After Jakarta & Yogyakarta we don't have much interesting in seeing another big Javanese city but we've booked a flight from here in two days time to the islands. Surabaya is the capital of East Java & is very business orientated.
After arriving at the bus station which is miles away from town we get a taxi to our hotel which is in the centre. We're staying at a business hotel which we found half price on Agoda. The hotel is lovely & the service is super professional & friendly. Our room had satalite TV & hot shower - this could be our last hot shower until we get home!
After arriving we go out for some lunch across the street at a small hawker centre. We really enjoy the food however James later gets speaking to a lady from Surabaya who disagrees, she says she'll take us out later to show us where to get "proper food". That afternoon we enjoy the hotel room, our last bit of luxury before the islands.
At 7pm we meet the Indonesian lady for dinner. She's with an Italian man who originally we thought was a work colleague but actually they are embarking on a two week tour of Java together the following day - we're not sure what their relationship was as we don't think he lived in Indonesia.
We walk to a nearby restaurant tying to make small talk. Neither of them are very talkative but it's not too awkward. We arrive at the restaurant, a small local place. The menu is in Indonesian (Bahasa) so she helps us order. The food was OK & different to other food we've had in Java but no where near as nice as the food we had in Sumatra. The lady confirmed that Surabaya isn't a tourist city & there isn't anything to see. There's a zoo but all the animals die due to lack of food, there's a museum but it's rubbish & there's an Arab Quarter but it's not safe for tourists!
The following day we spend most of our time in the hotel room planning where to stay on the islands - Senggigi, Gili Air & Gili Trawangan. It's difficult as prices are high as they are all tourist destinations. As it will be our last two weeks we don't want to stay anywhere too basic so we have to up our budget - yet still it's only cold showers with salt water!
That afternoon we go to a local shopping centre to get supplies (toiletries & insect repellent etc) as we've heard prices are inflated on the islands.
Tomorrow we fly to Lombok island.
No comments:
Post a Comment