A city of one million people, Semarang is located on the north side of the island of Java. The Chinese were the first to live here in the 15th century, but that changed with the arrival of the Dutch East India Company in the 18th century. They built roads, railways, and basic infrastructure, helping to make Semarang a thriving trading area. Many remaining samples of their colonial Dutch buildings can be seen throughout the city today.
In 1942, the Japanese military occupied Semarang until 1945, making this important to their history. But the most important find outside of town, was the discovery of the well-hidden ruins of Borobudur Temple, constructed by Buddhist kings prior to 850 AD. The largest single monument in the Southern Hemisphere, this 10 stone-tiered terrace monument was buried over 1000 years by dense jungle growth. Discovered in 1914 by Sir Stamford Raffles of the Dutch East India Company, this restored monument has 72 stupas (resembling upside down bells) and statues, which have been put back together with 2 million pieces of andesite stone. With one Great Stupa on the very top, or Nirvana, this UNESCO World Heritage Site has become the most visited of all sites in Indonesia. And we have had the pleasure of making three trips to see it since 2001.
Tours there today from shore excursions ran $220 for a round trip bus ride, or $260 for a train ride up, and a bus ride back. We have done both, but found the antique train ride to be a hoot. Other tours included a city trip for $100. or a ride to the highlands and a tropical plantation for $135. All of the excursions included a lunch. Also, many smart folks arranged independent tours. That included Captain Mercer and Karen, who took a private car to the temple with a police escort. Had to laugh when we reminded him last night that he best be back by 5:30pm, or the ship might leave without them. Got a hearty chuckle out of them for sure.
Well, the weather was quite warm and sticky, as the morning began with mostly sunny skies. The clouds increased early on, and the humidity seemed to rise very high. It never did rain here in the port, but we did hear it rained heavily as the all day tour guests were on their way back from the temple. Lucky.
After breakfast, we went outside on deck three to see a group of Semarang dancers and another percussion band. Their dance performance was over, but the group was posing for photos as some of the tour groups ran by them.
Back on the ship, many of the Indonesian crew members had family arriving for part of the day. Shiv told us when we paid him a visit, that they had prepared box lunches for 800 family members. The dining room was set up once again with the box lunch and beverages for all of the visitors. The left over bowler hats we got as gifts a month ago, were piled by the dining room entrance for the kids to take home. We saw some of the parents wearing them too.
Those who chose not to stay on the ship, went off with their wives, husbands, and kids for a day in the city. Or if they lived close enough, they spent a day at home. Slam said that his family had been here on the ship twice already, and he intended to leave for the day.
We left the ship after 10am, and passed through the terminal, which was a rather long walk in the heat. In the waiting area inside the terminal, an Indonesian band was playing country western music, and they were really good. Passing through another small building, we strolled by several stalls with souvenirs, much the same as we saw in Bali. Bet their prices were even better here. But since we did not need anything, we continued on to the waiting shuttle bus. The bus was fairly new and comfortable for the 30 minute 6 mile drive to the Ciputra Mall, although the newsletter mentioned taking us to the Simpang Lima Mall. This turned out to be the very same shopping complex we saw back in 2016, the last time we were here.
Getting out the coach, we encountered many street vendors and taxi guys. Prior to debarking the bus, the driver told all of us to be very careful with hiring a taxi driver for a tour. His suggestion was to negotiate a price, but don’t pay the money until your tour was complete. Otherwise, the driver might take you for a useless ride. Good to remember in the future.
The shops and restaurants in this shopping complex were much like any other mall you might find world-wide. There were at least three levels of mostly shoe stores, some clothing, and lots of electronics. A couple of department stores were there like Robinson’s and Matahari. They do not accept the US dollar here, but they will gladly take credit cards or local cash….the rupiah which was worth 14,000 to $1 USD. Sounds incredibly high, but when a Big Mac meal deal cost 40,909 rupiah, that equates to under $3 USD. What a bargain. We could have exchanged the money at the front desk, but decided we did not need anything here, nor would we eat lunch out. The only pizza we saw was Pizza Hut, with a café that was mostly for the younger set.
