Surabaya

Ships dock in an industrial area; use ship provided transportation or a taxi into town. Surabaya old town is 5 km south, the city center 10 km south, and Trowulan 87 km south west.

In the new cruise terminal’s large display concourse, stations introduce the arts and jewels of East Java, allowing visitors to experience the culture firsthand without going far from the ship.

Taxi tours begin at $90, depending on negotiating skills. Bluebird and Grab taxis are available, though they are said to prefer hours-long journeys and dislike short trips. They accept only cash, and prices can vary drastically.

Bring a printable map along.

At the Brantas River mouth, Surabaya is East Java’s provincial capital and Indonesia's second largest city. For more than half a millennium it served as a trading port for Java’s inland empires. The city was formally founded in 1293, when raden Wijaya created Majapahit, Indonesia’s most glorious empire, at the site of the legendary shark (sura) and crocodile (baya) battle.

Known as the "City of Heroes" for its part in the nation's independence struggle, Surabaya has become an elegant city of broad, tree shaded avenues and large colonnaded buildings. It is the commercial center of a thriving agricultural and industrial hinterland. Historical sights include Kali Mas harbor’s tall-mastered trading schooners and the nearby Arab quarter’s narrow alleyways and shops, redolent of the Middle East.

Restored as monuments to colonial grace, the elegant Grahadi State Buildings, an 18th century mansion, and historic Hotel Majapahit, where Indonesia's war of independence began, recall an earlier era. Surabaya also has one of Southeast Asia's oldest and largest zoos.

Surabaya derives from suro and boyo, two words meaning crocodile and shark.

Taxis operate in many towns, but agree the fare beforehand.

Surabaya is a useful base for the region's many attractions, from Mt. Bromo and the cool mountain retreats of Malang and Tretes to several nature reserves’ natural wonders.

In East Java, Trowulan is an archaeological site in Trowulan Subdistric, Mojokerto Regency.

For shopping, Surabaya's Jalan Pemuda is the place to be, with many malls and smaller shops sprinkled in between.

ATMs are common in Indonesia’s major cities.

Credit-card cloning and fraud are a major Indonesian problem, so take care. Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted, while American Express can be problematic. Smaller operations commonly add 2-5% over cash as surcharges.

The only official language is Indonesian, which is also known as Bahasa Indonesia.

Internet: prices vary considerably and, as usual, what you pay often determines what you get; expect around Rp 5,000 per hour. Certain shopping malls in large cities, Starbucks cafes and McDonald restaurants have free hotspots, and some hotels offer them in the lobby.

For mobile phones, the emergency number is 112.