Surabaya, East Java Indonesia (June 2014)
Two weeks before school starts my friend and I planned to do something we have never done before. Mountain hiking. Originally we only planned to hike one mountain, Mt. Bromo, one of Indonesia's famous mountains. However, we heard of another mountain which is worth visiting as well, Mt. Ijen. After doing our research and making our itinerary we set foot on a 3 days/2 nights trip to the mountains of Indonesia. We left Jakarta at around 7:40am and arrived at Surabaya at 8:55am via Air Asia Airlines. We spent 1,260,200 IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) which is equivalent to around 4,611 PHP (Philippine Peso) for our roundtrip airfare ticket.
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| Beautiful giant cloud formation on our way to Surabaya, Indonesia. |
From Surabaya's Juanda Airport we rode a taxi to go to our first destination: The House of Sampoerna (Museum/Cigarette Factory). To go to this place we had to get a ticket from a taxi ticketing booth which is located before the exit gates of the airport. We were looking for Blue Bird Taxi group because it is one of the most trusted taxi service in Indonesia (Tip: When in Indonesia, especially Jakarta, always get Blue Bird Taxi), however they don't have a booth and so we ended up with Prima Taxi, one of Surabaya's major taxi service providers. Upon informing the ticket counter of our destination they charged us 135,000 IDR (490 PHP). It was a 40 minutes trip from Surabaya Juanda Airport to the House of Sampoerna.
The House of Sampoerna
When in Surabaya, one cannot miss visiting The House of Sampoerna. Surabaya, is Indonesia's second largest city, Jakarta being the first. Indonesia, for those who do not know, has a long history of colonization by Europeans. The most dominant and most aggressive of the European colonizers were the Dutch people. Surabaya became a major trading center under the Dutch colonial government. When you tour the city, one will notice that the architecture of buildings are reminiscent of the long period of rule by the Dutch East Indies in Indonesia.
The House of Sampoerna is situated in what used to be a Dutch colonial-style compound.This museum is a preserved historical site and the winner of the 2013 Trip Advisor's Travellers' Choice.It used to be an orphanage but was later turned into a cigarette factory, home to Indonesia's most prestigious cigarette brand, Dji Sam Soe.
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| Goofing around the museum with travel buddies Sandy Ooi (left) and Kim Termulo (right). |
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| Admission Fee is free. Opening Hours is from 9:00-22:00. |
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Cigarette smoking is common in Indonesia. Wikipedia states that 30% of Indonesian children start smoking before the age of 10. Having been in Indonesia for almost two years now, I know this to be true because I have seen Indonesian children smoke. I was horrified the first time I've witnessed this but since a lot of male Indonesian smoke, children pick up the habit from adults very quickly.     The Cigarette FactoryThe museum's top attraction is the cigarette production facility where one can witness up-close an assembly line of 500 women manually hand-rolling tobacco inside a paper, cutting excess tobacco, and packing cigarettes at a speed of more than 325 cigarettes per hour. The women in the facility seemed more like robots than humans. What was interesting though was even though they were working at an incredibly machine-like pace, some of them appeared happy at what they do. Some of the workers even manage to engage in chit-chats and playful banters from time to time. I find this enthralling. From an outsider's perspective, we often pity people who work in such a rigid-routinary-mindless work environment. I couldn't stop myself from asking the museum guide if they were compensated well. The guide told me they are well taken care by the company in terms of their compensation. I hope this is true and explains why the factory workers seem very happy and why a lot of them have been with the company for generations already. If you want to see the factory workers in action, make sure you visit the museum before 1:00pm. The factory workers are also on holiday break during Idul Fitri. |
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| This photo was taken from the internet. The House of Sampoerna prohibits taking pictures or videos of the workers in the factory. The women wearing red caps are the rollers. They put the tobacco leaves on a sticky paper and roll them into cigarette sticks. The ones in black caps cut the excess tobacco. The ones wearing the yellow caps pack the cigarettes into boxes. Each pack consist of 50 sticks. It is amazing how the packers are able to estimate putting 50 sticks in a pack without having to count the sticks one by one. |
The Cafe
Kim and I are always on the look-out for quaint cafes. When we travel, we always research on the must-see cafes to dine. We particularly like cafes that are old-fashioned with unique furniture (the more distressed they are, the better). The cafe in House of Sampoerna is a delight visually because there are a lot of paintings, photographs and vintage/antique items that adorn the walls. Stained glass windows add to the charm of the cafe.The place was dimly lit which makes the place a perfect venue to go for romantic dates.
I tried out one of their recommended chef's specialty dish, Black Pepper Beef which was around 80,000 IDR (300 PHP). In Indonesia, a decent fine dine meal would be around 100,000 IDR that includes drink as well. I liked the dish I ordered because the beef was tender, the green and red bell peppers were crisp, and the amount of pepper put into the dish was just right for my taste. Normally, I find Indonesia's Black Pepper Beef dishes to be be very hot because they put in way too much pepper. This one though was just right for my Filipino palette. I inquired about my friend's orders and they said the food was "Okay, but not really life changing." Haha. Over all, I would rate the cafe 3 out of 5 stars.
I am glad we got the chance to visit this place before we headed to Malang. It was the only place we were able to visit in the city. If you plan to explore more of the city, I recommend dedicating one day so you can go on a free city sightseeing tour courtesy of the House of Sampoerna. All you need to do is just check with any of the museum staff on the free city tour schedule and hop on their multi-colored bus.
Address: The House of Sampoerna, TAMAN Sampoerna 6, Surabaya 60123
Website: http://houseofsampoerna.museum/e_home.htm
Admission Fee: Free
Opening Hours: Museum,Shop and Art Gallery (9:00-22:00)
Cafe (11:00-22:00)
Free City Sightseeing Tour:
| REGULAR TOURS | DAY | SCHEDULE |
| Weekday | Tue to Thurs | |
| Surabaya - The Heroes City (Heroes Monument - PTPN XI) | 1. 09:00 - 10:00 | |
| Surabaya - The Trading City (Hok Ang Kiong Temple - Escompto Bank) | 2. 13:00 - 14:00 | |
| Surabaya during The Dutch Occupation (Kebonrojo Post Office - Kepanjen Church - Ex. De Javasche Bank) | 3. 15:00 - 16:30 | |
| Weekend | Fri to Sun | |
| Exploring Surabaya (Balai Pemuda - City Hall - Ex. De Javasche Bank) | 1. 09:00 - 10:30 | |
| Surabaya -The Heroes City (Heroes Monument - GNI - PTPN XI) | 2. 13:00 - 14:30 | |
| Babad Surabaya (Kampung Kraton - City Hall - Cak Durasim) | 3. 15:00 - 16:30 | |
