Part 2: Day 1 in Semarang

October 4th, 2017

From the airport, I walked to the closest bus stop, and took the "Trans Semarang" bus. It's popularly called "BRT" (Bus Rapid Transit) by locals, though it isn't 100% rapid, with no dedicated line (unlike the Trans Jakarta "busway").





I alighted at a bus stop close to Tugu Muda. "Tugu Muda" is a monument built to commemorate "Pertempuran Lima Hari" (5 Days Combat), a fighting between Indonesian and Japanese national armies.
Behind the monument is "Lawang Sewu", a Dutch heritage. It was formerly the headquarter of a railway company in the Dutch era.



From Tugu Muda, I walked to another important sight in Semarang. "Sam Poo Kong" is a Chinese temple dedicated to Admiral Zheng He, who led naval expeditions to South Asia, Middle East, and East Africa. He was actually a Hui Muslim, but the Chinese people who were together with him during the expedition respected the admiral and built a temple to worship him.
Zheng He's expedition brought some Chinese people to Semarang, making Semarang as one of Indonesian cities with strong Chinese influence.













Then I took an "ojek" (motorbike taxi) to "Sleep & Sleep" Hostel, where I would spend a night. Here you can get a "capsule" bed to rest for only IDR 40,000. Very cheap.



The unique thing was that the hostel had a cafe with this unique layout. Looks like a plane cabin.



Even there was a "runway" to our room.





The capsule beds.



After taking a rest for about 2 hours, I went out from the hostel to have my dinner. This time I picked Nasi Goreng Babat Pak Karmin. "Nasi goreng babat" is a fried rice with sliced beef tripe and scrambled egg. Semarang has many stalls offering this unique food.






Then I took another "ojek" to Simpang Lima. In Indonesian language, "Simpang" means "intersection" while Lima means "five" (not to be confused with Peru's capital). The area, which is also Semarang's 0-km point, contains a green area as a leisure place for the local people especially at night.





At the end of this day, I ate once more for my dinner at "Nasi Gandul Pak Subur". "Nasi Gandul" is a rice dish with something like a meat soup. I can't explain this food by words, but you must try. While enjoying your meal, a group of "Keroncong" music band sings some "Keroncong" songs to accompany your dinner.





Finally I went back to the hostel by an "ojek" and sleep peacefully.