We wandered deeper into this mall, and found that we were in the more Muslim side. It was probably an older mall that had been connected to the new one. The small shops became more like a flea market that sold clothing for women that included the head scarves. There was table after table of cell phones and small electronics at this end. Since there was little circulation of air at this end, we turned around and left.
Covering all three levels, we left the mall and went back to a waiting shuttle. The driver did not leave until every seat was taken, which took about 15 minutes. During that time, the vendors came to the bus windows hawking their stuff. Using fingers, they showed their treasures and asked for bids on them. A set of wood carvings looked interesting, but the fellow would not go down to $5…all they were worth. He knew there would be many more busloads of passengers coming there today. Although, he did come down to $10 at one point….a long way from the $25 he asked in the beginning. The bus filled up, the door was closed, and we were off to the ship.
By now, it was after noontime, and the traffic was already at a standstill. Once again, it took over 30 minutes to go the short distance. Gave one of us a good opportunity to take many pictures of city life and the scenery on the way back. Closer to the port, we passed by fish ponds where some men were using nets to catch a lot of shrimp, we think. This really is not the nicest part of town, so we were lucky to have the use of the bus today.
We wanted to check out the treasures in the terminal, but before we went back inside, we strolled over to a make-shift pigeon coop and aviary. Going back to the building we spotted one lone vendor set up outside the fence. He was selling the same wood carvings as the guy at the mall. This time, he was happy to take $5 for the four wooden stick family. Really looks more African than Indonesian, but we liked them.
At the far end of this terminal was a building with locals selling snack food. We bet that most all of the crew will load up on these chips and crackers sold here. One fellow was barbequing meat skewers on a charcoal grill. Sure smelled good. Sure enough, crew members were sitting there enjoying every bite.
Many folks were shopping for gifts and stuff in the terminal, as prices were really good. And with Semarang as our final port in Indonesia, the sales today were probably really good for these locals. We bought nothing more, but did get a lot of colorful pictures. As we passed through the building, we noticed that ship people were still using the port’s free internet.
Sail away was delayed because the seven bus tours were late coming back from Borobudur, but only by 15 or 20 minutes. The Captain and Karen were not among them, because he came on the ship’s PA system, and delivered his usual daily report before 6pm. As he spoke about the upcoming sailing towards Singapore, we watch from the Seaview pool while the remaining passengers scurried to get back onboard. Many of them had stopped on the way, and purchased souvenirs in the terminal.
By the time the ropes were dropped, friends Susie and Eddie had joined us to watch both the sail out of the harbor and the last of the setting sun. They had been to the temple with our old travel group, and had a wonderful but exhausting time. Bless their hearts, they still had plenty of energy to grab a quick plate of food in the Lido, and be ready for the first show in the Main Stage, where a comedian, Glenn Hirsch, was promising a funny performance this evening.
Dinnertime found us joining Barb for a run-down of the day. Barb had stayed onboard, also having been to the main sights in Semarang probably more times than us. She was able to see and enjoy the many families that came on the ship today, reporting about the crew members that were seeing their new babies for the first time. So sweet. Our buddy, Don McD spent hours handing out the chocolate candy that he brought on the ship with him in Ft. Lauderdale. Bet he made a lot of little ones very happy.
The dinner menu was still part Indonesian, and we ordered some of those appetizers, soups, and entrees. It had been a long, hot day for many guests that had gone on all day tours, so the dining room emptied out earlier than usual. And to shorten the day, we had to put the clocks ahead on hour this evening. Odd, but we needed to be on the same time as Singapore. Good time to keep a Clint Eastwood quote in mind: Keep your eyes on the horizon and your nose to the wind. Will do, Clint.
Tomorrow will be a special day at sea as we cross over the Equator once again. This time, we will have the ceremony that insures our safe passage.
Bill & Mary Ann
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Report #61 Semarang, Java, Indonesia March 20, 2019 Wednesday Chance of rain & 87 degrees
