The last full day I had to spend in Eastern Java was reserved for exploring the city of Surabaya.  It’s the second largest city in Indonesia and has lots to offer.

After freezing for the past two days, the heat and humidity of this city was like a punch in the face.  Ahhh…just like I was used to 🙂

Surabaya is perched on the North Eastern coast of Java, so naturally, some time near the water was sought after.  A short taxi ride got me to the Sanggar Agung Buddhist temple.  The complex was a pretty nice size, with plenty of space to walk around, see people praying, lighting incense and making offerings to the sea.  Once you pass through the main area, the rest of the complex opens up to face the sea, under the watchful eyes of two very large dragons.  It was quite a vision to be greeted with.

After being reabsorbed into the tropical climate at sea level, the breeze coming off the water felt refreshing and it made a beautiful showing of the flower petals being offered to the sea.

The surrounding area was also very nice to walk around and explore.  It seemed like a type of amusement park in a way.  One side faced the water while the other opened up into a lush area with walkways and sculptures of its own.

Next, it was time to move deeper into the city.  I couldn’t leave without seeing the “House of Sampoerna.”  It’s a free museum based in the house of the family owned cigarette company of the same name.  It’s also the only museum in the country, that I’ve seen, which lives up to Western standards.  That must translate to mean the cigarette industry is continuing to boom.

The aroma of cloves greets you as you enter, along with the smiles of friendly attendants.  The ornate bathrooms are wall papered with brand named carton wrappers in shades of gold and an old label printing machine is on display in the lobby.  The factory work room can be seen from the gallery on the second floor and I tried to imagine how loud and hot it must be for the workers sitting extremely close to each other, rolling and packaging hundreds of cigarettes a day…each.

I may not agree with the habits, but the is industry is ingrained in Indonesian culture and I was happy to visit this tourist destination.  And, since the company has expendable funds, they were proud to show other projects that the Sampoerna company funds.

A city tour bus also departs a few times a day from the House of Sampoerna front door, which was tempting, but it was off to the airport for me instead.