east. Malang is a pleasant town, with a much cooler atmosphere than Surabaya, and a few lingering fragments of Dutch colonial architecture. Close to Malang are other small hill resorts at Batu and Selekta, up among the pine forests and terraced fields where they grow vegetables that will not flourish in the heat at lower altitudes: cabbage, potatoes and onions.

These places can all be reached from Surabaya by public bus, or by your own car or motorbike if you have one. Malang and the hill resorts are actually close enough for day trips, but there are plenty of places to stay, and most people prefer an overnight stop.

The drainage basin of the great Brantas River, of which Surabaya’s Kalimas is one branch, was a crucible of classical Javanese kingdoms. The mighty Majapahit Empire was based some 60km inland from Surabaya, and there are still remnants of its black basalt architecture. Ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples are scattered throughout the region, especially around Malang and Tretes.

A little further a field, but perfect for a weekend trip is Mount Bromo. The trip to this huge volcanic crater is something of an Indonesian tourism cliché, usually popping up in the “must do” lists of the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet books. But it is genuinely spectacular – and for people who live in the heat of Surabaya the icy cold at dawn at 2000 metres has certain novelty value.

Also within reach of Surabaya for weekend trips are the royal court cities of Solo and Yogyakarta in Central Java. These cities are bastions of high Javanese arts and architecture, and Yogyakarta is the cultural capital of the island, and its biggest tourist draw card, with an elaborate royal palace, narrow back alleys, and a lively backpacker scene. It is also the base for visits to the enormous Buddhist monument at Borobudur, and the Hindu temples at Prambenan – Indonesia’s most famous and spectacular historical remains. You can get to Yogyakarta and Solo by regular air-con express train, which takes about five hours.

Bali too is within reach for weekends, and is a popular destination for some teachers, though it does require a bit more effort to get there. The standard weekend trip to Bali involves taking the overnight train after work on Friday. The ticket price includes the ferry transfer across the channel from Java, and the bus onwards on the other side. You reach South Bali, home of the famed Kuta-Legian and Sanur resort areas in mid-morning. It is possible to take the overnight train-bus combo back to Surabaya on Sunday night, but teachers usually take advantage of the one hour time difference between Surabaya and Bali, and the fact that work at school doesn’t start until late. Normal practice is to spend two nights on Bali and take a short (45 minute) flight back on Monday morning.

Air transport in Indonesia is cheap, and it’s usually possible to book tickets at short notice. Places that would make sense for a weekend trip by air are Bali, Yogyakarta (as a quicker alternative to the train), and the cities of Bandung and Jakarta. From all of these places morning flights back to Surabaya on Monday before work are possible.

Teachers at EF get a week’s holiday at the end of the Ramadan fasting month, and another week at Christmas, as well as 15 working days to take when they choose. From Surabaya just about anywhere in Indonesia is accessible for a week-long trip. The city’s airport is very well served with regular connections to places throughout the archipelago. Popular options for holidays are Lombok and Bali, though it only takes a guidebook and a little imagination to plot some less well-charted course.

You could manage to spend virtually every weekend out of the city, and some teachers do. But it’s worth spending some time getting to know Surabaya itself, for it does have many fascinating corners of its own to be explored.

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