15th January 2024 - Bromo - Surabaya


Japanese restaurant

Again we were woken by the sounds of jeeps setting off on the daily excursion to the Tengger crater.

Joan jumped out of bed, and was greeted by the view of a cloud inversion on the crater bottom.  She grabbed a quick snap and headed back to bed.

Later we found a hotel offing a buffet breakfast that consisted mainly of eggs, chicken and fried eggs.  We just grabbed a coffee and some toast.

As hiring a driver is so cheap, we decided not to catch the train from Probolinggo, but to hire a cab all the way to Surabaya.  

Whilst we were waiting we spoke with a traveller who had been out on the road for several months.  We were well jealous,,, in a nice way!

The driver turned up early and we headed back down the volcano, stopping at an ATM for funds.
Our lodgings




The slopes of the volcano were lush with trees and highly terraced fields.  The roads to Surabaya were wide and not too busy.






Hotel courtyard from our room



Random aeroplane in middle of city



Japanese food


Surabaya Sling



Hotel bar

We had decided to stay at the famous Majapahit Hotel in the centre of the city.  Unassuming from the outside, it was an oasis of white stone, courtyard gardens and lush foliage,  It was like stepping back in time to a more glamourous era.  The rooms were dark wood with marble bathrooms.  All this for about the same price as a Premier Inn.

We had spotted there was a Japanese restaurant nearby.  Getting to it was a mare, as the city roads were busy and you had to take your life into your hands to cross them.  This was not a city built for pedestrians!

The restaurant turned out to be in a mall, but on the top floor with views over the district.  Bizarrely in a nearby courtyard was an aeroplane.   We sat outside on the balcony and ordered small plates of Japanese food.  When the heavens opened in diluvial style, everyone else rushed back inside.  But we huddled beneath our brolly, water bouncing up to us from the decking.

Back at the Majapahit, it had quite a history. Joseph Conrad and Charlie Chaplain stayed here as well as some royals. It also played a role in Indonesia's independence from the Nederlands. You can read about it here:


We went to its Art Deco bar and had a Majapahit Sling, a cousin of the famous Singapore Sling from its sister hotel, the Raffles in, of course,  Singapore.  A band was beginning to warm up so we heading back to our lovely room for the night.

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