Trip to Semarang (1)

Semarang is the capital city of Central Java province, in Indonesia.
It is located in north coast of Java Island.

Probably it's not as popular as Bali or Tana Toraja as the top two tourist destinations in the country, but the trip to Semarang has given us an opportunity to feel, to know, to learn, to see, and the most important one is to enjoy one of the beautiful and historical cities in our country.
The below are the reasons why we chose Semarang to be explored, to be visited:

1. Easy Access
From Jakarta, it's only 6 hours journey by train or 1 hour by plane. So, it's not hard to get to the city. We chose to ride Argo Muria express train; we left Gambir station at 7.30am and arrived in beautiful Tawang station in Semarang at 1.40pm.

The train transits in traditional cities/towns as Cirebon, Tegal and Pekalongan for about 5 minutes each, and at the same time we enjoyed some unique activities in the train stations; mainly traditional food sellers offering the tempting culinaries to the train passengers.

2. Kota Lama Semarang (a.k.a Little Nederland)
This city has a rich past of oceangoing trade, became a major port during the Dutch colonial era.
Semarang's Old City is dubbed the Little Netherlands, with good reason: Its colonial-era buildings are arrayed along blocks and avenues that were based on city designs from Holland, and some of them are maintained in pristine condition.
Now, that historical colonial architecture area become a tempting place to be visited. Luckily, the 'Kota Lama Semarang' (Semarang Old City) become a nice area for our afternoon walk.
Gereja Blenduk.Blenduk means dome, and the large copper dome of this beautiful church is one of its very notable features. Located in Kota Lama, this church is the oldest Church in Central Java (built by the Dutch community on 1753) and has become an icon of Semarang.

A huge organ in the baroque style of the 18th century captured our attention, as soon as we entered the Church (L). It has four pillars and a beautiful classical portico (R).

Here are some buildings that caught my attention during our afternoon walk in the Old Town.

Marba Building, constructed in the mid-19th Century, when the street was called De Heeren Straat. Its name is an acronym for Marta Badjunet, a native of Yemen whose family still owns the property. 


Marabunta Building was formerly used as an opera house, with its acoustically designed dome. At a glance, its auditorium looks like an upside-down boat.

3. Pecinan / Little China.
People say that Chinese can be found in every corner of this planet and as if testament of that, every great city has a Chinatown to be proud of, Semarang is no an exception. This city is known for its large ethnically Chinese population. So, a trip to Semarang would be incomplete without dropping by Chinatown.

Top of Tay Kak Sie (1771)

For me, visiting Chinatown in different parts of the world always bring a beautiful experience. It's all about the uniqueness, the strong culture, the colorful place, the smoky temple, the steamy food stall, and delicious culinary.

Under the hot Semarang morning sun, I spent more than 3 hours walking to visit their morning market, exploring 8 temples, and trying lots of food. ha..ha..!!

There are 11 major Chinese temples in Semarang, with 10 of them located in this Chinatown. Here, almost every block of the housing/shop row we can find a temple. Most of them are very old, and now become the witness of triumph chinese trade. All of them have a very beautiful color and detail. Amazing!

See Hoo Kiong (1881)


Wie Wie Kiong (1814), the biggest temple in Semarang Chinatown

The breadth of Chinatown seems to indicate that the Chinese community must have flourished in Semarang long before the Dutch.

~ to be continue, more story about buildings, exotic food, and traditional market.